He hung it from his backpack and fiddled with it every day.
The day he proposed, I was in Westhaven State for an academic conference.
A serial killer was prowling the area—one who only targeted women traveling alone.
The third murder happened right after the seminar let out—the body found in the alley behind the venue.
Curt thought it was me. He came tearing through the crowd like something inside him had snapped loose.
We locked eyes across the police tape, and his went red in an instant.
"Millie... if you died, I wouldn't go on living."
"Let's get married."
I nodded through my tears.
So foolish then. Still believing love could last forever.
I stared at the new wedding ring on Curt's hand, turning it over and over in my mind, unable to understand.
How the moon could hang so bright and full, yet never shine for me alone.
After the wedding, Curt was appointed as a special-hire professor at Seabrook University.
Of his first batch of students, Bernice Barnes stood out from the start.
Her parents were divorced, her family had nothing, and she had nowhere to go during breaks. I felt sorry for her and let her stay with us.
As the days wore on, I began to realize something was wrong with her.