Behind The Mask

Chapter 41

It takes all but five minutes in which I try and calm Will down enough for him to talk before Grace comes barging into the room as well.

"I've looked everywhere. He left most of his stuff, but the RV is missing as well," Grace says trying to catch her breath. "But I found this."

She holds out an envelope with Will's name hastily scribbled onto it, as well as the huge engagement ring.

"Is it from Cameron?" Will utters through his sobs, his face red from crying as I hold him in my arms on the floor. E.J. is holding him from the other side, almost like we are trying to protect him from the pain he is feeling.

"I think so," Grace answers. "I think he left you a reason why he ran, sugar."

She sits down on the floor next to us.

"Do you want to read it?" she asks.

"No. You read it," he answers, shaking his head before dropping his face back on my shoulder and his entire body starting to shake again.

It takes a few seconds for Grace to tear open the envelope and remove its contents.

She takes a big breath before she starts to read.

"My dearest, most adoring Will,

At this point you might have nothing but hate for me in your heart, but I will do my best to understand how you feel about me right now. I have brought this on myself.

When I told you I would marry you, it was the most beautiful moment of my life. I was seeing our future so perfectly planned out as we roamed the streets of Paris, Rome, and London, making memories in every romantic place on earth. I imagined myself headlining as the most famous dragqueen in the world every night, where you wait for me backstage and make me your royalty for real. But it will never be like that. We can never be.

I thought for a moment I could fit into your world. Married to the oldest son of a wealthy farmer, trying to play housewife while you manage the fields that will someday be yours. You come from a world that's set in another era, and I have seen that I will never fit in there, and thanks to that, neither will you as long as you are with me.

Jessica-Lynne had a talk to me last night. She showed me the RSVP's you tried to hide from me where family members gave you a piece of their mind for wanting to marry a common, gold-digging man in woman's clothing. Yes, I read them all. Each and every one of them. And I don't care what you say, it hurt me, therefore it must have hurt you even more. Even your own brother doesn't bless our union. Jessica-Lynne made it perfectly clear that he is planning to get you written out of the will if you went through with marrying me. Plus, we won't produce an heir together, so in the end the farm will in anycase end up with him, and I think he is as nasty a piece of work, as is your sister-in-law, so it really would be a shame if you were to lose everything because of me and they won.

You are probably wondering why I didn't tell you all of this to your face. Simple... You would have tried to talk me out of all of this. You would have begged me to stay. You would have offered to give everything up for me. And I would have stayed. Or allowed you to give everything up. But then, far in the future, I would have started to resent you for being on a farm where everyone hates me and I can never truly be myself. Or if you gave everything up, you would have resented me for losing everything. That would not have worked out very well. And I'd rather have my heart broken now and continue to love you in my own way forever more, than to go through with this and ending up resenting and maybe even hating you later on. That would not be fair to you. You deserve someone who will fit into your world. I can never be that person, and I am sorry that it took me so very long to realize this. I should have seen it sooner.