the bucket list | lrh

46 - hornorable mention/kissing in the rain

Kellianne had never wanted to hide the important information from her own daughter. She never wanted to wrong her own blood that way, but eighteen years ago it felt like she didn't have a choice.

"You're pregnant with my husbands daughter, yes I think we should talk about it," Deleany huffed, crossing her arms to show that she wasn't going to budge about this.

"I already told you, there's no way in hell I'm going to lie to my own daughter," Kellianne stood her ground, mentally battling herself to stay upright. This was a conversation she was nowhere near ready to face. Had the circumstances been any different, and if Scout was a single man when they had hooked up, the blonde woman may have felt a little less guilty. But there she was, pregnant with a married mans daughter. And what's worse, she was hiding it from her two year old as well.

"I don't care. Unless you want everyone in this town to know about your little affair with my damn husband, you're going to stay away for longer. And when she is born, I will raise her as my own."

Deleany Leonard wasn't a harsh woman, in fact she was very kind at heart. She was the purest soul many had ever met, but not when she felt cornered. Deleany was—much like Valentine would grow up to be—very sensitive when it came to family. She felt absolutely destroyed by Scout's cheating, and she felt even worse that he'd be having a daughter that wasn't her own. So she compromised... sort of. She would work on forgiving her husband... if she could raise Valentine as her own.

"Deleany, you know how insane you sound right now? I know you... this isn't you..." Kellianne surrendered, knowing damn well the woman was not known for giving up. Especially when it came to something personal to her, Deleany Leonard was determined and adamant.

"Yeah, I know. But it's not like you could never see her..." Deleany tried her best to be convincing, but it didn't seem to phase Kellianne much. She had already realized the disadvantage she was at, and she knew there was no winning in this situation.

When Deleany passed away not long after that argument, Kellianne was destroyed. She had known the woman since high school, and it tore her apart to know that she had ruined that friendship by sleeping with her husband. She felt dirty, and hated herself for never resolving their conflict. What they had before was a relationship stronger than any marriage could be, and they were inseparable. After the news broke, Kellianne didn't get to rebound. Deleany passed away before she could even try.

It was a natural death, as Deleany had been very sick since a young age. It was anticipated to be early, but that didn't soften the blow much. Kellianne wanted to do right by her old best friend, and so she stayed true to her word. She kept that godforsaken secret from Valentine for eighteen years, just to somehow please Deleany's spirit.

When Valentine's eighteenth birthday rolled around, she was busy with finals. It was her senior year, and Kellianne didn't want to drop the bomb and mess anything up for the girl. So she stalled, and she waited even longer to tell her. Then summer came, and Adeline passed away. Kellianne felt she couldn't possibly add on to the tragedies in Valentine's life, and so she waited even longer.

And then Mary walked in on her and Scout together. And that was when Kellianne knew she couldn't hide it any longer. After many drawn out conversations with Scout, they agreed that now was a better time than ever. The girl had finally been getting better, and Scout felt she could finally handle it.

But Scout was far from right. Valentine could've gone her entire life without knowing that her birth mother was actually her best friends mother.

And much like Deleany, Valentine Leonard didn't do well when cornered.