Chapter Two — The Man at the Door
I stared at the bedroom door.
Then at Veronica.
Then back at the door.
"Who is he?"
My voice came out quieter than I expected.
Veronica didn't answer.
Her lips trembled.
I stepped toward her.
"Veronica."
She flinched.
That hurt more than it should have.
Not because she was afraid of me.
Because I suddenly realized how little I knew about my own wife.
We had been married for less than a day, and already there was a stranger standing outside our bedroom claiming I needed to know the truth.
I reached for the doorknob.
Veronica grabbed my wrist.
"Don't."
I looked down at her hand.
Then into her eyes.
"Why?"
"Because you don't understand."
"Then explain it."
She shook her head.
"I can't."
"Can't or won't?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Stanley, please."
I had never heard my name sound so desperate.
I lowered my voice.
"Who is he?"
She swallowed.
"His name is Adrian."
The name meant nothing to me.
"Who is Adrian?"
She looked toward the door.
"My past."
Before I could ask what that meant, the man outside spoke again.
"Veronica, I know you're in there."
My jaw tightened.
I opened the door.
The man standing outside was tall, sharply dressed, and completely calm.
He looked at me.
Then at Veronica.
His expression changed when he saw her standing behind me.
For a few seconds, none of us spoke.
Then Adrian smiled.
Not warmly.
Almost sadly.
"Congratulations."
I stepped into the doorway.
"Who are you?"
He looked directly at me.
"I'm someone who knows your wife better than you do."
Veronica whispered my name.
"Stanley..."
I ignored her.
"Why are you here?"
Adrian reached into his jacket.
Veronica gasped.
"Don't!"
He stopped.
Then slowly removed his hand.
There was no weapon.
Only a small envelope.
He held it out.
"She was supposed to give you this."
I didn't take it.
"What is it?"
"Something she promised you would never have to see."
My eyes moved toward Veronica.
She was crying now.
"Is that true?"
She shook her head.
"No."
Adrian gave a bitter laugh.
"Still protecting him."
I turned toward him.
"Leave."
He looked amused.
"You really don't want to know?"
"I said leave."
He placed the envelope on a small table beside the door.
Then he leaned closer.
"Ask your wife why she chose you."
He turned and walked away.
I watched him disappear down the hallway.
Then I shut the door.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
I turned around.
Veronica was standing beside the bed.
Her shoulders were shaking.
I walked toward her.
"What did he mean?"
She wiped her cheeks.
"I don't know."
"Don't lie to me."
She looked up sharply.
"I'm not."
"Then why did he say you chose me?"
She said nothing.
I picked up the envelope.
Her eyes widened.
"Stanley, don't."
I stared at her.
"Why?"
"Because..."
Her voice broke.
"Because what's inside will make you hate me."
I slowly opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
I pulled it out.
My heart stopped.
It showed Veronica.
She looked younger.
Maybe twenty-two.
She was standing beside Adrian.
And they weren't merely standing together.
She was wearing a ring.
A diamond ring.
On her left hand.
My eyes moved from the photograph to her face.
"What is this?"
She closed her eyes.
"I can explain."
"When were you engaged?"
"I wasn't."
I held up the photograph.
"You're wearing an engagement ring."
She shook her head.
"It wasn't an engagement."
"Then what was it?"
She stared at the floor.
"A promise."
My stomach tightened.
"What kind of promise?"
She didn't answer.
I felt something inside me crack.
"Veronica."
She finally looked at me.
"I promised Adrian something."
"What?"
Her voice became barely audible.
"That I would never marry anyone else."
I stared at her.
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
Then I laughed once.
It wasn't because anything was funny.
"You promised him that?"
"Yes."
"And then you married me."
"Yes."
"Why?"
She stepped toward me.
"Because things changed."
"What changed?"
"You."
I shook my head.
"Don't say that."
"But it's true."
"You barely knew me."
"I knew enough."
I looked away.
This was absurd.
We had spent months getting to know each other.
At least, I thought we had.
She had been quiet about her past, but I'd assumed she simply wanted privacy.
I hadn't realized there was another man.
A promise.
A history.
And perhaps a reason for our marriage I had never considered.
"Did you love him?"
She didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
I closed my eyes.
Jealousy surged through me, hot and immediate.
I hated it.
I hated the image of her with another man.
I hated imagining that someone had once held the place I wanted in her heart.
But most of all, I hated that she was standing in front of me looking as though she expected me to leave.
I opened my eyes.
"Did he hurt you?"
Her expression changed.
"No."
"Did you love him?"
She whispered, "Yes."
The word landed heavily between us.
I nodded slowly.
"Thank you for telling me."
She looked confused.
"That's all?"
"No."
I put the photograph down.
"It's not all."
I walked closer.
"But I'm not going to punish you for having a life before me."
Her eyes filled again.
"I thought you'd leave."
"I'm angry."
"I know."
"I'm confused."
"I know."
"But I'm still your husband."
Her lips parted.
I reached for her hand.
She let me take it.
"Whatever happened before me, I need you to tell me the truth now."
She nodded.
"I will."
"Everything?"
"Everything."
I studied her face.
Then I asked the question I had been afraid to ask.
"Why did you marry me?"
Her breathing changed.
She looked down at our hands.
"Because I was trying to escape him."
I frowned.
"Escape?"
She nodded.
"Adrian wasn't supposed to find me."
A chill ran down my spine.
"What do you mean?"
She pulled her hand away.
"He doesn't accept rejection."
I suddenly understood why she had looked frightened when he arrived.
"Has he threatened you?"
She hesitated.
"Not directly."
"Veronica."
"He told me that if I married someone else, he'd make sure I regretted it."
My blood ran cold.
"And you never told me?"
"I didn't want you involved."
"You married me and thought I wouldn't be involved?"
"I thought if he believed I'd disappeared, he'd eventually stop."
I stared at her.
"And now?"
She looked toward the door.
"Now he knows where I am."
Neither of us spoke.
Then my phone rang.
I looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
I answered.
"Hello?"
Nothing.
Then a man's voice whispered:
"She never told you the whole story."
My eyes went to Veronica.
"Adrian?"
The line went dead.
Veronica's face had gone pale.
"What did he say?"
I didn't answer.
My phone buzzed again.
A message.
I opened it.
There was a photograph.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
It showed Veronica standing outside a hospital.
Beside her was Adrian.
And between them was a little girl.
I stared at the picture.
Veronica saw my face.
"What is it?"
I turned the phone toward her.
She froze.
The color drained from her cheeks.
"Where did he get that?"
"I was hoping you could tell me."
She took one step backward.
"Stanley..."
"Who is the child?"
She covered her mouth.
Tears immediately filled her eyes.
"Please."
I felt my entire world shift.
"Veronica."
She shook her head.
"I wanted to tell you."
"Who is that little girl?"
She looked at me.
Then she whispered something that I never expected to hear.
"She's my daughter."
My heart stopped.
"And Adrian?"
Veronica closed her eyes.
"He is her father."
I couldn't move.
I couldn't speak.
Then she looked at me with an expression filled with fear.
"But Stanley..."
"What?"
She swallowed.
"There is something else you don't know."
A second message appeared on my phone.
I opened it.
Four words stared back at me.
Ask her who you are.
