Chapter 5 - Vanessa Entered Nathan’s Life Twice
The next morning I canceled the wedding.
Not postponed.
Canceled.
Vendors were notified.
Guests received a short statement citing a private family matter.
Vanessa did not fight me.
That almost made me angrier.
“You should have told me when we met again.”
“Yes.”
“You recognized me at the gala.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Rachel was my wife.”
“Yes.”
“And you dated me anyway.”
Her answer took several seconds.
“Yes.”
I wanted a villain.
Someone simple enough to hate cleanly.
Vanessa refused to become one.
She admitted she had avoided me for years after Rachel died.
Then we crossed paths at the charity gala.
I did not recognize her.
She recognized me immediately.
She told herself the past was finished.
Martin was dead.
Rachel was dead.
The money had stopped moving.
She convinced herself telling me would only reopen grief.
Then she fell in love with me.
“Every month you waited made the truth worse,” I said.
“I know.”
“And when Emma found the backpack?”
“I panicked.”
“You told my daughter she had to leave her own home.”
Vanessa covered her face.
“I know.”
That was the part I could not move past.
May you like
Whatever fear Vanessa carried, she had aimed it at a five-year-old
child.
