“Claire was the first woman I ever loved,” Dad continued quietly. “But Leonard drew her into his world. Their marriage became ugly after a while. Around that same time, the construction company I worked for collapsed. Leonard helped hide financial fraud connected to it.”
“And Adrian came back because of that?”
Dad glanced uneasily toward the door.
“No. I think he came back because of Claire.”
At that moment, Elise opened the office door.
“Julian wants to speak with her alone.”
Dad stood immediately. “No!”
“I’m not a child,” I snapped.
Reluctantly, he sat back down.
I stepped into the hallway.
My fiancé waited beside the stained-glass windows, looking nervous for the first time since I’d ever known him.
“You lied to me.”
“Not about loving you.”
“Then why hide your real name?”
“Because I knew this would happen the moment your father heard it.”
His voice became quieter.
“My mother spent years trying to understand why her life fell apart. Before she died, she talked about your father constantly.”
“Claire is dead?”
He nodded slowly.
"Mi madre creía que Daniel la había abandonado", dijo Julian. "Ella le culpó hasta el día en que murió."
"¿Así que me encontraste por él?"
"Al principio, sí. Quería respuestas. Pero luego me enamoré de ti."
"¿De verdad esperas que me crea eso?"
"Sé cómo suena. Pero nunca tuve intención de que esto ocurriera hoy."
Busqué desesperadamente en su rostro algo sólido.
En cambio, encontré el duelo.
"¿Alguna vez planeaste contarme la verdad?"
"Sí. Estuve esperando el momento adecuado."
Me reí amargamente. "Estábamos a cinco minutos de casarnos."
Julian bajó aún más la voz.
"Tu padre tampoco es inocente. Mi madre le escribió años después, y nunca respondió."
"Eso es imposible."
"Entonces pregúntale."
Volvimos a la oficina.
"¿Claire te escribió?" Le pregunté a papá.
"Sí."
La rabia me invadió al instante.
"Me dijiste que ella eligió esa vida."
