UP IN FLAMES

Alaric handed Vanessa the document, watching as she read it. She didn’t react, at least not in any outward fashion. She simply flipped to the second page and then the third, before starting over and reading the entire thing again.

“It’s dated before I married him,” she finally said, as if the date explained everything. “Though I have no idea who Chris might be.”

“You don’t know a Christine or maybe a Crystal?” he asked, figuring he might as well probe a bit deeper. “Did you know Christopher was seriously involved with someone right before your marriage?”

Meeting his gaze, she slowly shook her head. “No. Christopher never mentioned anything about a Chris. At all. But then again, he and I never really discussed our previous relationships.”

“Is it possible Christopher and Chris might have been married previously?”

Vanessa appeared shell-shocked. “It’s possible, I guess. Anything is possible at this point.” She shook her head.

“I’ll need to ask Chloe,” Vanessa continued. “She’s been with Christopher a long time and I’ll bet she knew.”

Alaric nodded. He thought back to the complete dossier he’d read on Christopher Wesley. There had been nothing in there about a previous relationship. Which seemed like a huge oversight. Especially since it had been serious enough to warrant drawing up a prenup.

Vanessa put the documents aside. “We’ll stack anything else unusual here. Let’s keep going. We might find more about my husband’s past that I didn’t know.”

Eyeing her, he wondered at the lack of bitterness or rancor in her voice. What the hell had happened between her and Christopher? The Vanessa he saw standing before him looked like a person who was passionate about what she loved. She didn’t look like a person who would shrug off learning her spouse clearly had a past of which she knew nothing. She turned away, immediately diving back into the files. He watched her for another heartbeat or two, before doing the same himself.

The pile of questionable documents grew only slightly. There were some papers that seemed to indicate hidden bank accounts that he wished like hell he could figure out a way to photograph without Vanessa noticing. Since he couldn’t, he settled for hoping he could get back to them later. Finally, after over three hours of sifting and sorting, Vanessa stretched and announced she’d had enough. He looked up and nodded, saying he wanted to finish going through this one file. He held his breath, hoping she’d leave him alone long enough to snap a few pics of the bank information, but she only dropped back into the desk chair and asked him to please hurry up.

“You don’t have to wait,” he said, pushing. “You can go rest in one of the rooms and I can join you once I’m finished.”

Looking down at her hands, which she’d begun twisting in her lap, she didn’t move. Finally, she raised her head. The naked emotion in her gaze hit him like a punch to the gut. “I’ll wait,” she said softly. “Right now, I don’t want to be alone.”

Swallowing past the ache in his throat, he nodded. “I’ll hurry, then.”

When he finished, he carefully closed the file cabinet and headed toward the door, waiting while she closed it after him, using a key she pulled from her jeans pocket to lock it. “I don’t want anyone else to have access to that room after we leave,” she said, correctly interpreting his surprise. “I’m still hoping to find the original copy of his will, even though Chloe seems to think it’s at the office.”

“Why?” he asked, deciding to be blunt. “What’s everyone’s interest in the will? There’s really not a whole lot he can do to cut you out.”

“True. But you saw that other prenup. There could be other women in his past. Who knows if he had other assets or possessions he wants them to have?”

“What aren’t you telling me?” he pushed. “Something isn’t adding up. I caught that his parents seemed awfully intent on finding the will. What is everyone expecting to find out?”

She sighed. “If you really want to know, I think Christopher was involved in a long-term relationship with someone else. For all I know, it might have been with this Chris woman. Clearly, for whatever reason, he couldn’t or wouldn’t marry her. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t want her to have something after he was gone.”

“If he loved her, why on earth would he have married you?”

His sharp comment made her wince. “You should know that sometimes love isn’t enough.” With a sigh, she brushed her hair away from her face. “All Christopher ever wanted was a career in politics. Everything he did-including his job and his friends-was a means toward that end. Christopher married me for that reason alone…. He needed to have a family for his political career. Maybe this Chris, whoever she is, wouldn’t have helped his political aspirations. She might even have hindered it.. Somehow… I don’t know”

“That’s cold-blooded,” he said, before he thought. “Did he actually tell you he married you for that reason?”

And if he had, how had Vanessa, passionate, volatile Vanessa, been able to accept that? The Vanessa he had come to know didn’t look like she would have settled for being second best. But maybe the Vanessa he thought he knew didn’t exist.

“He did,” Vanessa answered, though she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Let’s just go please,”

———-

Back at his house, Vanessa went to the kitchen and began reorganizing the pantry. One thing she liked doing was to keep busy to help distract her when she was worried.

Alaric didn’t even try to stop her. He’d been worried she’d wander around the empty house like a lost ghost. He left her alone for about twenty minutes before he returned to check on her. “Are you alright?” he asked.

Instead of answering, she turned her back to him, and left the kitchen for the den, shoulders silently shaking while she cried. He stared for one long moment, then muttered a curse and followed her. He couldn’t stand to see her hurting so badly.

“Come here,” he muttered, walking up behind her and gently turning her to face him. “It’s going to be alright.” He said softly,