I stopped.
I couldn’t continue.
The lawyer quietly said,
“Take your time.”
I forced myself to read.
You may believe I married you because I loved you.
I looked up.
Rebecca’s expression changed.
Then I continued.
And I did.
My chest tightened.
But there was another reason.
I read the next line twice.
I had known your family long before I ever met you.
I stopped breathing.
I looked at the lawyer.
“What?”
He said nothing.
I looked back at the letter.
Your mother worked for my family when she was young.
She knew my first wife.
And twenty years ago, she came to me asking for help.
My hands trembled.
I had heard my mother mention the Hale family only once.
She had always refused to explain.
I kept reading.
I didn’t help her when I should have.
That sentence changed everything.
The room seemed to disappear around me.
