But I had never received any of them.
Because, according to William, someone had made sure I never saw them.
I looked at Rick.
“Did you keep these from me?”
He said nothing.
“Rick, answer me.”
His silence was an answer.
Anna began crying.
“He intercepted them.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“Why?”
Rick finally sat down.
His hands were shaking.
“When we were teenagers, my father was helping me financially.”
I stared at him.
“He knew William wanted to be with you.”
Rick swallowed.
“My father didn’t approve.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted William focused on the family.”
“And you helped him?”
Rick looked at the floor.
“I was young.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“No.”
His voice cracked.
“It isn’t.”
He admitted that he had taken letters.
He admitted that he had lied to William.
He admitted that he had made William believe I no longer wanted anything to do with him.
And then, years later, he had found me again.
After Daniel died.
Rick knew who I was.
He knew about William.
He knew the history.
Yet he still pursued me.
He still proposed.
He still married me.
I stared at the man sitting across from me.
“Did you marry me because of William?”
