Chapter 100 – The Hidden Heiress

I was hesitant. Roscoe was a rescue dog and there was no telling how he would react to a small child laying their hands on him.

“Try putting your hand out for him to sniff first,” I said quietly “so that he knows you are a friend.”

She obligingly held out the hand that wasn’t currently held to her mouth and Roscoe sniffed before his tongue darted out and he licked the little girl’s hand, making her giggle. She patted his head before I could say anything and he wagged his tail. “Good doggy,” she said, as her mother came and grabbed her before she could keep going “look mummy, puppy,” she said happily as the mother smiled at me and led her child away.

“Good boy Roscoe” I murmured.

So he didn’t mind children either, but hadn’t taken to anybody in the rescue? Strange. The little girl’s bravery in approaching meant that a whole host of other children came over wanting to pat the German Shepherd who was only to happy to let them pat him, while I kept a wary eye, concerned that he might grow snappy or bite but he proved me wrong and soon I was having to stand up and begin to lead him back to the house, to the children’s disappointment.

“Can you come again?” one called as I began to head towards the gate that led out.

I smiled over my shoulder “I’ll try. Roscoe sure likes it here, don’t you Roscoe?” I asked, patting him on the shoulder.

The children cheered, making me giggle as we waved goodbye. My mood improved slightly and I had a bounce in my step as we began to slowly walk home, Roscoe’s tail wagging back and forth at a frantic rate.

“You had fun, huh Roscoe,” I said with a giggle, the Shepherd looking at me with bright eyes and his tongue lolling out.

He nudged my hand and bounded forward a few steps, growing more excited as we drew closer to home.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling hungry,” I said laughing “I’m going to make some lunch and then maybe we can curl up on the couch and watch a movie together” I proposed to the dog who seemed very taken with the idea, although maybe it might have just been the word lunch that had gotten his attention. We began to walk up the long driveway, the breeze causing my hair to billow out around my shoulders as I blinked and sighed, feeling the coolness against my bare skin.

I frowned as I drew nearer to the door. Strange. When I had left the door had been blank. Nothing there. But now, there was a large white envelope that had been taped to it. I began to walk a little slower, glancing over my shoulder uneasily. Roscoe was confused by my sudden change in pace, his ears pricking as he gave a whine. There was nobody there, else Roscoe would have sought them out, I tried to convince myself. But why would somebody have left a white envelope taped to the door? I peered at it. There was no address on the front, no message, no name. It was blank. I felt a sense of trepidation as I pulled it from the door, before unlocking it and walking inside. I could feel something inside the envelope as I began to let Roscoe off his lead, the dog bounding away to go and get a drink of water, lapping thirstily away as I shut the door and carefully locked it, my heart beginning to pound.

My fingers trembled as I began to tear the envelope open. It ripped open with ease and I sat down on the sofa, as my hand reached in and pulled out several photographs. Initially, I thought they might have been the photos that had been taken of me and Grayson at the engagement party, but that soon disappeared as I took a close look at them. They were photos of Grayson, with another woman and they were having an intimate moment together. He was kissing her, his hand gripping her cheek, the woman dressed in a formal gown, her long black hair reaching past her hips. Her dress was pulled down to her hips and her bare breasts were exposed and the photo looked as though it had been taken in a bedroom. I looked a little closer. It was not Grayson’s bedroom I noted, the interior was a lot different.

I tried to convince myself that this had to have been before he got together with me. It had to be right. But the nausea inside of me continued. I had been blind before when it came to Johnathon, was I oblivious to my new husband as well? Was I being too trustworthy when it came to Grayson? Should I be more suspicious, more questioning? I rushed to the kitchen and threw up in the sink, turning the water on and cleaning it, before wiping my mouth.

I was a fool, I thought bitterly. I turned back to the pictures. They were dated a few days after our wedding ceremony. My hands shook violently. Roscoe whined from the corner of the living room, a whine of distress. I gathered the photos up, carefully leaving them in the middle of the coffee table. Gone was my happy mood from before. Gone was the lightheartedness as I walked back to the house. Now I was filled with suspicion and dread. I closed my eyes, sinking onto the couch.

Was I doomed to trust the wrong men? I wanted to cry, but I blinked back the tears. What a fool I’d been. When was I going to learn my lesson? The worst thing wasn’t that he’d cheated on me or that I was so naive as to believe he’d been loyal, no that wasn’t the worst thing. The worst thing was, I was forced to realize as I stared down at those photos, my heart felt like it had been torn from my chest, the worst thing was that I had started to fall in love with my husband and that felt like the worst betrayal of all.

Grayson POV

Timothy came back from lunch with a big smile on his face, even as he eyed me warily, putting his coat and wallet down.

“Nice lunch?” I enquired smoothly.

“It was fantastic,” he said “Sir about Rachel, she didn’t mean to…”

“She meant exactly what she said” my voice was sharp but not angry “and I cannot blame her for wanting to protect her friend” I added a little softer, causing Timothy to look relieved “in fact she did me a favor by forcing me to acknowledge the feelings I have for my wife. I love her Timothy” I admitted, my assistant gaping at me “something I never thought would happen.”

“Well that’s fantastic,” he said with a stunned expression “when are you going to tell her?” he asked.

I frowned “I don’t know. I haven’t exactly ever said the words to any woman before. I don’t want to just blurt them out” I muttered, tapping a pencil on the desk as Timothy casually opened his own laptop and began to type away “I mean a woman expects it to be some sort of grand declaration don’t they?” I added with a sidelong glance at my assistant.

“Not always, sometimes just saying the words is enough,” he said nonchalantly “I gather that with your wife, pardon me for saying it, but your wife is not the type to want over-the-top romantic gestures. It’s the small and simple things that have the most effect on her.”

He was right. We spent the next few hours in comfortable silence, getting as much work as we could do. I pushed my chair back and coughed. “I’m going home now Timothy, you should too” I advised him with a grin, putting together my briefcase and grabbing my wallet.

“It’s not yet 5 pm sir” Timothy argued, glancing at the clock “I’m meant to work until then.”

“Go home early,” I said dismissively “That’s an order, not a request.”

He shrugged, hardly about to argue, and began to gather his things. Besides it was only half an hour. We walked out to my car and I waved goodbye as I climbed in.

I was impatient to get back to my wife. A smile curved on my lips. I wondered what her day had been like. What she might have done. I hoped she was home to greet me. I wanted to kiss her on the lips and talk to her. I wanted to hold her in my arms and feel the warmth of her body against my own. I was filled with anticipation as the limousine pulled up to the top of the driveway and I almost sprinted to the front door, unlocking it eagerly and walking inside.

Immediately I saw Flair’s body on the couch, curled up, and I headed towards her.

“How was your…” I began when I noticed how stiff she was and how angry her eyes were.

Something was wrong. I felt a chill. “Flair, what’s wrong, what is it?” I asked sharply as she avoided my eyes.

I put my briefcase down and strode towards her. I felt a terrible sense of foreboding. There was such anger in her eyes, that it made me flinch. Her voice when she spoke was dripping with venom “Why don’t you explain these to me.”

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