Why Daniel Needed a Wife
Chapter 05 - Why Daniel Needed a Wife
Daniel told his mother to stop.
Eleanor continued anyway.
“The company has been losing money for eighteen months,” she said. “Daniel’s division is responsible for most of it.”
I looked at my husband.
Again, he did not appear surprised.
The company’s expansion into affordable housing had stalled after a contractor disappeared with several million dollars. Daniel had personally guaranteed portions of two projects.
He had not told me.
Our wedding gifts were stacked in the next room while I learned that my husband carried debts larger than anything I had imagined.
“My money cannot fix that,” I said.
Eleanor gave a dry laugh. “Not your salary.”
Daniel’s voice sharpened. “Mother.”
But I already understood.
My grandmother had left me a small property outside Boston. It had once been a failing orchard. Over the previous decade, the surrounding area had been rezoned for residential development.
Several companies had offered to buy it.
I had refused every offer because the farmhouse was the last place where my parents had lived together before my father died.
One of those offers had come from a Whitmore subsidiary.
“You knew about my property before Daniel met me,” I said.
Eleanor did not answer.
Daniel stepped forward. “I met you by accident.”
“At the hospital fundraiser sponsored by your company?”
“Yes.”
“Did your mother know I would be there?”
He looked at Eleanor.
The silence was devastating.
Eleanor had known.
She claimed she had merely pointed me out because of the land. Daniel insisted he had refused to approach me for business reasons.
He said he had fallen in love with me without ever mentioning the property to his mother again.
“Then why hide the company’s debt?” I asked.
“Because I knew what it would look like.”
“It looks worse because you hid it.”
Lily stood near the doorway, listening despite Anna’s attempt to distract her.
I refused to continue the conversation in front of her.
I took her hand and returned to the bridal suite. Anna helped me remove the veil while Daniel waited outside.
I changed into the simple blue dress I had planned to wear when we left for our honeymoon. Lily put on her sneakers.
The two of us walked through the service hallway to avoid the ballroom.
Before we reached the exit, a hotel employee called my name.
He had found a child-sized suitcase in the coatroom. A tag attached to the handle read LILY WHITMORE—ST. CATHERINE’S ACADEMY.
Inside were pajamas, school uniforms, toiletries, and framed photographs from Lily’s bedroom.
Someone had packed enough for several months.
Lily stared at the suitcase.
“Daddy said nobody was sending me tonight,” she whispered.
The employee handed me an envelope that had been tucked beneath the clothes.
May you like
On the front, in Eleanor’s handwriting, were the words:
For Lily’s first night away.
