I gripped the chair.
“And you knew?”
“Not at first.”
“When did you find out?”
He hesitated.
“Before we married.”
My heart sank.
He had known about the troubling history before our wedding.
Before the flowers.
Before the promises.
Before convincing me that our relationship was a beautiful second chance.
I looked directly at him.
“Did you choose me because I resembled Evelyn?”
Tears filled his eyes.
“Not only because of that.”
His answer devastated me.
“How did you find me?”
“At a charity fundraiser.”
I remembered meeting him at an event supporting retired teachers.
He had approached me after my speech about children’s literacy.
But now I realized our meeting hadn’t been entirely accidental.
Daniel admitted he’d first seen my photograph in a database associated with the research program.
He’d learned about my background before introducing himself.
My age.
My career.
My family.
Even certain personal preferences.
Suddenly, all his thoughtful gestures seemed different.
The flowers.
