PART 3 — THE FILE HE NEVER KNEW I KEPT
That night, I returned to the house alone.
For the first time in three years, it didn't feel like my home.
It felt like a museum.
A museum dedicated to a marriage that had already died.
I walked into the bedroom.
Aaron's side of the bed was untouched.
His watch box was empty.
His clothes were gone because I had sent them to his office.
I opened the bottom drawer of my nightstand.
Inside was a small black folder.
I had kept it there for years.
Not because I expected to use it.
Because my grandfather had told me never to destroy evidence simply because I hoped I would never need it.
I opened the folder.
Bank statements.
Investment records.
Correspondence.
And one document dated seven months before Aaron proposed.
I stared at it.
Then I read the name.
Prescott Global Acquisition Division.
My hands went cold.
Why would my grandfather have a document connected to Aaron's company?
I turned the page.
It was an internal report.
Prescott Global had been considering acquiring a smaller investment firm.
The firm belonged to my grandfather.
At the bottom of the report was a handwritten note.
Do not proceed. Ownership is changing.
I swallowed.
My grandfather had never told me.
I continued reading.
There were several pages.
Then I found Aaron's name.
Not as CEO.
Not as an executive.
As a junior financial strategist.
Aaron had been involved in the acquisition research.
Before we met.
I sat on the edge of the bed.
“No…”
I turned another page.
There it was.
A photograph.
Aaron.
Standing outside my grandfather's office.
Three months before our first date.
My heart began pounding.
I had met Aaron at a charity event.
Or at least…
that's what I had always believed.
But the photograph proved he knew my family before he knew me.
I called Nathan.
He answered immediately.
“Claire?”
“I found something.”
“Tell me.”
“I found documents showing Aaron had been involved in research concerning my grandfather's company before we met.”
Silence.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
“Don't touch anything else.”
“Why?”
“Because this may be bigger than the divorce.”
I closed my eyes.
“I think my marriage may have started as a business transaction.”
Nathan exhaled slowly.
“Bring everything to me tomorrow morning.”
I hung up.
Then I heard something.
A car outside.
I looked through the window.
Aaron.
He stepped out of the vehicle.
For a moment, I simply watched him.
He looked exhausted.
He walked toward the house.
The door opened.
He stopped when he saw me.
“Claire.”
I said nothing.
He removed his jacket.
“I've been calling you all day.”
“I noticed.”
“Can we talk?”
“No.”
His face fell.
“Please.”
That word.
I had waited three years to hear it.
Once, it would have broken me.
Now it didn't.
He stepped closer.
“Jasmine means nothing to me.”
I laughed quietly.
“That's what you're going with?”
“Because it's true.”
“You spent the night with her.”
“It wasn't what you think.”
“Then what was it?”
He hesitated.
That hesitation told me more than an answer could.
I crossed my arms.
“Why did you marry me, Aaron?”
His face changed.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Because I loved you.”
“Did you know my grandfather before we met?”
He froze.
I watched the color drain from his face.
That was the moment I knew.
He had known.
“How much?” I asked.
“Claire…”
“How much did you know about my family?”
He looked away.
“Not enough to matter.”
I stepped toward him.
“You're lying.”
He became defensive.
“You're getting information from Nathan.”
“No.”
I held up the photograph.
Aaron stared at it.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
Then he whispered:
“Where did you get that?”
“My grandfather's files.”
His jaw tightened.
“Claire, there are things you don't understand.”
“Then explain them.”
“I can't.”
“Can't?”
“I promised someone.”
“Who?”
He didn't answer.
I felt something inside me break.
Not my heart.
Something else.
The last piece of trust.
“Aaron.”
He finally looked at me.
“Did you marry me because of my grandfather's company?”
“No.”
“Did you marry me because you thought I would inherit it?”
“No.”
“Did someone tell you to get close to me?”
Silence.
I didn't need another answer.
I stepped back.
Aaron's voice became desperate.
“Claire, please. It's not what you think.”
I looked at him.
“You know what's funny?”
“What?”
“For three years, I thought you were hiding another woman.”
I shook my head.
“But apparently, you were hiding an entire reason for marrying me.”
He moved toward me.
I raised my hand.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
“I want you out of this house tonight.”
“Claire—”
“Your lawyer can speak to mine.”
He stared at me.
“You're really ending this?”
I looked at him.
“No.”
He frowned.
“You ended it three years ago.”
He left without another word.
The moment the door closed, I returned to the folder.
There was one final envelope.
It had never been opened.
My grandfather's handwriting was on the front.
For Claire. Only after she discovers the truth.
My hands trembled.
I opened it.
Inside was a single letter.
I read the first sentence.
And everything changed.
Claire, if you're reading this, then Aaron Prescott has finally shown you who he really is.
I stopped breathing.
Because my grandfather had written the letter…
two years before I met Aaron.
* * *
