Chapter 5: The Secret Marriage

I couldn't stop staring at the photograph.

Derrick stood beside Rosalie in an old ballroom.

They looked younger.

Closer.

Happy, even.

The message beneath the photograph remained on my screen.

"The real reason Derrick married you will destroy your marriage."

I looked up.

Derrick was standing across the room, reviewing documents with Georgina.

He noticed my expression.

"Vera?"

"Who took this photograph?"

He walked toward me.

I showed him the screen.

His face changed immediately.

"Where did you get this?"

"Rosalie."

"What does she mean by the real reason you married me?"

Derrick was silent.

Again.

That terrible silence.

"Derrick."

"There are things I should have told you."

My stomach tightened.

"Then tell me now."

Georgina slowly stood.

"Derrick, don't make this worse."

"I know, Mom."

He looked at me.

"Before I met you, my father made an agreement with Rosalie's family."

"I know about the business alliance."

"That's not all."

He took a breath.

"The agreement included a legal marriage arrangement."

I stared at him.

"A marriage arrangement?"

"Yes."

"Did you marry her?"

"No."

"Were you engaged?"

"Yes."

My heart sank.

I had known about the business alliance.

I hadn't known there had been an actual engagement.

"How long?"

"Almost a year."

"And then you met me."

"Yes."

"So you broke the engagement for me."

"I did."

"Did Rosalie know?"

"She knew it was over."

"Then why does she still act like your wife?"

Derrick looked down.

"Because I never drew a hard enough line."

I laughed bitterly.

"You really have a talent for understatement."

"I thought if I gave her time, she'd accept it."

"Instead, you let her believe she still had a place beside you."

"Yes."

"And you thought I would never find out."

"I wasn't trying to deceive you."

"You were trying to avoid conflict."

"Yes."

"Same result."

He had no answer.

I turned toward the window.

"You know what hurts the most?"

"What?"

"I could have accepted your past."

"I could have understood a broken engagement."

"But you kept protecting her long after she stopped being part of your life."

Derrick's eyes darkened.

"I know."

"I don't expect forgiveness tonight."

I looked at him.

"Good."

My phone vibrated again.

Another message.

"Ask Derrick about the night he signed your marriage papers."

I frowned.

"Marriage papers?"

Derrick immediately stepped forward.

"What message?"

I showed him.

He went pale.

"That's impossible."

"Why?"

"Because our marriage certificate is legitimate."

"I know."

"Then what's the problem?"

He hesitated.

"Before our wedding, there was another document."

"What document?"

"A preliminary family agreement."

"It was supposed to be destroyed after our marriage."

"Was it?"

He didn't answer.

Georgina immediately understood.

"Someone kept a copy."

Derrick nodded.

"It seems so."

I looked at him.

"And what did it say?"

"That our marriage was part of a larger corporate merger."

The words landed heavily.

"So I was a business asset."

"No."

"It sounds like it."

"Vera, I loved you."

"Then why was there a business contract?"

"Because my father wanted protection for the company."

"And you agreed."

"At first."

"Then I changed my mind."

"But the contract was already drafted."

I closed my eyes.

"How much of our marriage was your choice?"

Derrick looked directly at me.

"All of it."

"Except the way it began."

"I chose you."

"I would choose you again."

My eyes stung.

"I want to believe you."

"But right now, I don't know what to believe."

Georgina stepped forward.

"Vera, there's something you should know."

I turned toward her.

"What?"

"The merger agreement never transferred control of your family's assets to Derrick."

"Your family remained independent."

"Your marriage gave the companies access to each other's resources, but not ownership."

I frowned.

"So why does Rosalie keep saying Derrick married me for business?"

"Because she wanted you to believe it."

Derrick nodded.

"And because she knew it would hurt you."

The room became quiet.

Then Derrick's assistant entered.

"Sir, we found Rosalie's location."

"Where?"

"The old Hart residence."

"She accessed the property through an old executive code."

Derrick stood.

"I'm going there."

"I'm coming," I said.

He immediately shook his head.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know what she has planned."

"Exactly."

"That's why I'm coming."

Georgina looked between us.

"She's right."

"You shouldn't go alone."

Derrick finally nodded.

"Fine."

The old Hart residence stood on the edge of the city.

It had belonged to Derrick's grandfather before the family moved its operations downtown.

When we arrived, the doors were already open.

No guards.

No staff.

Only silence.

Derrick entered first.

"Stay close."

"I'm not a child."

"I know."

"Then stop saying that."

We walked into the study.

A laptop sat open on the desk.

Files were displayed across the screen.

Derrick stepped forward.

"She's been copying company records."

"And personal records," I added.

Then I saw something else.

A folder with my name on it.

I opened it.

Inside were copies of my wedding documents.

Medical records.

Financial statements.

And one photograph.

It showed me standing outside the courthouse on the day Derrick and I officially registered our marriage.

Someone had taken it from a distance.

"She's been watching me for years."

Derrick's expression turned cold.

"Apparently."

A voice came from behind us.

"Of course I have."

We turned.

Rosalie stood in the doorway.

"You shouldn't have come."

Derrick stepped in front of me.

"Give me the files."

"No."

"You have no right to keep them."

Rosalie smiled.

"Rights?"

"That's funny coming from you."

"What do you mean?"

"You think you married Vera because you loved her."

"But you don't know what your father promised me."

Derrick's expression changed.

"What did my father promise you?"

"The Hart family would never abandon mine."

"And when he died, you decided the promise meant nothing."

"It didn't mean nothing."

"You gave me access to your company."

"You gave me your name."

"You let me live in your hotel."

"And now you want to pretend I'm a stranger."

Derrick's voice hardened.

"You became dangerous the moment you started hurting people."

"I never hurt anyone."

Georgina stepped forward.

"You nearly drowned me."

Rosalie looked at her.

"That was an accident."

I laughed bitterly.

"You told Dmitry to teach us a lesson."

"You called yourself Derrick's wife."

"You stole company money."

"And now you're pretending to be innocent."

Rosalie's eyes filled with anger.

"You took everything from me."

"No," I replied.

"You lost it because you believed you were entitled to someone else's life."

Her expression hardened.

"You want the truth?"

"Fine."

"Derrick's father never wanted you as his daughter-in-law."

Derrick frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your father wanted my family out of the company after the merger."

"He planned to use Vera's family to replace us."

I looked at Derrick.

"Is that true?"

Derrick shook his head.

"I never heard that."

Rosalie smiled.

"Of course you didn't."

"Your father didn't tell you everything."

"But I have proof."

She opened another folder.

Inside were old correspondence records between Derrick's father and Rosalie's family.

Derrick started reading.

His expression became darker with every page.

"This can't be real."

"It is."

Georgina took the papers.

She read them carefully.

Then her eyes widened.

"Derrick..."

"What?"

"Your father planned to dissolve the old alliance completely."

"Then why did he continue supporting Rosalie's family?"

Rosalie's smile returned.

"Because I had something he wanted."

"What?"

She looked directly at me.

"Your family had a secret."

My heart stopped.

"What secret?"

Rosalie stepped closer.

"Something Derrick never told you."

Derrick's expression hardened.

"Rosalie, stop playing games."

"Ask him," she whispered.

"Ask Derrick what happened to your family's original ownership rights."

I turned toward Derrick.

"What is she talking about?"

Derrick remained silent.

Again.

That same silence.

And this time...

It terrified me.