Chapter 8: The Photograph That Changed Her Marriage
Sarah closed the apartment door.
She turned toward Arnold.
“I'm listening.””
Arnold remained standing near the entrance.
Laura sat on the sofa, her hands clasped tightly together.
“Please sit down,” he suggested.
“No,” Sarah replied.
“I've spent enough time sitting while people decide what I'm allowed to know.””
Arnold nodded.
“Fair enough.””
He took a moment before speaking.
“Ben met Rebecca because she had information connected to his past.””
“What past?””
“Before you and Ben got married, he was involved in a situation that never reached a proper conclusion.””
Sarah frowned.
“What situation?””
Arnold glanced at Laura.
“Your sister may know more about that part.””
Sarah turned toward Laura.
Laura wiped her cheeks.
“Ben told me that Rebecca had been trying to contact him for a long time. He finally agreed to meet her because she claimed she had something important to share.””
“Why didn't he tell me?””
“Because he was afraid of what you might think.””
Sarah shook her head.
“That makes no sense. If someone from his past was contacting him, why would he hide it?””
Arnold answered.
“Because the situation involved someone who had once been close to both of you.””
Sarah's eyes widened.
“Someone close to both of us?””
He nodded.
“Rebecca knew details about Ben that he had never shared with you.””
Sarah looked at the photograph again.
“Who is she to him?””
Arnold hesitated.
“That's something Ben needs to explain.””
Sarah slammed her palm against the table.
“Stop!””
The folder shifted slightly.
“I'm tired of everyone telling me what Ben needs to explain. He has had weeks to explain it. If he refuses, then someone else has to tell me what they know.””
Arnold looked at her with a mixture of concern and sympathy.
“You're right to demand answers.””
“Then give me one.””
He nodded slowly.
“Ben was helping Rebecca resolve a personal matter. But during that process, he discovered that some of the information she had given him was incomplete.””
“What information?””
“Documents. Dates. Statements from people who were involved.””
Sarah sat down at last.
“Was he investigating her?””
“Not exactly.””
“Then what?””
Arnold leaned against the table.
“He was trying to understand why she had suddenly returned.””
Sarah looked at Laura.
“You knew about this?””
Laura nodded.
“Some of it.””
“Why did you agree to help him?””
“Because he asked me to check something.””
“What?””
Laura reached into the folder and removed a folded sheet.
She placed it in front of Sarah.
It contained a handwritten timeline.
Several dates were listed, beginning before Sarah and Ben's wedding.
Sarah recognized one immediately.
It was the date of her first meeting with Ben.
She remembered that evening clearly.
A small café.
A sudden rainstorm.
Ben offering her his umbrella after she had forgotten hers.
He had laughed when she refused to share it because she didn't want to get his jacket wet.
They had spent nearly two hours talking.
Sarah looked at the date.
“Why is this here?””
Laura swallowed.
“Rebecca said she knew Ben before that evening.””
Sarah stared.
“That's impossible.””
“That's what Ben thought.””
“Ben told me we met for the first time at that café.””
Laura nodded.
“But Rebecca claims they had already met.””
Sarah looked at Arnold.
“Is that why he's been hiding things?””
Arnold didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he opened the folder and examined one of the documents.
“There are inconsistencies in Rebecca's account. Ben has been trying to establish which details are accurate.””
Sarah's hands tightened around the paper.
“Why didn't he simply ask her?””
“He did.””
“And?””
“She refused to give him a complete explanation.””
Sarah looked down.
The photograph suddenly seemed more disturbing than before.
She turned it over again.
The date was several months old.
Ben and Rebecca were standing outside a building. They weren't holding hands. They weren't embracing.
But they were standing close enough to suggest familiarity.
Sarah pointed at the picture.
“Why did Laura have this?””
Laura answered quietly.
“Ben gave it to me.””
“Why?””
“He wanted me to keep it safe.””
Sarah looked at her sister.
“Safe from whom?””
Laura lowered her eyes.
“From anyone who might misunderstand what it meant.””
Sarah laughed without humor.
“That's exactly what I'm doing now.””
Arnold took the photograph from the table and examined its back.
“There is something written here that I haven't seen before.””
He turned it toward Sarah.
Below the original sentence was a second line, almost hidden by the edge of the paper.
Ask about the night of the storm.
Sarah stared.
“What night?””
Arnold looked at her.
“Does that date mean anything to you?””
She checked the photograph again.
Then she suddenly remembered.
It was the night Ben had told her he needed to travel for work.
He had left their apartment shortly after dinner.
He returned the following morning, unusually quiet.
Sarah had asked whether everything had gone well.
He had kissed her forehead and said, “It's over now.””
She had never asked what he meant.
She looked up.
“Ben told me he had a work emergency that night.””
Arnold nodded.
“According to the information we've seen, he wasn't where he said he was.””
Sarah's face tightened.
“Where was he?””
Arnold looked toward Laura.
Laura began shaking her head.
“Please, Sarah. Don't jump to conclusions.””
“Then tell me where he was!””
Laura covered her mouth.
Arnold spoke carefully.
“He was meeting Rebecca.””
Sarah stared at the photograph.
A terrible silence filled the apartment.
“So he lied about where he was.””
“Yes,” Arnold admitted.
“And you knew?””
Laura nodded.
Sarah stood up.
“Both of you knew.””
Neither replied.
She walked toward the window.
Her reflection stared back at her.
For months, she had blamed herself for the distance between them.
She had wondered whether she had become boring, whether she had stopped paying attention, whether she had failed to notice that Ben needed her.
Now she was discovering that the people closest to her had been hiding entire pieces of his life.
Her phone vibrated.
A call.
Ben.
Sarah answered immediately.
“Ben?””
His voice sounded weak.
“Where are you?””
“With Laura.””
A pause.
“Is Arnold there?””
“Yes.””
“Put him on the phone.””
Sarah tightened her grip.
“No.””
“Sarah, please.””
“I'm looking at your photograph. I'm looking at the documents. I know you met Rebecca on the night you told me you were working.””
Ben became silent.
“Why did you lie?””
“It's not what you think.””
“Then tell me what it is!””
His breathing became uneven.
“Sarah, you need to come back to the hospital.””
“Why?””
“Because there's something I have to show you.””
She looked at Arnold.
“What?””
Ben lowered his voice.
“The truth about Rebecca.””
Sarah closed her eyes.
“I'm coming.””
Then Ben said something else.
“And Sarah?””
“Yes?””
“Don't let Laura give you the second envelope.””
Sarah turned sharply toward her sister.
Laura had gone completely still.
Sarah slowly lowered the phone.
“What second envelope?””
Ben didn't answer.
The call ended.
Sarah looked at Laura.
Her sister was now staring at the bottom drawer of the dining table.
Sarah walked toward it.
“Laura.””
“Please.””
“What is inside that drawer?””
Laura stood up.
“Sarah, you don't understand.””
Sarah pulled the drawer open.
Inside was another sealed envelope.
This one had no name on the front.
Only a date.
The date of Sarah and Ben's wedding.
She picked it up.
And for the first time, Arnold looked genuinely frightened.
“Sarah,” he whispered, “you shouldn't open that here.””
She turned toward him.
“Why?””
May you like
He looked at the envelope.
“Because what's inside may explain why Ben has been trying so desperately to keep the past buried.””
