Chapter 2: The Secret Hidden Beneath the Wedding Flowers
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Lauren seemed to realize she had said too much.
She straightened her veil and forced a smile.
“Nothing, Daniel. I'm upset. That's all.””
But Daniel didn't look convinced.
“Then explain what you meant.””
“Can we please stop doing this in front of everyone?””
“You were comfortable slapping my mother in front of everyone.””
Her mouth opened.
Then closed.
I sat beneath Daniel's jacket, holding the broken stems of my roses in my lap.
The ballroom had become unbearable.
I could hear whispers from every direction.
Some guests were taking photographs. Others were pretending to check their phones.
I wanted to disappear.
“Daniel,” I said softly, “let's go home.””
He looked at me.
“Not until I know what she meant.””
Lauren shook her head.
“Your mother knows exactly what she did.””
I looked up.
“What did I do, Lauren?””
She turned toward me.
For the first time that afternoon, her eyes settled directly on mine.
“You've been interfering in our relationship since the beginning.””
I frowned.
“I have?””
“You think because you raised Daniel alone, you own him.””
“Lauren, I've never asked him to choose between us.””
“Oh, please. Every Sunday, there's another phone call. Another emergency. Another little story about how lonely you are.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“That's enough.””
But Lauren kept going.
“Your mother doesn't want you to have a wife, Daniel. She wants you to remain her little boy forever.””
I looked at my son.
He knew how untrue that was.
I had encouraged every relationship he had ever had. When he met Lauren, I was the first person to suggest that he invite her to dinner.
I had even helped her choose the engagement ring.
But there was something else.
Something I hadn't told Daniel.
Three weeks earlier, Lauren had visited my house alone.
She arrived in a white Mercedes, wearing oversized sunglasses and carrying a leather handbag.
I remembered the sound of her heels on my kitchen tiles.
She hadn't asked for coffee.
She hadn't asked how I was.
She had placed a folder on my dining table.
“Mrs. Bennett, we need to discuss something.””
I had been washing dishes.
“What is it, dear?””
She opened the folder.
Inside were several documents concerning my house.
My little house.
The house where Daniel had grown up.
The house his father and I had bought when we were twenty-eight.
Lauren tapped one page with a manicured fingernail.
“Daniel and I are planning our future. We need to know whether you're willing to transfer the property.””
I stared at her.
“Transfer it?””
“Into Daniel's name, obviously. Eventually, it will belong to him anyway.””
I dried my hands.
“It's already his home whenever he needs it.””
“That's not what I mean.””
She pushed another document toward me.
“We want to renovate it and use the land behind the house for a guest property.””
I looked at the drawing.
The garden was gone.
The rose bushes were gone.
Even the old apple tree Daniel's father had planted was marked for removal.
“I'm sorry,” I said.
“I can't agree to this.””
Lauren's expression changed.
“Why not?””
“Because this is my home.””
She leaned back.
“Daniel will inherit it.””
“When the time comes, that's between Daniel and me.””
She laughed quietly.
“You're making this unnecessarily difficult.””
I folded the papers and pushed them back.
“Then I'm afraid I can't help you.””
For a moment, she said nothing.
Then she leaned across the table.
“Mrs. Bennett, I don't think you understand how expensive Daniel's lifestyle is going to become.””
I frowned.
“What does that have to do with my house?””
“Everything. He has responsibilities now. A wife.
A family. We need financial security.””
“Daniel has a good job.””
“Not enough for the life I want.””
Her words were so casual that I almost thought I had misunderstood.
Then she added, “You could at least contribute something.””
I looked at the woman my son intended to marry.
And I understood, for the first time, that she wasn't asking for a home.
She was asking for an asset.
I refused.
She left without saying goodbye.
And I never mentioned the visit to Daniel.
I didn't want to poison his happiness.
Now, standing in that ballroom, I realized my silence might have allowed something much worse to happen.
“Mom?””
Daniel's voice pulled me back.
He was kneeling beside my chair.
“What is she talking about?””
I looked at Lauren.
Her expression was almost pleading now.
Not with me.
With Daniel.
“Nothing,” I whispered.
Daniel shook his head.
“Mom, please. Tell me.””
I took a breath.
“Lauren came to my house three weeks ago.””
His face tightened.
“What for?””
“She brought some papers.””
“What papers?””
I looked down at my hands.
“She wanted me to sign over the house.””
Daniel stood.
The silence that followed was different from the earlier silence.
This one carried disbelief.
He turned toward Lauren.
“You asked my mother to give you her house?””
Lauren immediately shook her head.
“That's not what happened.””
“Then what happened?””
“We discussed a future investment.””
“With her house?””
“It makes financial sense!””
Daniel stared at her.
“Did you ask her to sign over the property?””
Lauren's jaw tightened.
“I asked her to consider helping us.””
“By giving you her home?””
She threw her bouquet onto the table.
“Why are you acting as if this is some terrible crime? You're her only child! That house is yours eventually!””
I stood up.
“Lauren, I never promised you that house.””
She spun toward me.
“Because you're selfish!””
Daniel stepped between us.
“Don't.””
Lauren laughed bitterly.
“Unbelievable. You know what? Maybe your mother should tell you everything.””
My stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?””
Lauren looked at Daniel.
“Ask her about the money.””
Daniel frowned.
“What money?””
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Lauren smiled.
A small, cruel smile.
“The money your mother received after your father's accident.””
Daniel turned toward me.
“Mom?””
I couldn't speak.
My husband, Robert, had died in a construction accident twenty-two years earlier.
The insurance settlement had been modest, but it had helped me keep our house and pay for Daniel's education.
There had also been something else.
A separate account Robert had established before his death.
A trust.
One I had never touched.
One I had never intended to mention until Daniel turned thirty-five.
Lauren knew about it.
I had no idea how.
Daniel stared at me.
“What money?””
I swallowed.
“Your father left something for you.””
Lauren folded her arms.
“Something worth a lot more than this little house.””
Daniel's eyes moved between us.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because it wasn't time.””
“Not time for what?””
I looked at the floor.
Before I could answer, Lauren reached into her handbag and pulled out a folded document.
She waved it in front of Daniel.
“Perhaps you'd like to read this.””
He took it.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then his expression changed.
“Where did you get this?””
Lauren's smile returned.
“From someone who knows what your mother has been hiding.””
Daniel looked at the signature at the bottom.
His father's signature.
May you like
And beneath it was a name neither of us expected to see.
A name belonging to someone who had been dead for twenty-two years.
Related Stories
