Chapter 7: The Letters Hidden in the Wall
I stared at the photo my mother had sent me.
The box.
The letters.
Daniel’s name written across every envelope.
For a moment, the noise around me disappeared.
The guests.
The music.
The whispers.
The wedding that was supposed to begin in less than twenty minutes.
None of it mattered anymore.
Because there was one question screaming louder than everything else.
Why had my mother been hiding letters from Daniel?
“Emma?”” Daniel said quietly.
I looked up.
He was watching my face.
Studying my reaction.
And suddenly I wondered how many times he had done that.
How many times had he watched me believe a lie?
“How did you know about these letters?”” I asked.
His expression changed.
“What letters?””
I showed him the picture.
The second he saw it, the color drained from his face.
That was the answer.
He knew.
Not everything.
But enough.
“Daniel?””
He looked away.
“I need to explain.””
I laughed softly.
“That’s becoming your favorite sentence.””
“Emma, please.””
“No.””
My voice shook.
“But you can explain now.””
Everyone around us had stopped pretending not to listen.
Chloe stood nearby.
Megan crossed her arms.
Rachel looked between all of us, trying to understand how a wedding had turned into a courtroom.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“I wrote those letters years ago.””
My heart tightened.
“Years ago?””
“Yes.””
“How many?””
He hesitated.
“Seven.””
Seven years.
I felt like I had been punched.
“You wrote me letters seven years ago?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t I get them?””
Daniel looked toward Chloe.
And that tiny movement destroyed something inside me.
Because once again, my sister’s name was part of the answer.
I turned slowly.
“Chloe?””
Her face changed.
“Emma…”
“No.””
I stepped closer.
“Tell me.””
She looked terrified.
“I didn’t want you to know.””
“Know what?””
She swallowed.
“That Daniel had feelings for you before you met him.””
The world stopped.
I looked at Daniel.
“You knew me before we met?””
He nodded.
“We met once.””
“When?””
“At your parents’ charity event.””
I searched my memory.
Seven years ago.
I was twenty-three.
Chloe was twenty-one.
Daniel was just someone I vaguely remembered.
A man who helped organize the event.
“You never told me.””
“I tried.””
I looked at him.
“Tried how?””
“The letters.””
My chest tightened.
“What did they say?””
Daniel looked down.
“Everything.””
That answer hurt.
Because I knew what it meant.
He had feelings.
Real feelings.
And somehow those feelings had become the reason my entire life was falling apart.
My mother’s message came again.
*Please come home. This cannot wait.*
I looked at Chloe.
“You knew about the letters?””
She nodded slowly.
“Yes.””
“And you hid them?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.””
The honesty was almost worse.
“Why?””
She looked away.
“Because I read them.””
I froze.
“You read my letters?””
“I was angry.””
“That’s not an answer.””
She cried quietly.
“I was angry because everyone loved you.””
I shook my head.
“So you stole my chance to know someone cared about me?””
“No.””
Her voice broke.
“I thought I was protecting myself.””
“From what?””
“From losing.””
I stared at her.
“Chloe, you weren’t competing with me.””
“Yes, I was.””
The words came out immediately.
“I always was.””
Nobody spoke.
She wiped her face.
“When I read those letters, I saw how Daniel looked at you.””
I looked at Daniel.
“And?””
“And I hated it.””
There it was.
The truth.
Not pretty.
Not simple.
Just painful.
“I wanted one thing that was mine.””
My eyes filled.
“Daniel was never yours.””
“I know.””
She whispered it.
“I know that now.””
A strange silence followed.
Then Daniel spoke.
“I should have told Emma.””
I looked at him.
“Yes.””
He nodded.
“I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
“That she would think I only loved an idea of her.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
He sighed.
“Those letters were written before I knew you.””
I waited.
“I fell in love with the person I saw at that event. The way you treated people. The way you stayed late helping strangers clean up.””
His voice softened.
“When I finally met you years later, I realized I was right.””
I wanted to believe him.
That was the hardest part.
Even after everything.
A piece of me still wanted to.
Then Chloe spoke.
“He didn’t know about the letters being hidden.””
Daniel looked at her.
“What?””
She looked ashamed.
“I never told him.””
I turned.
“So you lied to both of us.””
“Yes.””
A laugh escaped my lips.
Not because anything was funny.
Because the situation had become impossible.
My sister.
My fiancé.
The letters.
The wedding.
Everything I believed about my life had cracks running through it.
Then my mother called.
I answered.
“Mom?””
Her voice was trembling.
“Emma, you need to come home.””
“Why?””
There was a pause.
Then she said:
“Because I found something else.””
I closed my eyes.
“What?””
“I found the original letter.””
My heart stopped.
“Original?””
“Yes.””
“What letter?””
My mother’s voice dropped.
“The first one Daniel ever wrote you.””
I looked at Daniel.
He looked confused.
“What did it say?””
My mother answered before I could ask.
“Emma…”
A pause.
“It wasn’t a love letter.””
Everyone froze.
May you like
“What?””
“It was a warning.””