Chapter 5- Revealed Secrets

Tammie's Pov

The wedding was over, but in Tammie's mind there still lived a patina of disquiet. And that guy at the reception continued to play in her mind. Who was he? And what did he want? She was asking herself many questions as she couldn't fix her life.

The morning-after wedding was the first time Tammie had been out of bed; Collins sat at her feet, dressed. He sat on the brown sofa drinking coffee, reading e-mails with his thumb. He looked up as she walked into the kitchen and smiled slightly.

Morning," he responded, and she was struck by the calm amiability in his voice.

“Morning,” Tammie answered, putting on a smile. It still took some getting used to the fact that she had only just met her husband.

I have some meetings today— Collins told her, —We must also see what new business to start with later.

Tammie nodded slowly, a little overjoyed but otherwise quietly irritated. Partly relieved she would not be subject to his torment all day, and partly irritated that her marriage felt so much like a business contract and nothing more.

‘Fine,’ she muttered reluctantly as she poured herself a drink.

And with that, he walked off towards the apartment leaving Tammie alone to think. The man from the wedding kept haunting her. She knew him from somewhere, that much was clear to her but she could not for the life of her figure out where. Deciding to look into it further, she took the long way back to that spot…where possibly she could figure out something and complete this puzzle.

It was the emptiest that empty ever filled a venue. It looked like someone had been celebrating over there, but now all was stripped and sucked clean. She wandered to try and find some clues about that weird man. But he needs to have been there, because as sorry a sonofabitch as Earl Foreman must be, what happened eventually is even sorrier still and did...

As she turned, exasperated to leave finally, her eye caught sight of a small envelope wedged in the wooden jamb. And a front that she reached in and pulled out, heart racing at the sight of her name there on lit back. There was a bit of trepidation before Tammie tore it open. Inside was a single piece of paper with few words written;

What you believe to be the truth but not all there is. Be careful who you trust.

Now this gave Tammie a cold chill To what truth was this man alluding? And against whom was she to defend herself? Her eyes darted around the room and suddenly she felt so naked, open.

With the note in her grasp, Tammie turned and clipped it back to her car. Instantly, my mind raced: Who had done this? The man she had met at the wedding? What truth was she to find? Questions swirled, answers none.

At home, Tammie found it things impossible to think straight. She roamed the living room holding note in hand trying to put it all together. She then did what any sensible person would do she looked it up. Maybe there was something in his background that could explain this warning but she needed to know more about Collins and his family.

Tammie[ searched the internet, but about what?] She even started to map out details about Collins

business transactions with other people's family of his Until We stumbled across an old newspaper article from, not so long ago about something essentially She was already hearing.  It read: "Mystery in Death of Wealthy Business-Man." It was the one about how Collins's dad had been killed under very unclear circumstances a couple of years before. It was declared an accident, though there were whispers of foul play—just that: rumor. Sure, it all kinda sounded like what you might hear on a normal day but something just didn't sit well with me as I read the article. Is this what it meant in the note? In the aftermath of his father's death, could it have been anything more appalling than anything Collins had imagined? At least not directly tied to the guy at my cousin's wedding?

The sound of the door brought her crashing back to reality, Collins had returned and quickly she closed up the laptop so that he wouldn't see what she saw. Hello, she said to him but her thoughts swam in the pool of questions.

"Everything okay?" The tension in her features was not lost on Collins as he asked.

She smiled through her teeth, “Ahhh…” "Just a little fatigued."

I can see Collins nodding slowly at this rationale. – You know what, I have some paperwork to do. We can talk about the business plans tomorrow.

Tammie agreed, but she nodded only out of relief. She needed more time to try and figure out what was going on. He disappeared into his office, and she pulled out the note again to read it over in her head. It was vague, but it still said one thing perfectly clearly: someone knew something she didn't and they wanted her to watch herself.

At night Tammie lay awake. At first, there was the menacing note; secondly, it disturbed her consciousness that the article was about Collins' father.

Leila lay in bed, thinking about her husband's secrets. She was getting worried that she had married into a big mess.

She knew the next morning she would have to suffer Collins. Leaving the woman to be a good girl-mute and filing on a bench where she would find no answers even in safety. And she was there, in his lobby, holding the note.

Collins, we need to discuss this," she projected a bit more forcefully than intended.

He raised his eyebrow and turned to face her. "What is it?"

And with a deep breath, Tammie holds out the final note. Somebody left it at the venue.", "This is what someone forgot in our place yesterday.

Collins accepted the note, and as he padded through it I couldn't see anything in his expression at all. He stopped and stared up into Tammie with a cold glare. "Where did you find this?"

“Where we got married,” Tammie answered. "What does it mean, Collins? Does that mean what does not rely on the truth of THE TRUTH I have to discover?

Collins read the note quietly for a moment. He then spun around to where Tammie was sitting, his face ash-grey and serious. You still have stuff you don't know, Tammie. That is stuff best left where it belongs-the past.

Tammie's heart raced. "What sort of things?"

Collins shook his head. Here and now Cannot say it here You were there, you must trust me… I wanted to keep you safe.

Tammie's anger flared. "Protect me from what? I deserve the truth, Collins. We cannot have a marriage built on lies of omission and half-truths.

Collins sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "You're right. Now, some truths are dangerous Tammie. That is all for now, Have faith in me. I will tell you in due time."

She wanted to press him on it more, but he seemed like she wouldn't get any more out of him. Reluctantly she nodded, feeling a little weird about it. "Okay. But I'm not waiting for good, Collins. I still should know what is happening.

Collins smiled at her in a small sweet smile. "I promise, Tammie. You know everything when the time is right.

The unbearable sense that she was only able to scratch the shiny surface of something so large and complicated, as he disappeared on the battlefront in the distance. Whatever it was, she would get to the bottom of what this was-even if it killed her.