***
Louis opened the door to Cuvier Shipping and couldn’t imagine feeling any better than he did right at this moment. Since Marian had agreed to be his wife, he’d made the decision not to sell Cuvier Shipping. He couldn’t do that to his soon-to-be-wife. With the sale canceled, he would forfeit any chance of owning the mill for the time being, but he was willing to put his dream on hold for Marian and hope for some other opportunity later.
He walked into the office and greeted Jon with a smile. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” the man said, not looking him directly in the face.
Louis passed Henry in the hallway and the man ducked his head and kept walking, refusing to meet his gaze. He passed one of the clerks and the man turned his face away from him and Louis felt like he had suddenly developed leprosy.
What was wrong with everyone this morning?
He walked into his office and set his bag down, his intention being to stroll over and say good morning to his soon-to-be wife. But before he could settle in, he looked up and saw her standing in his doorway.
“Good morning,” he said, his voice trailing off. Her eyes were dull and swollen as if she’d been crying, her expression appeared almost hostile. “I ... I was just coming over to say hello. What’s wrong, honey? You look like someone died.”
“Not someone, but something,” she said, her voice even and cold. She shut the door to his office, the click seemed loud and fear trickled through him. Distraught didn’t begin to describe the way she looked and an eerie feeling of apprehension crept through him. He wanted to run from the office, alarmed at what she would say filling him.
“I had a visit from a Mr. Hudson this morning,” she said, her voice shaky. “He came to see you and instead met with me.”
“Oh, God,” he said putting his hand to his head. His fears were being realized.
She ignored him. “He spoke with me about the buyers for our business that I didn’t know was for sale.”
“Let me explain,” he pleaded, hoping she would listen. “I’ve been going to tell you for the last week and I just hadn’t found the right moment. And then last night I decided not to go through with the sale.”
She took a deep breath, her chin quivered, but she quickly recovered. “Well you don’t have to tell me anymore. I know.”
“Please Marian, believe me, I was going to back out of the deal. I did this months ago. Right after Jean died.”
“You’ve used that excuse once too often, Louis. It doesn’t work anymore,” she said.
Louis remembered their conversation after the strike when she had asked him if there was anything else he’d forgotten to tell her. But at the time, he hadn’t realized he cared for her. He’d still been intent on deceiving her.
“I’ve already told Mr. Hudson that I will not sign any papers that sell Cuvier Shipping. Not now, not ever.”
He shook his head. The fear that everything was lost almost choked him. She would never understand what had driven him to this point.
“Listen to me, Marian. I wanted to tell you so many times, but...”
She sobbed, but quickly gained control. “You knew how I felt regarding this company.” She took a deep breath. “If you want out, then I’ll do what I can to buy you out, but you are not going to sell this company without my knowledge,” she said, her voice rising and gaining strength. “How dare you even try!”
He felt awful. All his fears slammed into him like a punch to his belly and he sagged, knowing she couldn’t forgive him. “I understand. I didn’t think anyone would buy just part of the business. I was wrong for wanting to sell all of it.”
She took two steps toward him, her eyes flashing with fury. She slammed her hand down on his desk, causing him to jump with shock at her response. “How can you sleep at night for your lies? How could you do this to me, Louis? You lied and were willing to sell the business out from under me? What kind of person are you?”
“I’m a louse, okay? After you agreed to marry me, I decided I would back out of the deal, but I just hadn’t done it yet. I hoped you would never find out.”
But inside he knew he hadn’t backed out of the deal before now because part of him wished he could convince her to sell the business. Now his lack of action was going to rob him of the one thing worth keeping in his life: Marian.
“I don’t want to hear any more of your lies,” she said, her voice rising. “Everything you’ve said has been a lie and I believed you.”
“No, Marian. You’re wrong.”
A tear slid down her cheek. “How can I believe you? How can I ever trust you again?”
“Marian, I promise you, that the only thing I’ve lied to you about is the sale of the business.”
“You’ve never told me any untruths regarding the business before now? You’ve been completely honest?” she asked.
He paused for a moment thinking over the previous months and knew he’d never been completely honest with her. “I ...”
“That’s what I thought. You know, Louis, it hurt badly enough when Jean betrayed my trust. I thought I would never get over him. But now I see that your disloyalty is even worse.” She wiped away a tear. “You’ve betrayed my love and that’s something that Jean never had.”
God, she’d said she loved him, but then she turned and walked out the office door, leaving Louis feeling as if someone had dropped a load of bricks on him. He lay in the dust hurt and bleeding, wishing for the end. He watched her leave and knew she’d just taken his heart with her and he might never get it back.