YOU ALMOST MARRIED HER: THE MILLIONAIRE'S WIFE MOCKED HER—UNTIL THE MAFIA BOSS ARRIVED

Rowan found Grant waiting outside her attorney's office that afternoon.

He stood beside a black luxury sedan, looking uncomfortable in a way she had never seen during their engagement.

She stopped several feet away.

"How did you know I would be here?"

"My attorney told me you were challenging the filing. I asked whether we could meet."

"You could have called."

"You wouldn't have answered."

"That sounds like a problem you created."

He accepted the criticism without argument.

"I need to explain something about the night I left."

Rowan folded her arms.

"Then explain it."

Grant glanced toward the street.

"Not here."

"No. Here."

He looked at her for a long moment.

Then he said, "Someone threatened you."

The words landed between them.

Rowan felt the old memories rearranging themselves.

"What?"

"Three days before I left, I received a package at my office. It contained photographs of you leaving work and a copy of your apartment lease."

"Who sent it?"

"I didn't know."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"I was afraid."

She stared at him.

"You were afraid, so you abandoned me?"

"I thought if I ended the relationship, they would stop watching you."

"Who were they?"

Grant swallowed.

"My first business partner, Nathan Cole, was involved in a deal that went wrong. He had borrowed money from people he couldn't repay. When the investors began demanding answers, he disappeared and left me responsible for several contracts."

"That still doesn't explain why you left me."

"One of the investors had connections to people who used threats to collect debts. I was told that you were being watched because of me."

Rowan's anger rose.

"Then you should have told me. We could have gone to the police. We could have left town. We could have made a decision together."

"I know."

"No, you don't. You decided I was too weak to know the truth. You took away my choice and called it protection."

Grant lowered his head.

"You're right."

She had imagined this conversation for eight years.

In her imagination, she screamed at him until he admitted that he had been selfish. She pictured him begging for forgiveness, and she pictured herself walking away without looking back.

She had never imagined that his explanation would make her angrier.

"What happened after you left?"

"I made a deal with a group of investors who helped settle the debt. In exchange, I gave up my share of the original company and agreed to work with a new investment group. I thought that would end the threat."

"Did it?"

"Eventually."

"Did you ever check whether I was safe?"

His silence answered her.

She felt something inside her finally break free.

"You didn't even call."

"I believed that staying away was the safest thing I could do."

"You believed your fear mattered more than my right to know."

Grant looked as though he wanted to argue.

Instead, he said, "Yes."

Rowan turned away.

She had spent years imagining that some hidden tragedy might make the abandonment easier to forgive. Now she understood that even if his fear had been real, the choice to deceive her had still been his.

"Who sent the photograph?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"Who threatened you?"

"I suspect Nathan's former associates, but I can't prove it."

"Where is Nathan now?"

Grant hesitated.

"I haven't seen him in years."

Rowan studied his face.

"Are you telling me the truth?"

"As much as I know it."

She almost believed him.

Then she remembered the disputed ownership filing.