For three weeks after the night when he had dropped Marlene off at her home, Werner persisted, taking every opportunity to meet with her and using his charm to woo her. Eventually, she relented and they became a couple, meeting clandestinely two or three times each week
He should be happy, but a nagging sorrow ate at him. The party would never approve of their relationship, because Marlene was not a trusted communist and he, well, he was one of the highest SED functionaries in Berlin.
Every so often he toyed with the idea of defying the party. But then, menacing old memories resurfaced and drowned out the thought. He knew better than to challenge his superiors since such a move would mark the end of both Marlene and him. He certainly didn’t want to share the same mysterious fate as Capta
