Truth Untold (Eligible Bachelors #1) - Completed

Chapter Two

“You have got to be kidding me!”

Vanessa was incredulous as she scrolled through the hundreds of tweets under the thread about her marriage to Alexander. It was tweeted by some Twitter user who shared it with a caption that read:

‘I’m disappointed. I used to be a huge fan of @VanStein and I was so looking forward to purchasing her new and upcoming book but after finding out that she’s basically a golddigger who stole her sister’s man and married him…Ugh! @VanStein, you’ve just lost a fan and I will never again buy another one of your books.’

Beneath the user’s caption was a link to a website that gave the story in full detail, painting Vanessa as the evil half-sister in some kind of twisted Cinderella tale where the ugly, evil stepsister got a happily ever after and the prince to boot. The website labelled Daphne Stein as the victim, indicating that several netizens – none named – and magazine and press article sources stated that Alexander and Daphne had been the happy ‘it’ couple. Included in the article were pictures of Alexander and Daphne in public, at gala events, and on the cover of magazines, one in particular capturing the image of a shiny, diamond rock on Daphne’s finger.

That picture added fuel to the fire as all hell broke loose on social media. People were calling Vanessa horrible names, and Daphne’s social media fans were making death threats up and down on the internet. They said it explained why Daphne had been so silent and it was almost as if she and Alexander had disappeared off the face of the planet.

An exaggeration because they both still made the covers of magazines, pap, and press releases. They just hadn’t been seen in public together for about a year.

Weaved into the chaos were a few social media users who were the voices of reason, stating that it was only an article and without evidence to back up the claim, such accusations were useless and could lead to a defamation suit if Vanessa wished to push the issue.

“I think it’s Daphne,” Lyn stated once Vanessa had had enough of Twitter and slumped into her chair. The latter scoffed.

“No way! Daphne would go crazy if this story had burst. She’d rather have people think they broke up instead of him marrying someone else.”

“Ness, we know she’s more than capable of lying. While we have no evidence that this is Daphne, I wouldn’t rule her out as a suspect.”

Vanessa scoffed, standing up and beginning to pace the length of Lyn’s office. Lyn’s gaze followed her friend, with each turn she made. She watched as Vanessa tapped her palms against her thighs, crossed her arms over her chest, roll her neck, as if trying to digest the scandal.

“Even if it was Daphne, what is she hoping to gain?”

Lyn took Vanessa’s laptop and turned it toward her, gesturing to the Twitter feed. “Your ruination. And the timing is perfect, too. Your next novel is about to be completed and will be published within the next month.” Lyn paused and considered something.

In the seven years she had known Vanessa, she knew her friend to be a private individual. She rarely shared anything about her personal life, her job, or her family.

“Ness, who knows about your new book?”

Vanessa frowned, turning to look at Lyn. “Other than you, and the editor…my brother. I told Scott I had an idea for a book. Why?”

“Did you tell Scott anything else about the book? Like when we’re expecting to have it published, or that marketing campaign schemes aren’t as plentiful?”

“Whoa! Calm down, Lyn!” Vanessa snapped, gesturing her hands for Lyn to do as she said. Her eyebrows scrunched. “The first ad for the book dropped about a month ago so I’m sure many people saw it. But are you seriously implying that Scott did this?”

Lyn shook her head, her jaw clenched tightly as she stood. “No, I’m not. But what if Scott told somebody else? Your brother is the only person in your family with whom you have a good relationship. Maybe you told him something in confidence, and he slipped up without even realizing it.”

Vanessa stared at the woman in front of her in incredulity. “Scott wouldn’t. He knows how much my career means to me and he knows that I don’t trust them-”

“Then you need to find out, Ness. Did he say anything to anyone? In the interim, before this scandal worsens, finish the book. How many chapters do you have left?”

“Uh…” Vanessa fumbled for an answer, her mind whirling as she tried to recollect her thoughts and align it with more important matters. She recalled where she had paused in her writing in the wee early morning hours when the sky was still dark. Sleep had eluded her as her adrenaline ran high, and her mind wouldn’t shut up, her fingers constantly twitching.

So, at 3:17 AM when everyone else was still asleep, Vanessa had booted up her laptop and returned to typing for two and a half hours before she took a break to go on her routine morning run.

“Four…no, three and a little bit,” Vanessa replied, placing her hands atop her head as she paced Lyn’s office. Her path was intercepted by her friend, Lyn wearing a stern expression and had her arms crossed over her delicate chest.

“Can you finish it this week? The sooner we begin editing, the better.”

Vanessa nodded. “I can have it done by Friday.” It was only the middle of the week, and if she wrote like how she had done yesterday, she might be able to email the manuscript even before Friday.

“Perfect! The sooner, the better. While you focus on finishing your book, I’ll be doing some-” Lyn’s words were cut off when the suspense theme from Kill Bill suddenly reverberated through her office. Lyn frowned. “What’s that?”

Vanessa grabbed her phone off of the table, a cold sweat beginning to form under her armpits. “It’s Alexander! Crap!” A snicker echoed and she glanced over to find Lyn stifling a laugh behind her palm.

“Wait…that’s your ringtone for Alexander?”

“Shush!”

“Put it on speaker.”

Vanessa picked up the call before it went to voicemail, doing as Lyn suggested. She hoped with everything that Alexander hadn’t caught wind of the Twitter issue and that it would be swiftly rectified before it came to his attention. Hopefully, the call wasn’t about that.

“Wife,” came Alexander’s cheery chirp that almost had Vanessa’s eyes popping out of its sockets. “What took you so long? I was beginning to think you were avoiding me.”

Vanessa scratched at her forehead. “Is something the matter, Alexander?”

His chuckle came through a heartbeat later. “I find your forthrightness refreshing. No, my dearest wife, nothing is wrong. I’m calling to remind you about dinner at your parents’ house this evening.”

“s**t,” she cussed softly, but Alexander heard, chuckling on the other end.

“You forgot. It’s a good thing I called then. Well, see you there.”

When the call dropped, Vanessa looked up to find Lyn watching her with a questioning stare. “Uh…what was that?”

The former knew to what her friend was referring and so, she shrugged, returning her mobile to the table and sitting down again, closing the tab for Twitter, and minimizing the Chrome tab, switching over to Microsoft to continue typing her story.

While she much preferred working from the comfort of her room, she decided to get as much done while here. With this news bursting on social media, Lyn had mentioned how she spoke with the company’s executives to assure them that this incident would not tarnish the company’s image.

“I haven’t the slightest clue. He’s been…weird…since last night.”

Lyn frowned and tilted her head. “How so?”

“Well, instead of ignoring my existence like he usually does, he spoke to me. Kind of.”

“Oh…that is weird. Maybe aliens swapped him for a day,” Lyn suggested to lighten the mood, and to her credit, it worked, as Vanessa chuckled heartily at the thought of her husband being abducted by aliens and replaced with a nicer version.

Spending the day with Lyn was never a productive one where work was concerned. They spent most of the time chatting and by the time Vanessa left her friend’s office, she had barely started the first of the last three chapters. The evening’s dinner was an event she was not looking forward to and knew that she would probably write nothing later that night.

Putting up with her family always seemed to drain her more than an entire day running around the city. So, there was a ninety percent chance she would return from dinner and go straight to bed.

The only person she looked forward to seeing was her brother, Scott. The rest of them could go to hell, for all she cared. She would have to put up with her stepmother’s constant criticisms, her father’s silence that felt more like condemnation, and Daphne’s constant vying for all attention to be on her, especially Alexander’s. Not that she had to try very much.

When it was minutes to the hour of six, she started getting dressed having selected her outfit upon her return from Lyn’s office. She had selected from her wardrobe, a plain, dark green figure-complimenting dress with sleeves that went just past her elbows, and a skirt that hugged her hips, thighs, and her knees. She swapped out her glasses for contact lens in case a brawl were to transpire, and Daphne made aim for her face.

It had happened before Vanessa was tied down to Alexander, the incident transpiring between her and Daphne with no other witness. A broken glasses and minor cuts that thankfully healed, Daphne spun a tale and Vanessa chose not to call her sister out. It would have been useless. Despite seeing the injury on Vanessa’s face, their parents, and Alexander, bought every word Daphne spun.

By six forty-five, she was driving up the driveway of the Steins’ mansion, spying Scott’s car, as well as Alexander’s on the way in. Of course, he would show up earlier if only to spend some quality time with Daphne.

Maybe I can turn back around, she thought. It’s not as though they would miss her. But no, she couldn’t. She had that thing to ask Scott. Her career was more important than how she felt about this dinner or the people in attendance.

Sucking in a deep breath to steady her nerves to steel in preparation for the evening’s dinner and coming face-to-face with four people she couldn’t care less for but were ever so judgmental of anything she did, she sent a silent prayer for God to help keep her calm.

She rang the doorbell and waited, and it wasn’t long before the mansion’s butler allowed her in. He led her to the lounge area where, she heard, before she saw, the chatter from inside that was instantly killed the moment she entered, and all eyes moved to her as though she were intruding. And maybe, she was.

They sure know how to make a girl feel special, she thought to herself. And without really meaning to, she spoke before she could stop herself.

“Don’t stop on my account.”

“Sis,” Scott exclaimed, immediately getting up from his seat and advancing toward her with a bright smile, and his arms wide open. “It’s been too long! You don’t call, you don’t write. I’m beginning to think you don’t love me anymore.” Scott pouted melodramatically, placing a hand to his chest.

Vanessa rolled her eyes, playfully swatting his shoulder. “I missed you, too, dimwit.” Scott laughed, wrapping his arms around his sister in a warm hug. She was his big sister, but just short. Scott led her over to the couch where he had been seated, keeping a firm hand on her shoulder as reassurance against the stares she felt stinging her skin.

Truly, they made her feel so welcomed. She was thoroughly thrilled to spend the evening with the family that hated her without reasonable basis. With the exception of Scott who had idolized his big sister even as a boy.

“You can quit staring,” Scott snapped. Despite the smile on his face, there was irritation in his voice. “It’s not as though you’re seeing her for the first time.”

Eloisa, their mother, rolled her eyes in annoyance, averting her gaze back to Alexander and Daphne who were seated on the loveseat together. Alexander had his arm draped around Daphne who leaned into his side. Eloisa’s expression of annoyance changed almost instantly, her eyes brightening and a smile growing at the sight of her beloved daughter so happy and in the arms of the man she loved.

The Stein mansion was the only place Alexander and Daphne were free to express their affection for the other so Eloisa had made it clear to Alexander that their home was open to him any time, and he could visit Daphne as often as he pleased.

And it pleased her a great deal that he had acted upon that offer, spending almost every night since his wedding at the Stein mansion with her daughter.

“Alex,” Eloisa called him, grabbing his attention to make idle chit-chat, “Are Sean and Renee coming to dinner? I spoke to Renee earlier and she said that she may not show if Sean cannot make it.”

Alexander’s smile fell when he remembered speaking with his father earlier in the day to confirm whether or not they were going to show. He remembered how the first question that came from Sean Roche’s mouth was, “How is my daughter-in-law?”

Not even a “Hey, son. How are you, today?”

Then again, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that his father would ask after Vanessa before he did anyone else. For whatever reason, his parents really liked that beastly woman and Renee had made it clear that she would accept no other woman as her daughter-in-law.

Sending a shrivelling glare towards his wife, the meaning behind that stare had not been lost to anyone in the lounge area. Eloisa felt rage bubbling just beneath the surface at how much Renee and Sean preferred that half-witted girl to her own precious daughter. Her husband – Patrick Stein – said nothing, simply looking on with the same silent condemnation towards Vanessa. Daphne lowered her head.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow as if challenging or perhaps provoking her husband, Alexander could not be sure. But it irritated him to such unprecedented levels.

“Yes,” Alexander gritted out. “They’ll be here.”

Only because of that wench, Alexander thought. What did Vanessa Stein offer that made Daphne look like a speck of insignificant dust beneath their shoes? Daphne was one thousand times the woman Vanessa could ever hope to be. She was compassionate, caring, and kind. She never raised her voice to anyone, or spoke out of turn, and when she felt like she had, she would immediately, and profusely apologize. Daphne was also very soft-hearted.

Unlike his legal wife who seemed to be made of monoliths.

Vanessa rarely showed emotion and it was unnerving to Alexander that he shared a roof with her. Her bedroom – as per his arrangement – was right across from his and he’d done so quite deliberately for two reasons. He could keep a close watch to her since he did not trust that woman an inch after what she did to Daphne, and with their bedrooms so close, she would be able to hear just how little he thought of her whenever he brought over company.

Since Vanessa rarely showed emotion, let alone spoke, it became a difficult game of trying to decipher her whole character. And after one year of marriage, he was still unsuccessful. What made her angry? What made her happy? What were the things that could possibly make her weep? Not even when Patrick Stein’s mother passed away earlier in the year had Vanessa shed a tear. She had shown up to the funeral service and remained a while for the after-service memorial gathering, but then she suddenly upped and left without saying a word.

A woman who rarely showed emotion, made him uneasy. He couldn’t figure her out, or her motives, and her dismissive nature gave no indication into what she thought regularly about many things other than, where Alexander was concerned, Vanessa couldn’t care less. That worried him. It reaffirmed his belief that if she really wanted to, Vanessa could sneak into his bedroom at night and stab him in his sleep. That’s why he slept with the door locked.

But watching her now, she seemed to come alive. A woman completely different to the one he’d been frequently acquainted with – which was ever so rarely that they spoke. Alexander observed his wife a moment longer, watching her speak with Scott. He took notice of her smile, and that fond gleam in her eyes as Scott told her about the latest developments in his life. He took notice of how she nodded and smiled along, laughing, or giggling every now and then, and how she listened attentively to every word her little brother said.

Scott was the only person with whom she spoke and made eye contact. When Scott had excused himself for only a few minutes, Eloisa jumped at the opportunity and swooped down upon Vanessa like a vulture circling a dying animal, wanting to be the first to start the nit-picking. She descended upon Vanessa without a shred of remorse, beginning first with criticizing her physical appearance.

“You made a good choice to put your hair up, Vanessa. It hides your chubbiness.”

Vanessa hadn’t bothered with a rebuttal, glancing to the ice bucket on the lounge table that had two chilled bottles of champagne. She knew that if she were going to make it through dinner, she would need some help. She took up her champagne glass with delicate grace, swirling the golden liquid around.

Of course, with Vanessa’s refusal to add gasoline to Eloisa’s fire, it gave Daphne the opportunity to jump in, playing the role of the ‘goody-two-shoes’ daughter who cared greatly for her siblings.

“Mom,” Daphne warned.

Eloisa gave her daughter a warm smile before returning her focus of attacks onto Vanessa. “It’s a compliment. But I will say I don’t agree with your dress tonight, Vanessa. Too tight. It reveals too much and isn’t a good look on you.”

Vanessa downed the glass of champagne in one swift movement, reaching for the open bottle and pouring herself another glass. While she busied herself with the champagne bottle, Daphne’s horrified gasp could be heard as she reprimanded Eloisa.

“Mom! Why do you have to trouble Nessie? Look at her! At this rate, she’ll relapse again.”

Vanessa poured herself a third glass after downing the second. Daphne’s rebuttal was never meant to ease the attacks, but rather, add fuel to the fire.

Neither man inside the lounge said a word in Vanessa’s defence. Patrick looked on, nodding his head to what Daphne had said, in agreement with her, but also aware that like his wife who took a jab at Vanessa’s image, Daphne had also swooped in with an insult of her own targeted at another aspect of Vanessa’s character. Alexander simply looked on, appearing calm and cool on the outside, unbothered by the gang-up on his wife, but incredibly intrigued on the inside. It was in moments like this that he saw a side of Vanessa that struggled to rein in emotion. It was rare, but their attacks tonight had shed light onto issues he could use to his advantage.

It explained why his wife was careful to take great care of herself, and why she ran and visited the gym obsessively despite being so small and thin. She was obsessed with vanity. But her struggle with sobriety was something he never pegged her for. He supposed, that tired with her bringing shame to the Stein family with all of her nights out and wild party adventures especially in college, the family had an intervention and put her in rehab.

This was the shameless woman he had been saddled with for eighteen months. Daphne was never this obsessed with vanity. She was a natural beauty, and with her lovely personality that made many people like her, it was no surprise that Patrick and Eloisa took pride in spoiling their daughter. It was no surprise that it came to Alexander like a natural instinct to spoil her as well. And not to mention the thing about sobriety. Daphne never struggled with alcohol, and for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why Vanessa did. They both grew up in the same house and were given the same opportunities.

Perhaps it was a ploy for attention, he thought. That seemed fitting.

“I’m just saying, if she wishes to get married for real,” Eloisa spoke up, her tone condescending and she was sure to emphasize that the marriage between Alexander and Vanessa was a sham, “she needs to lose some weight and take better care of herself. No man is going to want to marry a fat girl.”

Vanessa’s throat bobbed, and she pursed her lips, keeping all of her focus on the golden liquid inside the champagne glass. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest and her breathing constricted for a moment.

Of course, she would use the F-word, Vanessa thought. Anything to humiliate me further.

“I mean,” Eloisa continued.

Vanessa took a moment to steal a glance at her father, Patrick Stein, wondering if just once he would speak up and stop Eloisa’s bold attempts to continuously attack her. Daphne was not his only daughter and too often as a teenager, Vanessa had held hope that it would be the thing to bring them closer. That perhaps, for once, he would remember that despite having different mothers, Vanessa was as much his daughter as Daphne.

But Patrick never acknowledged the pain that shadowed Vanessa’s eyes. He never wanted to acknowledge that each time he denied her that fatherly love she craved, it never failed to break her heart.

And as usual, Patrick made no attempt to stop Eloisa’s attack.

“It would be a shame if her future husband ever learned of those awful nicknames she had in high school.”

Don’t go there, please, Vanessa prayed silently.

“What were they? Fatty Nessie? Fatterstein?”

At the mention of that awful nickname that had brought Vanessa nothing more than misery in high school, a nickname that had memories attached to it that still haunted her from time to time, her stomach flipped and gone was any shred of hunger she might have felt.

“Mom!” Daphne cried in outrage. “Why would you do that? You know that was a horrible time for Nessie with all of those insults, pranks, and skits they used to pull to make fun of her.” She shook her head as though Eloisa’s attack affected her more than the person it was aimed at, but she secretly relished watching how that light in Vanessa’s eyes was quickly extinguished.

It hadn’t gone unnoticed to Alexander, either. He took note of how her eyes dimmed with Scott’s departure, and how said gleam continued to be snuffed out with each of Eloisa’s attacks. He felt bittersweet. One part of him wanted to stand up and defend Vanessa, while the other part said that she probably deserved all of those attacks. Anyhow, it was none of his business to intervene.

“Nessie,” Daphne said, her gaze lowering in shame and her expression softening, “I’m so sorry. Mom went too far. Please don’t be angry with her.”

Alexander smiled at Daphne’s compassion, pulling her closer to kiss her on the cheek. This was what he loved about Daphne. Her ability to feel empathy for others, even if they didn’t deserve it.

“Hey! What’d I miss?” came Scott’s cheery voice, his expression faltering as he walked farther into the lounge and sat beside Vanessa. He noticed how tensed she was and that she had refused to look up. The silence was also tense until Patrick spoke.

“Nothing important. We were simply chatting.”

Patrick’s attempt to sweep the attack under the rug shattered Vanessa’s heart. She wasn’t sure why her heart still continued to break, and fracture, and shatter under her father’s denial of her. She should be used to it. But she wasn’t, and she knew why. Deep, deep down, there was still some small, sick part of her that wanted his affection. His acceptance. But it never came.

Vanessa placed the champagne glass down and leaned in to whisper something into Scott’s ear. Her brother frowned but nodded, getting up after Vanessa and following her out of the lounge area and out of the Stein mansion, onto the driveway.

“You’re leaving,” Scott surmised, having found his sister’s request for him to walk with her slightly odd. Especially the barely audible tremble in her voice when she made the request. There was also the fact that Vanessa seemed to want to get away as fast as possible.

“Yes. You know me,” Vanessa replied, giving Scott a bright smile which she hoped he wouldn’t be able to see past. “Once divine inspiration strikes, I can’t ignore it. So, I’m off to my cave again.”

Scott considered all the factors. The possibilities of his mother criticizing her in his absence, Vanessa’s hasty retreat, her sudden strike of inspiration, and the playful salute that seemed to be extra forced as well as the smile on her face.

Something happened while he was in the bathroom.