Chapter 7

7

What?

For a full twenty seconds, all I can do is stare at this woman. I am Grant Lockwood's wife. No matter how many times it repeats in my head, it still doesn't make sense.

"That can't be," I say like the woman is a child who needs the concept of marriage to be explained to her. " I am Grant Lockwood's wife. And you can only have one wife."

"I… I wasn't his legal wife," Marnie says. "But we lived together as man and wife for many years."

This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Grant could not possibly have been living an entirely separate secret life with this other woman, who happens to look a lot like me. Who has time for something like that?

"Grant told me he didn't believe in marriage," she says in a voice tinged with bitterness. "I had no idea about you, of course. I was about to call the police because Grant hadn't come home the night before, and then… then I saw his obituary in the paper." She chokes on her words, her eyes welling with tears. I almost start to comfort her, but then I stop myself. "The obituary mentioned your name and… well, here I am."

I don't know what to say to that. I don't believe that Grant was living two lives. It's simply not possible.

"Why are you telling me this?" I ask.

Her lips turn down, which ages her face. I had thought she was about my age, but now I would judge her to be several years older—close to forty. "Grant died, and because you are his legal wife, you inherit all his substantial assets. I get nothing."

Okay, now I get it. The chick wants money.

"I'm sorry," I say stiffly. "I don't know what kind of scam this is, but Grant only had one wife, and that's me. Whatever went on between the two of you—if anything—it was clearly in the past. It has nothing to do with me or my husband anymore. Legally, you're not entitled to one red cent."

I put my hand on the door, preparing to close it in Marnie's face. But before I can, she spits out the words that make me freeze in my tracks: "Grant and I… We had children together."