…
Tiff’s eyebrows shot up. ‘That’s quite a leap, from curiosity to investigating this woman and Nate.’
‘He was in the RAF military police, Tiff, and once he had his suspicions, I don’t think he could help himself. I’m not happy about it but that’s not my concern right now! Lachlan checked out the photos of Nate on this woman’s page and he thought the guy looked like Nate, albeit he’s changed his appearance. I’ve seen the photos of him. He’s dyed his hair and grown a beard but it’s him.’ Her voice wobbled.
Tiff put her arm around Marina. ‘God, Marina, I’m so sorry. This is absolutely horrifying.’
‘I can’t believe it myself. I don’t know how to deal with it. I feel as if I’m drowning.’
‘No wonder,’ said Tiff, handing Marina a tissue while trying to tease out more details of what exactly Lachlan had discovered. While she made a cup of tea and comforted Marina as best she could, Tiff’s brain skipped rapidly on from the shock of the revelation to its likely consequences. The police would have to be informed, of course, but she was sure Marina knew that.
However, inevitably the media would also find out and then … God help her.
They might find out even sooner than the police … but it would not be from Tiff herself. This was devastating for Marina and Tiff would never betray her.
However, many people would.
She sat down at the table with her mug. ‘Marina, my love, who else knows about this? Apart from Lachlan?’
Marina stared into her drink. ‘I’m not sure.’
‘He must have spoken to contacts in South Africa, and here, maybe?’
‘Yes, a few, I think … I hadn’t thought about it too much. I was so angry with Lachlan, I sent him away.’
Tiff persisted gently but firmly. ‘This woman who messaged you in the first place. Does she now know exactly who Nate really is?’
‘I think she’s worked it out quite a bit and she’ll definitely find out for certain once the South African police contact her. She’ll have a shock too.’ Marina lifted her eyes and the desolation in her face almost made Tiff burst into tears. ‘Please tell me this can’t be real. This morning, I thought he was dead. Now, I’m finding he has a partner, a mistress. I can’t even comprehend it.’
‘No wonder. It’s horrendous. I can’t comprehend it either.’ Tiff rested her hand on Marina’s shoulder before continuing gently. ‘So, what happens now? What about the presumption of death and the dissolution that was going through the court? Have you had chance to speak to your solicitor yet?’
‘No, but I’ll have to very soon. We’ll have to stop the process. God knows, I don’t want Nate to have died,’ Marina said. ‘I loved him, but now I know he’s done this to me, I’m so angry with him. I feel as if he’s a stranger who’s come into my life and destroyed it.’
‘Of course you’re angry with him, my love. That’s perfectly understandable. I’ll do anything I can to help you …’ An idea was already forming in Tiff’s mind and it wasn’t a pleasant one and now was definitely not the time to broach it with Marina. ‘You call your lawyer and then let’s try to make a plan, or at least think of a way of trying to cope with what might happen next. I presume Lachlan wants to help?’
‘Yes. That’s the other thing about this whole horrendous mess. He’d do anything to help but I feel that things can’t be the same between us ever again. However much I try to tell myself I had to know and that it’s better that I do, I can’t help blaming Lachlan for bringing this trouble back into my life. I can try to ignore it or deny it, but nothing can change the fact that I’m still Nate’s wife.’
Marina’s solicitor came out urgently on the Sunday afternoon to offer advice, the situation being so serious. Tiff was invited to listen in and, although she didn’t want to intrude, she hoped she could help Marina by being fully informed of the facts.
Tiff took on the job of phoning Marina’s parents with the news. Hearing them gasp in shock and Marina’s mum burst into tears, she almost wept herself. After they’d had a few minutes to take it in, she then handed over the phone so Marina could talk to them herself. They arranged to come over the next day.
After an exhausting day, Marina finally fell asleep