Chapter 11: Rolf

“This is not good news, right?” I asked Daniel, watching the expression on his face.

Daniel had texted me Saturday night, he just said had news for me. He didn’t even specify if it was good or bad. That made me so nervous.

“I am not sure what kind of news is,” Daniel said cautiously. “We couldn’t find anything about Rain. Sorry. Too little information to work with. We are not even sure if Rain is her real name. No credit cards. Her phone number is linked to an Austrian company.”

I sighed, “Yeah, I supposed so.”

Daniel bit his lower lip. “Not much we could do without her real name. Sorry.”

“What kind of idiot let a complete stranger into his life and falls in love with her after a chance meeting?”

I looked at Daniel in search of answers. “We all fall in love with people who are basically total strangers. I met my wife in a disco. The most unlikely place to find the love of your life. I took a chance to talk to her, and she chased me because she thought I was worth the risk. Once you fall in love with someone, you don’t just stop.”

I nodded. I had heard the story before.

“I took my chances dating Georgina. I could have ended up badly hurt. I mean, she is seriously hot, and I am just ... me. Somehow we made it work. We are happy. All I can say is that if you find love, hold on to it, don’t let it go. Don’t let a great love pass you by.”

I took my time to let Daniel’s words sink in. I had no idea he had become so wise about feelings. I suppose being married does that to you.

“We did find something about this Lukas guy,” he said.

I raised my head with interest.

“His name is Lukas Gruber. Austrian. Married. No kids. He has a Facebook page. His family is loaded. He is worth millions. Euros not dollars. We were able to track him down through his car’s plates. He rented his car in Seattle. Rain’s phone is registered to a company owned by his family.”

“Rain didn’t look like a materialistic kind of girl, one who needs the latest purse or a wardrobe full of designer outfits. The girl travels with a backpack, for Pete’s sake! Which is her relationship with him?”

“I honestly don’t know. All I can tell you is that he was the one who drove Rain out of Middletown. He came to pick her up at your place after you left. Nick caught them in a traffic camera.”

My heart was pounding in my chest. Nothing made sense to me anymore.

Was I such a fool?

“Do you think they are having an affair?”

Daniel raised his eyebrows. “Again, I don’t know. You know Rain better than me. Considering all the good things Georgina says about her, I would say no, but only you can answer that.”

The scene of Lukas and Rain dancing in my living room caught a new meaning now. However, I couldn’t reconcile the thought that Rain was sleeping with this guy (technically I couldn’t call it cheating because I had no idea what kind of relationship we were in), with everything I knew about her.

Was everything an act? Could she have been pretending the whole time? Was she an actress, like no other actress I ever saw? Was it all a lie?

No, I refused to think so.

Rain wasn’t sneaky or underhanded. She definitely wasn’t the kind of person who would hurt someone on purpose. That explanation she gave me made sense to me once I cooled down.

If she had been pretending the whole time, I had to ask myself what for? What did she get from it?

Yeah, she got a place to live for a couple of months, and some pocket money. But she cooked for me and kept my place cleaner than ever. We also made love almost every day, some days more than once. Could she fake the way she trembled when I pulled her into my arms and kissed her? Could she fake the frantic beating of her heart when we reached orgasm together?

There was so much to contemplate, so much to roll around in my head, that I didn’t know where to begin.

“Thank you, Daniel, you gave me a lot to think about.”

“I am sorry I couldn’t be more helpful. We’ll keep looking in case something comes up.”

I just nodded and left his place.

That night, I was at home trying to cook something for myself when my cell phone rang. I sighed at the unknown number. I had to answer them because it could be a client.