Chapter 2:

By the time much of the evening had progressed and the bidding had already taken place, William found himself in one of the luxurious hallways of the building. He looked at the many paintings hung on the walls. Important personalities, all shaking hands with big smiles.

"Detective?"

William turned with a start to the voice he immediately recognized as Julia Brenks.

"Mrs. Brenks." William smiled at her as she walked towards him down the lit hallway.

"What are you doing here all alone?" she asked, smiling back at him, which made William's heart skip a beat.

"I… how to say…" the young man stammered – something that never happened to him. "I wanted to get away from the crowd."

"You're not used to this kind of party, are you?"

Mrs. Brenks moved a little closer to William but stood a safe distance from him, her hands clasped politely in front of her.

"No, it's true." Detective Murdoch admitted surprised. "How did you guess it?"

"You seemed uncomfortable when we met you earlier with my husband."

"Oh…I was mostly ashamed of spilling wine on you."

"Oh..." the young woman looked surprised. "It wasn't much."

"You seemed annoyed…" William said impulsively.

The young woman simply looked at him without saying anything and William thought he had hurt her. Why had he said that? He did not even know her. He had not had time to analyze her to know what kind of reaction she might have to his remarks.

"That's not wrong…" Mrs. Brenks admitted shyly. "Please excuse me."

"No, that was not a complaint." William smiled kindly at her, surprised at the young woman's sweet reaction.

Mrs. Brenks smiled at William again and he felt his heart skip a beat again. She was adorable. They looked into each other's eyes for a few moments, without blinking, and as if hypnotized by each other.

"Julia?"

The two young people quickly turned their heads towards the voice, at the far right of the corridor.

"Ha, you are there my darling. I was looking for you."

The doctor walked over to his wife and lost his smile when he saw who she was with.

"What are you two doing here?" he frowned.

"We bumped into each other by chance." William replied immediately.

"Again?"

"Technically, the detective and I had just collided into each other the first time." joked the young woman, looking at the doctor.

William noticed a kind of small smirk on the man's face halfway between a smile and suspicion. Why did he seem so suspicious? Did Julia Brenks have a habit of being unfaithful if he seemed so worried whenever a man approached her?

"We are leaving, Julia. The girls are waiting for us in the car." said Dr. Brenks, throwing an arm possessively over his wife's slender waist.

"Oh… Alright… See you soon Detective Murdoch." Mrs. Brenks greeted him politely.

"Goodbye." William replied evenly, as he tried to focus his gaze instead on the doctor who was still eyeing him suspiciously.

The young man watched the couple disappear down the long, lighted, and luxurious hallway of the property.

"You could have been nicer to him." Julia sighed as she sat in front of her mirror in their bedroom at the Brenks' mansion.

"With whom?" Ethan asked innocently as he rearranged his red-blond hair in the wardrobe mirror.

Julia sighed in annoyance and turned in her seat to face Ethan.

"You know very well who I'm talking about, Ethan. There was no reason you were so cold to Detective Murdoch."

"Oh, yes?" Julia's husband asked sarcastically, pretending to continue staring at himself in the mirror. "I treated him like any unknown person."

Julia got up and slowly approached her husband until she was right behind him.

"Why are you doing this?"

When her husband did not answer, she continued, "It's not the first time you've acted like this."

As Ethan still pretended not to hear her, she sighed sadly. She rolled over and slowly made her way to the bed when she suddenly felt hands gripping her hips. Her husband turned her towards him, almost forcefully, and kissed her full on the lips. Julia was so surprised that she simply let herself go. Her husband had rarely been so passionate with her.

When they married 17 years ago now, Julia Ogden was 19. They had had their first daughter very early while Ethan was still studying medicine. He was 29 years old, and they had, in fact, met at the medical academy. Being a doctor had always been Julia's dream. Her father had been, and she had always admired him. She felt she was made to save lives. But a woman was not a doctor. Women were made to stay at home, take care of their children and their duties as women.

She had quickly married Ethan Brenks and performed her duties as a wife with a sadness in her heart that never really faded. Julia liked her husband. She complied with her duties towards him, and she had always taken care of her daughters while her husband was at work. She was so close to Rosemary and Emily. She had always taught them good manners and to be respectful of others and their opinions. Although they grew up in luxury, they were not spoiled girls. They were like their mother and used to appreciate even the simplest things in life. However, for a few months now, her oldest daughter, Rosemary, seemed to be going through a bit of a "rebellious" phase. She had withdrawn into herself and was used to spending hours in her room and only going out at mealtimes.

Julia had tried more than once to talk alone with her, but nothing had come of it. Her big daughter was pointing herself quickly and it made her sad. She thought she knew what was happening to her. She had her idea but… it was only an idea after all.

As Ethan began kissing her neck hungrily, Julia woke up from her thoughts and put her hands on her husband's chest to pull him back a little bit.

"The kids are… We can't… I…" Julia stuttered as she tried to say something to get her husband to stop his advances. "Is it because you don't want to answer my questions."

"Julia…" Ethan sighed as he lifted a sad face to her. "I love you, Julia."

The young woman was speechless for a few moments. Her husband was also not in the habit of expressing his feelings to her.

"I know it, Ethan…Why am I…"

"Because you are beautiful, Julia. Do you know how many men look at you when you walk into a room? Do you know how many men have come to me time and time again to tell me how attractive you were when they didn't know you were MY wife?" Ethan snapped as he walked back to his mirror. "I'm going crazy. When I see a man approach you, I have the impression that he wants to take you to me. Turn away from me. I'm afraid…"

Julia simply remained frozen, her heart pounding at her husband's words. What was he saying? That men looked at her when she walked. Where did they find her attractive? She was 36, she was married and had two children, what was all this even attractive? He was her husband, of course he saw evil everywhere. It was a husband's job to worry about these things, Julia thought. But it bordered on paranoia.

"You shouldn't be thinking about all these things. It's all in your head."

Ethan said nothing but just nodded thoughtfully.

"I'm going to get myself a glass of water."

Julia watched her husband close the bedroom door behind him and sighed in relief. She knew that when he said "glass of water" it meant "glass of whiskey" at best. She knew she had not had the right words to reassure him but, honestly, she had not known what to say. What could she have said to him? That she probably loved him? But why had not she told him? Most likely because she had always struggled to tell him, even when they were newlyweds. However, it had not been an arranged marriage. At least, not really. They had met and they had found in each other what they had been looking for.

As Julia finally made up her mind to get under the sheets, turn off the light, and close her eyes, she saw again the face of a handsome young man with brown eyes and charcoal-black hair. She suddenly opened her eyes even though the room was completely dark. She could not deny that she had found the young detective very attractive and very handsome. She did not know why but, as soon as she had met his gaze, she had chills and a feeling of warmth in her stomach.

She had never had this feeling in her entire life. And that was what had made her so uncomfortable when she heard her husband's remarks. Why did she have to ask him questions that night? Why had she brought up the subject when she felt something different in her chest precisely at that moment? Maybe in reality, it was precisely because she felt different that she had chosen to ask these questions. Seeing her husband treat the detective rudely may have prompted her to ask questions.

With those thoughts, as well as the feeling of the right side of the bed sagging as her husband finally joined her, she closed her eyes and continued to see the image of the young man smiling at her.

Note: Well. Julia and William seem to have had a real crush. It seems quite problematic.