Nearly three weeks passed before he contacted her again.

When the mail was passed around at breakfast, she was surprised to receive a letter.

The simple note read The park tomorrow. Please. R.G.

She crumpled the note and threw it in the furnace of the small canteen. She returned to her seat and continued eating her porridge.

"So..." a knowing voice rose from behind her, "Your mystery admirer's gone and upset you?"

Josie turned and glared at Anne Thompson, a compulsive gossip and fellow employee.

"My personal life is my business, Miss. Thompson," she stated coolly.

"It's plain as the nose on my face!" Anne snickered, "You're miserably in love and it's obvious."

Josie was silent.

"He stopped seeing you, didn't he?" Anne joked, "He stopped seeing you and now, out of the blue, he's asking to meet you, like you always have. Yes, Mr. Grove sure has a way with a woman, the poor devil,"

She felt the color drain from her face, "How did you..."

"I have my ways, dearie," Anne continued, laughing, "But I'm not going to ruin your affair, now am I? After all, you two were doomed from the start!"

"What do you mean?" Josie asked, confused beyond belief.

"Oh poor little Josephine..." she clasped her hand to her heart, faking her sympathy.

"Please, Anne," Josie begged, "Tell me."

"My God..." Anne whispered, her eyes suddenly widened, "... do you really not know?"

Josie shook her head.

Anne's sinister playfulness gave way, "Oh Josie, I am so sorry," She reached for Josie's hand, concern taking the place of her teasing, "I never meant...I thought you knew!"

"You thought I knew what?" Josie raised her voice. She was scared. If Anne was showing empathy, something was terribly wrong.

Anne looked around, motioning her friends to leave them.

"Mr. Grove, he's..." she began, looking Josie in the eye, "...he's married."

Josie's heart stopped. She couldn't breathe.

"You know nothing, do you understand?" She stood to her feet and glared at Anne, fury ablaze in her eyes, "You're a fool and a liar! I won't believe you...I can't..."

She started for her room, tears coming to her eyes, but Anne called after her.

"Josephine, please, you must believe me!" she cried, following her, "I know it hurts you now, but it will only hurt more if you run away from the truth."

Josie ignored her and slammed her bedroom door in Anne's face.

She inhaled calmly before breaking down. She held her mouth and wept as the lies Anne revealed suddenly came clear. It all made sense. His wanting to keep their love secret, his leaving at unexpected times, his refusing to meet her on certain days...everything he did pointed to one fact.

Roger, the love of her life, was a married man.

The next day, despite her heartache and feelings of betrayal, Josie decided to go to the park. She had to confront Roger and end their relationship. She was filled with determination when she passed through the park entrance and walked down the empty path. But when she spotted him, her heart jumped. She loved him ever so deeply, she realized. But she had to keep her head, though she feared it would be impossible.

"I was afraid you'd never come," Roger stated when he turned and saw her. He stood from where he sat on a bench and offered her his arm, "It is so good to see you, darling. Shall we walk?"

Josie shook her head but said nothing.

"Is something wrong?" he asked and took her hand, but she pulled it away, "Josie, please, what is it? I know I should have met with you sooner, but things came up with work and I -"

"I know about your wife," she finally said.

Roger was silent for a time. He stared at her with fear in his eyes.

He cleared his throat, "Who told you?"

"It doesn't matter who told me! What matters is..." she took a deep breath," ...why didn't you tell me?" she asked, finally raising her eyes to his.

"Josie -"

"It's Miss. Mardle, please," she begged, "Why use my Christian name if I mean nothing to you?"

Roger stared at her, "You mean more to me than anything, Miss. Mardle."

His declaration made her heart melt, but she refused to succumb to her feelings.

"Then why didn't you tell me the truth?" she begged, looking away.

"To be perfectly honest," he said with a disheartened shrug, "I don't know..."

"Please, Mr. Grove," she laughed, "Spare me this nonsense - "

"It's true!" he insisted, taking her hand again, "I don't know why I never told you, but I do know this...when I am with you I forget. I forget my common sense, my station in life...I even forget my wife," he rubbed her hand gently, "I can't imagine a life without you, darling."

"That's all good and well," Josie said quietly, pulling her hand away, "But it does not change the fact that you are married."

Roger sighed, "I know, but - "

"What did you expect to happen?" Josie asked, anger growing inside her and killing the light warmth she'd begun to feel, "Did you think we'd continue on, hiding from the world? I thought you wanted a life with me!"

"I do!" Roger declared, bringing her to silence.

She looked at him, confused and hurt, but his eyes made her silent.

"My wife, she..." he looked around before continuing, "...she's the daughter of Mr. Samson. That's how I was able to return to the firm before. I agreed to wed his daughter in exchange for a job."

"How is that an acceptable deal?" Josie asked, baffled, "You get a job and a wife, whereas Mr. Samson loses a daughter to you, a horrid young man who - "

"It's not like you would think," he explained, "My wife is...well...she's very ill."

Josie looked to the ground, "I don't understand."

"Mr. Samson lost a daughter he could no longer care for day-in and day-out," he shrugged, "So you see? His lose is not as dear as one might suspect."

Josie felt sorry for Roger. He had to take care of a sickly woman just to keep a job he hated. However, her sympathy drifted away as quickly as it came.

"This still doesn't explain why you tricked me," she looked up to him, tortured to no end, "Why does your wife being ill constitute this? You lead me astray, Roger...I thought we would be married, but now it is clearly never going to happen so - "

"Have you not been listening?" Roger asked, exasperated, "My wife is ill."

"So?" Josie stated, "What difference does that make?"

"Her being ill means we may have a chance to be together," he said, stepping closer, "The doctors say she might not survive the year."

"I see..." Josie whispered but looked away, "I am sorry."

"She is a lovely woman and I would grieve her passing, but I do not love her as I love you, Josie," he said as he brought a hand to her chin and gently raised her eyes to meet his.

She felt weak.

"Do you love me, Roger?" she asked, her heart suddenly lightening, "Truly?"

Roger chuckled, "Did you ever doubt it?"

Josie smiled as tears of joy came to her eyes.

"My darling," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her and brought her close to him, "I promise, when the time comes, we will be together."

"We will?" she looked up at him.

His eyes softened, "Of course."

He brought a hand to her cheek and, leaning down, placed a soft kiss on her lips. Her heart raced and she felt as though she could fly. Her eyes shown brighter than the stars as he pulled away and kissed her forehead.

"We must wait," Roger whispered, bringing her heart back to earth, "Will you wait for me, Josie?"

She took a deep breath and moved closer into his embrace, "Of course, my dear."

The End

Thank you lovelies for sticking with me till the end.

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