Chapter 5: The Photograph From Before Me
I didn’t sleep.
I sat at my desk until sunrise, staring at the photograph.
Ethan and Nicole.
Young.
Smiling.
Standing outside a restaurant I recognized.
My restaurant.
The one where Nicole and I had our first date.
But the date on the back of the photo made my chest tighten.
Five years before I met her.
I heard footsteps behind me.
“Dad?””
I quickly turned the photo over.
Maya stood in the doorway wearing pajamas.
“You’re awake.””
“Yeah.””
She walked closer.
“Is something wrong?””
I wanted to lie.
I almost did.
Then I remembered what lying had done to our family.
“I found something about Nicole and Ethan.””
Her expression changed.
“Before?””
I looked at her.
“You knew?””
She shook her head.
“Not everything.””
“What did you know?””
Maya sat down.
“Mom and Ethan used to know each other.””
“How?””
“I don’t know.””
I stared at the floor.
“How long have you known?””
“A few months.””
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“A few months.””
Everyone had pieces of the truth.
Everyone except me.
Later that morning, I called Ethan.
He answered immediately.
“I knew you would find it.””
That sentence made my blood run cold.
“You knew?””
A long pause.
“Yes.””
“Then explain.””
“I should have told you.””
“You keep saying that.””
“I know.””
“Were you and Nicole together before me?””
Silence.
That was my answer.
“Ethan.””
“No.””
His voice was firm.
“No, we were never together.””
I didn’t know whether I believed him.
“Then why do you have a picture together?””
“Because Nicole worked with me.””
“What?””
“She was my assistant.””
I frowned.
“That makes no sense.””
“It will.””
I heard him sigh.
“Michael, there’s something about Nicole’s past you don’t know.””
I looked toward the hallway.
“Then tell me.””
“I can’t over the phone.””
“Why?””
“Because she deserves to tell you herself.””
I almost hung up.
“You don’t get to decide what I deserve to know.””
“I’m trying to protect you.””
That phrase again.
Everyone was protecting me.
Nobody was trusting me.
“Meet me,” I said.
An hour later, Ethan sat across from me at a coffee shop.
He looked older than I remembered.
Tired.
“I met Nicole when she was going through the hardest time of her life.””
“What time?””
He looked down.
“She had another child.””
I stopped breathing.
“What?””
Ethan swallowed.
“Before Jordan.””
The world seemed to tilt.
“Nicole had another child?””
“She was young.””
“Where is that child?””
He looked at me.
“She gave him up.””
I stared.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“Nicole never told me.””
“I know.””
“Why?””
Ethan didn’t answer immediately.
Then he said, “Because that child is the reason she is terrified of losing Jordan.””
I sat there in silence.
Suddenly, everything looked different.
The appointments.
The panic.
The fear.
But there was still one question I couldn’t ignore.
“Why did she hide it from me?””
Ethan looked away.
“Because she was afraid you would see her differently.””
I shook my head.
“I don’t understand.””
“You will.””
He reached into his jacket and placed another envelope on the table.
“This was sent to her two months ago.””
I opened it.
Inside was a letter.
The handwriting was unfamiliar.
But the first line made my heart stop.
“Dear Nicole, after fifteen years, I think it’s time our son knows who his biological father is.””
I looked up.
“Her son?””
Ethan nodded.
May you like
And then he said the one thing I wasn’t prepared to hear.
“Michael, Jordan may not be your biological son.””
