Chapter 1
"I Came Home Early and Saw My Husband’s Mistress Push My 7-Year-Old Daughter to the Floor—Then I Slapped Her Before Asking Him One Question
I came home from work two hours early and heard my seven-year-old daughter screaming from the living room.
“Get away from my daddy!”
I dropped my purse and ran inside.
My husband, Michael, was standing beside the couch with a woman I had never seen before.
My daughter, Emma, was between them.
She shoved the woman away with both hands.
“Leave my daddy alone!”
The woman’s face twisted.
Then she pushed Emma back.
My little girl fell hard onto the floor.
“Emma!”
I ran across the room and pulled her into my arms.
She was crying so hard she could barely speak.
“Mommy, she was hugging Daddy.”
I looked up at Michael.
He had gone completely pale.
The woman folded her arms.
“She attacked me first.”
I stood slowly.
“She is seven.”
Then I slapped the woman across the face.
Michael grabbed my wrist.
“Sarah, stop!”
I ripped my arm away.
“Who is she?”
The woman laughed bitterly.
“Seriously, Michael? You never told her?”
My stomach dropped.
“Told me what?”
Michael stepped between us.
“This isn’t what it looks like.”
Emma clung to my coat.
“She was kissing Daddy when I came home.”
I felt like the floor disappeared beneath me.
I looked at Michael.
“Is that true?”
He said nothing.
The woman picked up her purse.
“I’m done hiding.”
Michael suddenly shouted, “Lauren, don’t.”
That made me look at her again.
She reached into her purse and pulled out a photograph.
Then she handed it to me.
It showed Michael standing beside her outside a hospital.
And in Lauren’s arms was a newborn baby.
I looked at the date printed in the corner.
May you like
It was from eight months ago.
Then Lauren said quietly, “You should ask your husband whose name is on this baby’s birth certificate.”
