Chapter 10: The Letter Ryan Left Behind
I stared at the first sentence until the words stopped looking like words.
*Daniel, if you are reading this, Emma has already lied to you again.*
My fingers tightened around the paper.
Emma stood across from me, pale and motionless.
“Don’t read it,” she whispered.
I looked up.
“Why?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because it will destroy everything.””
I almost laughed.
Everything was already destroyed.
The marriage I thought I had.
The trust I thought we shared.
The future I imagined.
I unfolded the letter.
The handwriting was uneven, rushed.
Like someone writing while angry.
*I know you hate me. I know you think I’m the villain. Maybe I am. But you deserve to know what she never told you.*
I looked at Emma.
She looked away.
I kept reading.
*Emma didn’t leave me because she suddenly realized I was controlling. She left because she found out something about me that she couldn’t forgive.*
My eyebrows tightened.
I stopped.
“What does that mean?””
Emma’s face went blank.
“Daniel…”
“What does that mean?””
She walked toward me.
“Please.””
“No.””
My voice was harder than I intended.
“You wanted me to understand why you were afraid. Fine. I’m trying. But every time I get close to the truth, there’s another secret.””
She lowered her head.
“I was protecting you.””
“From what?””
She didn’t answer.
I looked back at the letter.
*She knows what I did. She knows why I changed. She knows why I can never let her forget me.*
A cold feeling moved through my body.
This wasn’t a jealous ex.
This was something deeper.
I read the next paragraph.
*The night she left, she found evidence that I had been hiding money. She thought I was stealing from her. She was wrong.*
I frowned.
“Money?””
Emma closed her eyes.
“I didn’t want to talk about this.””
“Why?””
“Because it’s complicated.””
I looked at her.
“Everything is complicated with you.””
The words hurt her.
I saw it.
But I needed honesty.
Finally, she sat down.
“When I was married to Ryan, I found out he had been moving money from our accounts.””
“How much?””
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t know?””
“I found records. Transfers. Hidden accounts.””
I looked at the letter.
“And you thought he was stealing from you?””
“Yes.””
“Was he?””
She hesitated.
“No.””
I froze.
“What?””
Emma swallowed.
“He wasn’t taking money.””
“Then what was he doing?””
She looked at the floor.
“He was paying someone.””
The room went silent.
“Who?””
She didn’t answer.
“Emma.””
Her voice shook.
“A private investigator.””
I stared at her.
“Why would your husband hire a private investigator?””
She looked toward the box.
“Because he was looking into me.””
My stomach tightened.
“Why?””
“Because he thought I was hiding something.””
“And were you?””
She looked at me.
“Yes.””
I felt my chest tighten.
“What?””
Emma started crying.
“I found out I was pregnant before I met you.””
The words hit me.
I stared at her.
“But you told me we found out together.””
“I know.””
“Why?””
“Because I was terrified.””
I stepped back.
“You lied about when you knew you were pregnant?””
She nodded.
“I found out two weeks before our first date.””
I couldn’t speak.
The woman I loved had rewritten the beginning of our entire relationship.
“You knew you were pregnant when you met me?””
“Yes.””
“Did you know who the father was?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.””
My heart pounded.
“Who?””
She whispered:
“Ryan.””
The room went completely silent.
Then she looked at me.
“And that’s why I was so afraid.””
I stared at her.
“What are you saying?””
She shook her head quickly.
“No. Daniel, listen.””
I couldn’t move.
“The paternity test said I’m Noah’s father.””
“Yes.””
“Then why are you telling me this?””
“Because Ryan was never the biological father.””
I looked confused.
“Then why did you just say—”
“Because I thought he was.””
The silence was unbearable.
Emma grabbed the edge of the table.
“I didn’t know the truth until after Noah was born.””
My heart raced.
“How?””
She looked at the letter.
“Because Ryan knew before I did.””
I picked up the paper again.
The next sentence was waiting.
*Emma, if you ever tell him the truth, he will finally understand why I came back.*
I looked at Emma.
“What truth?””
She didn’t answer.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message.
From Ryan.
May you like
One sentence.
*Ask Emma what happened the night Noah was conceived.*
