Chapter 9: The Other Betrayal
I stood in the doorway between two people who had spent years deciding what I deserved to know.
My husband.
My sister-in-law.
Both looking at me like I was the last person in the room who mattered.
“Come inside,” I said.
Neither moved.
“Now.””
Megan stepped in first.
Mark closed the door behind her.
The silence was unbearable.
I looked at Megan.
“You have exactly one chance.””
She nodded slowly.
“I know.””
“No excuses.””
“I know.””
“No blaming me.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I know.””
I pointed toward the couch.
“Sit.””
For once, she listened.
Mark remained standing.
I looked at him.
“You too.””
He sat.
I stayed standing.
“Start from the beginning.””
Megan wiped her face.
“The night before your engagement party…”
My stomach tightened.
I remembered.
A celebration.
Too much champagne.
A fight with Mark.
Me leaving early.
And waking up the next morning feeling like something was missing.
But I had never questioned it.
I trusted everyone around me.
“I was there,” Megan said.
I looked at her.
“Yes.””
“You were.””
She nodded.
“But I wasn’t alone.””
The room went silent.
Mark looked at the floor.
“Megan,” he warned.
She looked at him.
“No more lies.””
Then she turned back to me.
“Your ex-boyfriend was there.””
My heart stopped.
“Ethan?””
She nodded.
“No.””
I shook my head.
“No, that’s not possible.””
“He came to find you.””
“Why?””
“Because you had called him.””
I frowned.
“I never called Ethan.””
Megan looked down.
“That’s the part we didn’t tell you.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What did you do?””
She whispered:
“I took your phone.””
My face went numb.
“What?””
“I saw the messages between you and Mark. I was angry.””
“Angry?””
“Yes.””
She looked ashamed.
“I thought you were ruining my brother’s life.””
I stared at her.
“So you stole my phone?””
“I deleted messages.””
“Which messages?””
“The ones Ethan sent.””
My chest tightened.
“What messages?””
Megan’s voice shook.
“The ones where he said he wanted to talk about the baby.””
The room went silent.
Baby.
Not daughter.
Not Lily.
Baby.
I looked at Mark.
“You knew?””
He nodded.
“I saw the messages after.””
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because I was scared.””
“Again.””
His eyes filled.
“I thought I was about to lose you.””
I shook my head.
“You didn’t lose me.””
I looked at both of them.
“You chose to betray me.””
Megan started crying.
“I made a mistake.””
“No.””
My voice was quiet.
“You made choices.””
She lowered her head.
“I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
“That Ethan would take Lily away.””
I froze.
“Why?””
Megan looked at Mark.
Then whispered:
“Because Ethan knew he was her father.””
The room went silent.
Then I heard a sound.
A small gasp.
I turned.
Lily stood in the hallway.
Her stuffed rabbit hanging from her hand.
My heart dropped.
“How long have you been standing there?””
She looked at me.
Then at Mark.
“Daddy isn’t my daddy?””
My entire body went cold.
“No, baby.””
I rushed toward her.
“No, sweetheart. Come here.””
But she stepped back.
Tears filled her eyes.
“Did I do something wrong?””
The question destroyed me.
I fell to my knees.
“Never.””
“Then why doesn’t Daddy want me?””
Mark stood up immediately.
“Lily, that’s not true.””
She looked at him.
“Then why did you try to take me away?””
Nobody spoke.
Because she had heard enough.
I pulled her into my arms.
And for the first time in five years, Mark looked like he understood what he had done.
Not to me.
Not to himself.
To her.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A man’s voice came through.
“Is this Chloe Anderson?””
“Yes.””
“My name is Ethan.””
My entire body froze.
“I think we need to talk.””
I looked at Lily.
Then at Mark.
Then Megan.
May you like
And Ethan said the words that changed everything again.
“Because I’ve spent five years trying to find my daughter.””
