Chapter 2: The Call His Mother Wasn't Supposed to Make
I had always believed that the worst thing a husband could do was betray his wife.
Standing in the terminal that morning, I began to understand that betrayal could have layers.
There was the kiss.
There was the woman who knew I existed but had expected me not to appear.
There was the apartment Daniel had apparently discussed with her.
And then there was the look on his face when his mother called.
It wasn't the expression of a man who wanted help.
It was the expression of a man who was afraid someone might say too much.
His phone continued ringing.
"Answer it," I said.
Daniel stared at me.
"Claire, please.""
"Your mother is calling. Answer it.""
He declined the call.
A second later, a message appeared on his screen.
I couldn't read all of it from where I stood, but I saw the first few words.
Did you get Claire to sign—
Daniel turned the phone facedown.
My stomach tightened.
"Sign what?""
"Nothing.""
"Your mother was asking whether I signed something?""
"You don't know what you're talking about.""
"Then tell me.""
He looked around again, visibly irritated by the growing number of people glancing in our direction.
"Not here.""
I was beginning to hate those two words.
Not here.
Not now.
Not in front of Vanessa.
Not when the babies were crying.
Not when I had a right to ask.
Every answer was postponed until a time and place where he could control the conversation.
I adjusted Emma against my shoulder.
"Fine," I said.
"I'll ask you somewhere else.""
I turned to leave.
This time, Daniel grabbed my wrist.
Not hard enough to hurt me, but hard enough to stop me.
"Claire, don't make this worse.""
I looked at his hand.
Then at him.
"Let go of me.""
He released me immediately, glancing toward the people nearby.
Vanessa stepped closer to him.
"Daniel, we really should go.""
I almost admired her nerve.
She had kissed my husband in a public terminal and now seemed eager to rush him away before I could ask another question.
I turned to her.
"Did you know he was married when this started?""
Her face tightened.
"Yes.""
The answer came without hesitation.
I swallowed.
"Did you know I was pregnant?""
She looked at Daniel before replying.
"Yes.""
"And did you know he had twin daughters?""
Vanessa's gaze dropped to the babies.
"Yes.""
Each answer was quieter than the last.
I waited for her to offer some excuse.
She didn't.
"Then I suppose there's nothing left for me to ask you.""
I started walking.
This time, neither of them stopped me.
The terminal doors opened onto a cold morning, and the wind caught the edge of Emma's blanket. I tucked it around her and kept moving until I found a bench near the parking area.
My knees felt weak.
I sat down carefully, making sure both babies were supported.
For several minutes, I stared at the pavement.
Then Lily began crying.
It was a small, ordinary sound. The kind of sound I had heard hundreds of times since her birth.
But it broke something inside me.
I pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.
"It's okay, sweetheart," I whispered.
"Mommy's here.""
My voice cracked on the last word.
I didn't know whether I was reassuring her or myself.
I had no idea how long I sat there before my phone rang.
Daniel.
I watched his name flash across the screen.
Once.
Twice.
A third time.
I finally answered.
"What?""
"Where are you?""
"Outside.""
"Which entrance?""
"Why?""
"Because I need to talk to you.""
I let out a humorless breath.
"You had plenty to say inside.""
"Claire, please don't do this over the phone.""
"Then tell me the truth.""
Silence.
I heard the distant rumble of traffic on his end.
Then Daniel said, "Vanessa and I have been seeing each other for a while.""
I closed my eyes.
"How long is a while?""
"About eight months.""
Eight months.
I repeated the number in my head.
Eight months ago, I had been newly pregnant.
Eight months ago, Daniel had kissed me goodbye before boarding his ship and promised he would be back before our daughters were old enough to miss him.
Eight months ago, I had stood in our kitchen holding a positive pregnancy test while he laughed, lifted me off the floor, and pressed his forehead against mine.
Eight months ago, he had told me we were going to be a family.
"Eight months," I whispered.
"Claire—"
"You were already with her when you left?""
"It wasn't like that at first.""
"Then what was it like?""
He exhaled.
"We were having problems.""
I stared at a crack in the pavement.
"What problems?""
"You know things haven't been easy.""
"No, Daniel. I know you work at sea. I know we spent months apart.
I know I was pregnant with your children when you left. Tell me what I supposedly did that made you start sleeping with someone else.""
"I didn't say you did anything.""
"Then stop using our marriage as an excuse for what you chose to do.""
He fell silent.
I could hear him breathing.
Then he said, "I didn't plan for any of this to happen.""
"But it happened.""
"Yes.""
"And you kept lying to me.""
"I didn't want to hurt you.""
I almost dropped the phone.
"You didn't want to hurt me?""
"Claire, I was going to tell you.""
"When?""
"When I got home.""
"After kissing her at the port?""
He didn't answer.
"After you met your daughters?""
"That's not fair.""
I looked down at Lily, who was now sucking on her tiny fist.
Fair.
I wondered whether he understood the word.
"Daniel, I delivered two premature babies without you beside me. I spent nights in a hospital room wondering if they were going to be okay. I learned how to care for both of them alone because I believed you were coming home to us.""
"I know.""
"No, you don't.""
My voice grew louder.
"You weren't there when Emma had trouble breathing during her first week. You weren't there when Lily cried for three hours and I thought I was doing everything wrong. You weren't there when I sat on the bathroom floor because my stitches hurt so badly I couldn't stand up straight.""
I wiped my face with the back of my hand.
"And you still had time to build another relationship?""
"Claire, please.""
"No. You don't get to ask me to make this easier for you.""
A car horn sounded nearby.
Daniel said something to someone on his end, then returned to the call.
"Listen. I need you to go home. I'll come over later, and we'll talk properly.""
"Are you bringing Vanessa?""
"Of course not.""
"Are you moving into that apartment with her?""
Silence.
My fingers tightened around the phone.
"Daniel?""
"It's complicated.""
I laughed once, a short, broken sound.
"No. It isn't.""
"Claire, I don't want to fight.""
"Then stop giving me reasons to.""
He lowered his voice.
"There's something else. My mother may contact you. Don't listen to everything she says.""
My heart began to pound.
"What does your mother have to do with this?""
"Nothing. She's upset about some family issues.""
"What family issues?""
"Just don't get involved until I can explain.""
I looked at the terminal doors.
Through the glass, I could see people walking past the entrance. Somewhere inside, my husband was probably standing beside the woman he had kissed.
He had lied to me for eight months.
And now he was asking me to ignore his own mother.
"Daniel, what did you do?""
"I haven't done anything to you.""
"Then why are you afraid of what she might tell me?""
He didn't answer.
Instead, he said, "I'll be home by six.""
The call ended.
I lowered the phone slowly.
For a few seconds, I simply sat there with my daughters, trying to absorb what I had heard.
Eight months.
My pregnancy had lasted less than that.
He had been cheating before I had even felt our daughters kick.
I thought about every video call, every message, every time he had told me he missed us.
Had he been lying when he asked to see the babies?
Had he been lying when he said he wished he could be home?
Or had he convinced himself that he could love two women in two different worlds without either of us discovering the other?
A shadow fell across the bench.
I looked up.
It was Vanessa.
She stood several feet away, holding her handbag against her side.
Daniel wasn't with her.
"Can I talk to you?"" she asked.
I stared at her.
"Why?""
She glanced toward the terminal.
"Because Daniel isn't telling you everything.""
I felt a coldness spread through my chest.
"Then tell me.""
Vanessa looked at the twins.
For the first time, she seemed genuinely uncomfortable.
"I didn't know he was going to kiss me in front of you.""
I blinked.
"That is what you came here to tell me?""
"No.""
She took a breath.
"Claire, I thought he had already made arrangements with you.""
"What arrangements?""
"He said you'd agreed to separate.""
My mouth went dry.
"He told you I agreed to separate?""
"Yes.""
"When?""
"Several weeks ago.""
I shook my head.
"I haven't spoken to him about separating.""
Vanessa looked startled.
Then her expression shifted into something that resembled anger.
"He told me you were only staying married because of the babies.""
I stared at her.
The wind lifted a strand of hair from her face.
"Did he tell you that before or after he asked you to move into an apartment with him?""
She looked away.
That was answer enough.
I stood carefully, balancing both babies against my chest.
"Let me make something clear. Daniel and I have never agreed to separate. We have never discussed divorce. And I have never given him permission to build another life while pretending he was still my husband.""
Vanessa's lips parted.
"I didn't know.""
"You knew he was married.""
"Yes, but—"
"You knew I was pregnant.""
She said nothing.
"You knew I was about to have his children.""
"I know.""
"And you decided to believe whatever he told you because it was easier than asking why a married man was making promises to you.""
Her face flushed.
"I loved him.""
I looked at her for a long moment.
"So did I.""
The words hung between us.
For the first time, Vanessa had no answer.
Then she reached into her handbag and pulled out her phone.
"There's something I think you should see.""
I didn't move.
"What is it?""
"A message Daniel sent me last night.""
She held the screen toward me.
I looked down.
The message was short.
Once Claire signs the paperwork, everything will be settled. Don't worry. By the end of the month, the house and the money won't be a problem anymore.
I read it twice.
The house.
The money.
The paperwork.
I raised my eyes.
"What paperwork?""
Vanessa swallowed.
"He said it was just an agreement about your finances. Something he needed you to sign before he could move on.""
I felt the babies shifting against my arms.
"What did he tell you would happen to me?""
Vanessa hesitated.
Then she said, "He told me you would have the girls, and he'd send money when he could.""
I stared at her.
"He was going to leave his daughters?""
"He said he'd make sure they were taken care of.""
"By whom?""
She looked down.
I didn't wait for an answer.
I walked toward the parking area, my thoughts racing so fast that I could barely arrange them into words.
Daniel had not simply cheated.
He had apparently planned an entire future with another woman while telling her I had agreed to disappear from his life.
And whatever paperwork he wanted me to sign had something to do with our house and our money.
I reached my car and carefully secured the twins in their seats.
My hands shook so badly that I had to fasten Lily's buckle twice.
Before I closed the door, Vanessa called after me.
"Claire!""
I turned.
She stood near the curb, her face pale.
"There's one more thing.""
I stared at her.
"What now?""
She took a breath.
"Daniel said the paperwork was already prepared. He said your mother-in-law had helped him arrange it.""
I went completely still.
His mother.
The same woman who had called him at the terminal.
The same woman whose message began with a question about whether he had gotten me to sign.
I looked down at my phone.
A new message had appeared.
It was from Daniel's mother, Margaret.
Claire, sweetheart, we need to talk before Daniel gets home. There are things about your marriage that my son has never told you.
May you like
Then another message arrived.
And please don't sign anything he gives you.
