Chapter 4: The Reason He Married Me
I didn’t sleep that night.
I sat on the nursery floor surrounded by unopened baby gifts.
A pink blanket.
A stuffed rabbit.
Tiny clothes that still had tags attached.
Everything represented a future I no longer trusted.
The room smelled like fresh paint.
The same paint Cole had chosen.
He had stood there three months earlier with white paint on his cheek and smiled.
“She’s going to love this room.””
I had laughed.
“She won’t even remember it.””
“She’ll remember that her dad built it.””
That memory hurt more than the betrayal.
Because it had been real.
At least for me.
My phone buzzed at 2:13 a.m.
A message from Cole.
I stared at his name for a long time.
Then I opened it.
I’m outside. Please talk to me.
I didn’t answer.
A minute later:
I know you hate me right now.
I almost threw the phone.
Hate was easy.
Hate was simple.
What I felt was worse.
I missed him.
And I hated myself for that.
At 3:00 a.m., there was a knock on the door.
Not Cole.
My mother.
I opened it but didn’t invite her in.
She looked exhausted.
Like she hadn’t slept either.
“Emma.””
“What now?””
Her eyes filled.
“I know you don’t want to hear anything from me.””
“You’re right.””
“But you deserve the truth.””
I leaned against the door.
“Then tell me.””
She took a breath.
“Cole did not meet you by accident.””
My chest tightened.
I already knew.
But hearing it was different.
“How?””
“He knew about his father.””
“No.””
“He didn’t know everything at first.””
I shook my head.
“Explain.””
Darla looked down.
“Cole’s father kept journals.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“After he died, Cole found them.””
The hallway felt cold.
“He discovered his father had a relationship with someone before he married his mother.””
I whispered:
“Who?””
My mother closed her eyes.
“Me.””
I stepped back.
No.
No.
There were too many impossible truths.
“You?””
“Yes.””
“You had an affair with his father?””
“It was before I knew who he really was.””
“And then?””
“Then I ended it.””
I stared at her.
“And Cole found out.””
“Yes.””
My hands shook.
“So he approached me because…”
Darla couldn’t say it.
I said it for her.
“Because he wanted revenge.””
Her silence confirmed it.
I closed my eyes.
The man I loved.
The man who held me while I cried.
The man who planned our future.
Had he chosen me because of something my mother did decades ago?
The door behind me opened.
I turned.
Cole stood there.
His face was pale.
“You told her.””
Darla looked at him.
“She deserved to know.””
I stared at him.
“Was it revenge?””
He didn’t answer.
That was enough.
My heart shattered.
“You married me because of my mother.””
“No.””
“You pursued me because of her.””
“No.””
“Then why?””
He stepped inside.
“I wanted to hate you.””
The honesty hurt.
More than another lie would have.
“I wanted to hurt your family.””
My eyes filled.
“And I was the easiest way?””
“No.””
“Then what was I?””
He looked at me.
And for the first time since this nightmare started, he looked completely broken.
“You were the one person I never expected to love.””
I said nothing.
He continued.
“When I first met you, I knew who your mother was. I knew what happened. I knew my father’s journals mentioned her.””
My voice was quiet.
“Then why stay?””
“Because somewhere along the way, you stopped being connected to them.””
A tear fell down his face.
“You became Emma.””
I hated that those words affected me.
I hated that part of me still saw the man I married.
But then I remembered the pantry.
The kiss.
My mother’s hand on my belly.
“Why her?””
Cole looked away.
And I knew.
There was another secret.
“Cole.””
He closed his eyes.
“Your mother contacted me because she thought I was leaving you.””
“What?””
“She found out I was planning to tell you everything.””
“Then why kiss her?””
His face changed.
Pain.
Regret.
“I didn’t.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
“I didn’t kiss her.””
The room went silent.
My mother looked shocked.
“What are you saying?””
Cole looked at Darla.
“She kissed me.””
My mother shook her head.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“You kissed me back.””
He looked guilty.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then I asked:
“Why?””
Darla covered her face.
Cole looked at me.
“Because she wanted to convince me not to tell you.””
My heart pounded.
“She was trying to stop you?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
My mother whispered:
“Because if Emma learns the final truth…”
I turned toward her.
“What final truth?””
She started crying.
“The baby.””
My hand went to my stomach.
“What about my baby?””
Darla looked at me with absolute fear.
“Emma…”
The words came out barely audible.
“Your daughter’s DNA may prove that everything we thought about our family is wrong.””
I stared at her.
Then at Cole.
Then down at my unborn child.
And for the first time, I wondered if the betrayal had started long before the pantry door opened.
May you like
Because maybe the biggest secret wasn’t who kissed who.
Maybe it was why everyone had been fighting so hard to keep me from discovering the truth about my own baby.
