Chương 6
“What are you saying?”
“I am saying Marcus knew you were pregnant before you showed him the test.”
I leaned against the counter.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It does if you know what he was afraid of.”
My mind raced back.
Eight years.
The night I told him.
The argument.
The way his face changed.
The way he immediately accused me.
At the time, I thought he was shocked.
I thought he was scared because the news was unexpected.
But now another possibility entered the room.
Maybe he was not surprised.
Maybe he was already running.
“How did he know?”
Lauren was quiet.
“I don’t know every detail.”
“Then why call me?”
“Because I know enough.”
I stared outside again.
“Tell me.”
“I was his executive assistant.”
The words made me pause.
Marcus had never mentioned her.
“I handled his calendar, emails, and personal scheduling.”
“And?”
“And three days before you told him about the pregnancy, he asked me to move a meeting.”
“What meeting?”
“A meeting with a divorce attorney.”
My chest tightened.
“He was planning to leave before he accused me.”
“Yes.”
The word was almost a whisper.
“Why?”
I heard her hesitate.
“I think he believed he had ruined his life.”
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because after all these years, I was hearing the same excuse in a different voice.
“He had a wife who loved him.”
“I know.”
“He had a child coming.”
“I know.”
“He had a choice.”
Another pause.
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
The hardest part about betrayal was not discovering someone hurt you.
It was discovering they had opportunities not to.
“What else?”
Lauren’s voice changed.
“He had a second reason.”
“What reason?”
“He was worried about his father’s company.”
I looked toward the room where Patricia’s family photographs hung on the walls.
“Marcus worked for his father?”
“You knew that.”
“I knew he worked there.”
I did not know everything.
That was something I had learned about Marcus.
He could make you feel close while keeping entire parts of himself locked away.
“Eight years ago, Reynolds Capital was having problems.”
“How serious?”
“Serious enough that Marcus was desperate.”
I listened.
“He was supposed to take over leadership from his father.”
“And the pregnancy threatened that?”
“Not exactly.”
She paused.
“The woman he was dating before you.”
I went quiet.
“What woman?”
Lauren sighed.
“I shouldn’t be the one telling you this.”
“You already started.”
Another silence.
“Marcus’s father had arranged a relationship.”
I looked at the snow outside.
“Arranged?”
“Not officially.”
The distinction felt meaningless.
“It was a business family connection.”
I understood.
Money.
Status.
Reputation.
The things people called responsibility when they wanted to justify cruelty.
“Her name?”
“Charlotte Whitmore.”
The name meant nothing.
But I knew immediately it belonged to someone from Marcus’s world.
Someone who belonged in rooms with expensive furniture and careful conversations.
“Was he with her?”
“No.”
The answer came quickly.
“Not at the time.”
“At the time?”
Lauren hesitated.
“I think Marcus was trying to end it.”
I frowned.
“Then why does it matter?”
“Because his father told him the company needed stability.”
I looked down at my phone.
“And Marcus chose the company.”
Lauren did not answer.
She did not need to.
The silence was enough.
I ended the call without saying goodbye.
For several minutes, I stood in the kitchen alone.
I did not cry.
I thought I would.
Eight years ago, I cried over everything.
Now, pain arrived differently.
It arrived quietly.
It sat beside me.
It waited.
Marcus walked inside twenty minutes later.
His cheeks were red from the cold.
The children ran ahead of him.
“Mama, Dad got destroyed in the snow fight,” Noah announced.
Marcus shook his head.
“Four against one is not fair.”
“You were losing before we teamed up,” Ethan said.
Marcus looked offended.
“I was letting you win.”
All four children laughed.
I watched him.
This was the part that made everything complicated.
He was not a monster.
Monsters were easier.
People like Marcus were harder.
People who could abandon their family and still laugh with their children eight years later.
People who could do terrible things and still have good moments.
People who could hurt you and still make you wonder if they were capable of changing.
The children ran upstairs to change clothes.
The second they disappeared, I looked at Marcus.
“We need to talk.”
Something in my voice changed his expression.
“What happened?”
“Who is Lauren Hayes?”
The color left his face.
Not completely.
Just enough.
Enough to confirm she was not a stranger.
“Where did you hear that name?”
“That is not an answer.”
Marcus looked toward the stairs.
Then back at me.
“I can explain.”
I almost smiled.
Everyone said that before explaining.
“Try.”
He sat down slowly.
“I wondered when this would happen.”
My heart sank.
“You knew?”
He looked exhausted.
“I knew eventually someone would tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
Marcus rubbed his hands over his face.
“I made choices I was ashamed of.”
“That is a very convenient sentence.”
“I know.”
“Stop saying that.”
He looked up.
The frustration on his face disappeared.
“Okay.”
That small surrender surprised me.
“Eight years ago, my father was pressuring me.”
“About Charlotte?”
His silence answered.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“And you still married me.”
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
“I never married you because of that.”
I stared at him.
“Then why did you marry me?”
His eyes moved toward the stairs.
Toward the place where our children had disappeared.
“Because I loved you.”
The words should have meant something.
Maybe once they would have.
But love without courage had almost destroyed me.
“Then why did you leave?”
Marcus looked down.
“Because I was a coward.”
The honesty hurt more than an excuse.
Because excuses could be rejected.
Truth had to be carried.
“I thought if I left quickly, I could fix everything.”
“Everything?”
“My father’s company.”
“Your reputation.”
He looked at me.
May you like
“My life.”
I nodded slowly.
