Chapter 8 - The Marriage That Was A Lie
I spent the next few days questioning everything.
Every moment.
Every conversation.
Every memory.
Was any of it real?
The hardest part wasn't learning that Ryan lied.
It was wondering if he ever loved me.
One night, Lily found me sitting alone.
“Mom?”
I wiped my face quickly.
“Yes?”
“Are you sad because of Daddy?”
I looked at my daughter.
Children notice everything.
“Yes.”
She sat beside me.
“I miss who Daddy used to be.”
That sentence broke my heart.
Because I missed him too.
Not the man he became.
The man I thought he was.
The next day, Ryan requested another meeting.
Against my father's advice, I agreed.
Not because I trusted him.
Because I needed answers.
We met in a lawyer's office.
Ryan looked tired.
For the first time, he looked like a man who knew he was losing.
“Emily.”
I said nothing.
“I know what you heard.”
“Do you?”
His eyes moved away.
“I made mistakes.”
Again.
That word.
“Was our marriage a mistake?”
He didn't answer.
That was my answer.
I felt something inside me break.
Not my heart.
Something else.
The last piece of hope.
“Why me?”
Ryan finally looked at me.
“My father hated yours.”
“So you married me because of him?”
“At first…”
He stopped.
I felt sick.
“At first?”
Ryan swallowed.
“Then I fell in love with you.”
I laughed sadly.
“How convenient.”
“Emily, it's true.”
“No.”
I stood up.
“You don't get to tell me what was real.”
I walked toward the door.
Then Ryan said something that stopped me.
“Your father doesn't know everything.”
I turned around.
“What does that mean?”
May you like
Ryan looked terrified.
“There is someone else involved.”
