Chapter 2: The Secret I Buried
Marcus did not say a word after he showed me the photograph.
That scared me more than if he had yelled.
The picture on his phone burned into my mind.
Me.
Seven years younger.
Standing outside a restaurant with Jacob.
His arm around my waist.
My head resting against his shoulder.
A moment frozen in time.
A moment I had forgotten.
Or convinced myself I had forgotten.
“Where did you get that?”” I whispered.
Marcus stared at me.
“Interesting question.””
“What does that mean?””
“It means you didn’t ask who sent it.””
My throat tightened.
Because I already knew.
“Jacob.””
Marcus looked away.
“Yeah.””
The baby began crying softly.
A tiny, helpless sound.
Normally, that sound would have pulled me instantly back into the world.
But I was trapped somewhere else.
Somewhere seven years ago.
Somewhere I had spent years running from.
Marcus placed his phone on the table beside my bed.
“Who is he really, Emma?””
I shook my head.
“You know who he is.””
“No, I know the version you gave me.””
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
“You told me you had an ex. You told me it ended badly. You told me you never wanted to see him again.””
“That’s true.””
“Is it?””
I looked at him.
“Yes.””
Marcus laughed quietly.
“Then why does he have a picture of you that looks like something more than a bad breakup?””
I had no answer.
Because the truth was complicated.
And complicated truths always sounded like lies.
I reached for the blanket covering our son.
“Marcus, I didn’t cheat on you.””
He looked at me.
“I didn’t ask that.””
The silence between us grew.
“You’re asking me if I loved him.””
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
“Yes.””
I swallowed.
“I did.””
The words felt heavier than I expected.
Not because they were a confession.
Because they were a wound I thought had already healed.
Marcus looked down.
For a second, I saw the pain on his face.
Then he covered it.
“When?””
“Before you.””
“That’s not what I asked.””
I frowned.
“What do you mean?””
He stepped closer.
“You named our son after him.””
My chest tightened.
“I already told you. It wasn’t like that.””
“Then explain it.””
I looked at the floor.
Because I couldn’t.
Not without opening every door I had locked.
Not without admitting that part of me had never really understood what happened between Jacob and me.
The first time I met Jacob Reed, I was convinced the universe had sent him.
I know how ridiculous that sounds now.
But when you’re young, lonely, and desperate to believe your life is about to change, coincidences feel like signs.
It was a Thursday night.
I was working late at a coffee shop near downtown.
The lights outside flickered.
The rain was coming down so hard the street looked like a river.
Everyone had already left.
Everyone except one man.
Jacob sat in the corner booth with a laptop in front of him and a coffee he hadn’t touched in an hour.
At closing time, I walked over.
“Sorry, we’re closing.””
He looked up.
His eyes were tired.
But he smiled.
“I know.””
I glanced at his empty cup.
“You’ve known for an hour?””
“Yes.””
“Then why are you still here?””
He looked toward the rain.
“Because going home feels worse.””
Something about that answer stayed with me.
Maybe because I understood it.
I knew what it felt like to be surrounded by people and still feel completely alone.
I picked up his cup.
“Five more minutes.””
He smiled.
“Are you always this generous?””
“No.””
“Then why me?””
I shrugged.
“Maybe I’m bored.””
He laughed.
And somehow, five minutes became an hour.
An hour became weeks.
Weeks became two years.
That was Jacob.
He made ordinary moments feel important.
He made me believe I was special.
Until he didn’t.
“I need you to tell me what happened the night you broke up.””
Marcus’s voice pulled me back.
I looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because I think that’s the part you’re hiding.””
I wanted to argue.
I wanted to tell him he was wrong.
But my silence answered for me.
Marcus sat down again.
“Emma.””
I looked at the baby.
“He disappeared.””
“When?””
“Seven years ago.””
“Just disappeared?””
“Yes.””
Marcus frowned.
“People don’t disappear.””
“Jacob did.””
“Why?””
I closed my eyes.
Because that was the question I had asked myself a thousand times.
The night everything changed, Jacob had promised to meet me.
We were supposed to have dinner.
He was supposed to tell me something important.
At least, that’s what he said.
I waited three hours.
Then five.
Then until sunrise.
His phone went straight to voicemail.
His apartment was empty when I went there the next day.
The landlord told me Jacob had moved out.
No goodbye.
No explanation.
Nothing.
I spent months trying to understand.
I called.
I texted.
I searched.
And then one day, I stopped.
Because loving someone who chose to vanish was destroying me.
“I thought he was dead,” I whispered.
Marcus looked surprised.
“What?””
“For a while, I thought something happened to him.””
The room became quiet.
“Then I realized he left.””
Marcus studied my face.
“And you never found out why?””
“No.””
“Not once?””
“No.””
He looked toward the window.
“So after seven years, the man who broke your heart suddenly appears because you used his name?””
“I don’t know why he contacted you.””
Marcus shook his head.
“That’s the part that bothers me.””
“What?””
“He didn’t contact you.””
My stomach dropped.
“He contacted me.””
I stared at him.
“Why?””
“I don’t know.””
He picked up his phone.
“But I intend to find out.””
Fear crawled through me.
“Marcus, don’t.””
He looked at me.
“Don’t what?””
“Don’t talk to him.””
“Why?””
“Because he’s not someone you want in your life.””
Marcus gave a humorless smile.
“You’re telling me that?””
The words hurt because they were fair.
I lowered my eyes.
“I’m trying to protect you.””
“From him?””
“Yes.””
“Or from the truth?””
I looked away.
And Marcus saw it.
He always saw things I tried to hide.
That was one of the reasons I loved him.
And one of the reasons I was terrified of losing him.
Two days later, we brought the baby home.
But nothing felt like home anymore.
The house looked exactly the same.
The white curtains I had chosen.
The family photos on the wall.
The tiny nursery Marcus spent three months building.
Everything was perfect.
Except us.
Marcus barely spoke.
He helped with the baby.
He changed diapers.
He warmed bottles.
He sat beside the crib at night.
But he felt miles away.
Like he was physically there and emotionally somewhere else.
On the third night, I found him sitting in the nursery alone.
The room was dark except for the small nightlight beside the crib.
“You should sleep,” I whispered.
He didn’t turn around.
“Neither should you.””
I walked closer.
“Marcus.””
He looked at the crib.
“Do you know what the worst part is?””
I stayed quiet.
“I don’t care that you had a past.””
His voice cracked slightly.
“I knew you weren’t born the day we met.””
I sat beside him.
“Then what?””
He looked at me.
“I care that your past walked into our future before I even knew it existed.””
My eyes filled with tears.
“That’s not fair.””
“No?””
“No.””
He nodded slowly.
“Then tell me something fair.””
I looked at him.
“Tell me why your ex knows about our baby.””
I had no answer.
Because that was impossible.
Unless someone had told him.
Unless someone had been watching.
Unless Jacob had never really been gone.
Marcus stood up.
“I’m meeting him tomorrow.””
My heart raced.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“Marcus, please.””
He grabbed his jacket from the chair.
“I need answers.””
“He will only hurt you.””
Marcus stopped.
Then he turned around.
“Emma.””
Something in his voice made me freeze.
“What?””
“He sent me another message.””
My blood went cold.
“What did he say?””
Marcus unlocked his phone.
Then he handed it to me.
The message was short.
Four words.
But they changed everything.
*Ask her about the baby.*
I looked up at Marcus.
My hands started shaking.
Because Jacob wasn’t asking about the name anymore.
He wasn’t asking about our marriage.
He wasn’t asking about me.
He was asking about our son.
And before I could say anything, Marcus’s phone rang.
The screen lit up.
Unknown number.
Marcus answered.
“Hello?””
A man’s voice came through the speaker.
A voice I hadn’t heard in seven years.
A voice I thought I would never hear again.
“Marcus.””
I stopped breathing.
May you like
Jacob continued.
“I think it’s time Emma tells you who Jacob really belongs to.””