Chapter 5: The Man Who Chose Me
I stared at the envelope on the table.
I couldn’t touch it.
I couldn’t even breathe normally.
Because there was something terrifying about a secret that had your name written on it.
A secret that had been waiting longer than your happiness.
“Open it,” Jacob said again.
I looked at him.
“Why do you have this?””
His expression hardened.
“Because I spent seven years trying to figure out why I lost everything.””
“That doesn’t answer my question.””
“No.””
He leaned back.
“It doesn’t.””
The old anger returned.
The same anger I thought I had buried.
“You don’t get to come back and act like the victim.””
Jacob flinched.
Good.
For years, I had imagined this moment.
The moment he came back.
The moment I finally got to ask why.
But now that he was sitting across from me, I realized something.
I didn’t want an apology.
I wanted the missing pieces.
I wanted the years he stole from me.
I wanted the truth.
“What happened to you?”” I asked.
Jacob looked down.
“I was forced to leave.””
“By who?””
He didn’t answer.
That was always his problem.
Even now.
Even after seven years.
A locked door.
A hidden room.
A secret.
“Jacob.””
He looked at me.
“Marcus.””
The name landed between us.
I felt my stomach tighten.
“You’re saying Marcus made you leave?””
“Yes.””
“That’s insane.””
“Is it?””
“Yes.””
I stood up.
“You expect me to believe that my husband somehow knew you before I met him?””
Jacob didn’t move.
“I expect you to believe what the evidence says.””
I looked at the envelope.
“What’s inside?””
“Everything.””
“That means nothing.””
“It means your husband wasn’t a stranger when he walked into your life.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Emma—”
“No.””
My voice rose.
“Marcus is the person who stayed when everyone else left.””
Jacob looked at me.
“I know.””
“Do you?””
“Yes.””
His answer surprised me.
“He’s a good man.””
I froze.
I wasn’t expecting that.
Jacob looked toward the window.
“That’s what makes this worse.””
I sat back down slowly.
“What are you talking about?””
Jacob took a breath.
“I’m not saying Marcus never loved you.””
The way he said it made my chest tighten.
“I’m saying love wasn’t the only reason he came into your life.””
I looked at the envelope again.
Then finally picked it up.
It felt heavier than paper should feel.
I opened it.
The first thing inside was a photograph.
My breath caught.
It was me.
But not the me I remembered.
This picture was taken eight years ago.
Before Marcus.
Before marriage.
Before the house.
Before everything.
I was standing outside a building.
A corporate building.
And beside me was someone I recognized immediately.
Marcus.
My hands went cold.
“What is this?””
Jacob didn’t answer.
I looked closer.
The picture showed me shaking hands with Marcus.
Except I had never met him.
At least, I didn’t think I had.
“Where was this taken?””
“Reed Technologies.””
My eyes lifted.
“Your company?””
Jacob nodded.
“What was I doing there?””
“That’s what I spent years trying to understand.””
I looked at the photo again.
Marcus looked younger.
Different.
But it was him.
“How did you get this?””
“Because I found out Marcus had been watching you before he met you.””
I pushed the photo back.
“No.””
Jacob’s face softened.
“Emma.””
“No.””
I stood again.
“You’re trying to destroy my marriage.””
His expression changed.
Pain.
Real pain.
“I’m trying to stop you from living a lie.””
“You’re the one who lied.””
“I know.””
“Then why should I believe anything you say?””
Jacob looked down.
“Because I have no reason to lie anymore.””
I laughed.
“That’s funny.””
“Why?””
“Because seven years ago you had every reason to tell me the truth.””
Silence.
The kind that hurt.
Jacob looked away.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“From what?””
He didn’t answer.
And that was when I realized something.
Jacob wasn’t afraid of me.
He wasn’t afraid of Marcus.
He was afraid of something bigger.
When I got home, Marcus was standing in the kitchen.
For a second, I forgot everything.
The sight of him still hurt.
Because despite everything, he was still my husband.
The father who had painted the nursery.
The man who had stayed awake during my pregnancy because I couldn’t sleep.
The person I called when I had good news.
And bad news.
And every piece of news in between.
Then I remembered the envelope.
The photo.
The questions.
“What happened to you?”” I asked.
Marcus looked at me.
“I could ask you the same thing.””
“I went to the hospital.””
His expression changed.
“Why?””
“To see the records.””
A pause.
“What records?””
I watched him carefully.
“The original birth records.””
Marcus went completely still.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
Again.
That hesitation.
“You found them.””
It wasn’t a question.
My heart sank.
“You knew.””
Marcus looked away.
“Emma.””
“You knew.””
He rubbed his face.
“Not everything.””
“Then what?””
Silence.
“Tell me.””
He walked to the counter.
His back was turned toward me.
“I knew Jacob was a possibility.””
The words hurt more than I expected.
“How?””
“Because I found out.””
“When?””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Before we got married.””
The room spun.
Before we got married.
Years.
Years of secrets.
“You knew there was a chance our son wasn’t yours.””
“Yes.””
“And you married me anyway?””
He turned around.
“I loved you.””
“That’s not an answer.””
“It is.””
“No, Marcus.””
My voice broke.
“It’s not.””
He stepped closer.
“I loved you enough to believe the past didn’t matter.””
“Then why change the records?””
His face changed.
There it was.
The question he didn’t want.
“The hospital called me.””
“When?””
“After the birth.””
My heartbeat increased.
“What did they tell you?””
“That there was an issue with the paperwork.””
“What issue?””
Marcus looked down.
“They said Jacob’s name appeared.””
I stared.
“And you changed it.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
His answer came quietly.
“Because I wanted to be your son’s father.””
The honesty hurt.
Because it was not the answer I expected.
“But you weren’t.””
Marcus swallowed.
“I didn’t know.””
“You could have told me.””
“I was afraid.””
I almost laughed.
“Afraid?””
“Yes.””
His eyes filled.
“You think I wasn’t terrified?””
He stepped closer.
“I had spent years building a life with you. Then one day someone from your past appeared and suddenly I was supposed to wonder if everything I had was temporary.””
I looked away.
“That’s not fair.””
“No.””
His voice cracked.
“It isn’t.””
The silence stretched.
Then I asked the question that had been burning inside me.
“Did you know Jacob before you met me?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
And that was the answer.
My chest tightened.
“How?””
He sat down.
Slowly.
“I knew of him.””
“What does that mean?””
“His family had business connections with mine.””
I stared.
“You knew who he was.””
“Yes.””
“And you still approached me?””
Marcus looked up.
“I didn’t know you were with him.””
“But you found out.””
“Yes.””
“When?””
His silence returned.
“Marcus.””
He looked exhausted.
“After our second date.””
I felt sick.
“Second date?””
“Yes.””
“And you never told me?””
“I was going to.””
“When?””
He looked away.
“I don’t know.””
The same answer.
The same painful answer.
The same thing Jacob had done.
I stepped back.
“You both decided what I deserved to know.””
“Emma—”
“No.””
My voice trembled.
“I spent seven years thinking Jacob abandoned me.””
I looked at him.
“And now I find out you knew about him.””
Marcus stood.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“Everyone says that.””
I grabbed my coat.
“Everyone who hurts me says that.””
“Where are you going?””
I didn’t answer.
Because I didn’t know.
I just knew I couldn’t stay in that house.
Not with the walls full of memories.
Not with the man I loved standing in front of me.
Not when I no longer knew which parts of my life were real.
As I opened the door, Marcus said my name.
I stopped.
“Emma.””
I looked back.
His face was broken.
“I never wanted to replace him.””
I said nothing.
“I just wanted to be the person who stayed.””
My eyes filled.
Because that was the tragedy.
Marcus had stayed.
Jacob had left.
But somehow both of them had hidden the truth from me.
I walked outside.
And my phone immediately rang.
Jacob.
I almost ignored it.
Almost.
Then I saw the message attached.
*Emma, you need to come alone. I found out why Marcus chose you.*
My fingers froze.
Another message appeared.
*And it’s not because he loved you.*
I stared at the words.
May you like
Then the final message arrived.
*Your father was involved.*