Chapter 3: The Secret Under My Heart
I didn’t sleep.
Not because of Cole.
Not because of my mother.
Because of one question.
What secret?
I spent the entire morning replaying every conversation I had ever had with Cole.
Every argument.
Every quiet moment.
Every time he looked at me like he knew something I didn’t.
By noon, I drove to his apartment.
The apartment we had rented while our house was being renovated.
The place where we had built our first nursery plan.
The place where he betrayed me.
He opened the door and froze.
“Emma?””
“Why did you talk to my mother before she came here?””
His expression changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
“You talked to her first.””
He looked away.
“Who told you that?””
“So it’s true.””
He sighed.
“Emma, listen.””
“No. You listen.””
I stepped inside.
“What secret are you talking about?””
He didn’t answer.
That scared me more.
“Cole.””
He sat down.
“I found the medical papers.””
My heart dropped.
“What papers?””
“From the fertility clinic.””
I went completely still.
Three months before I became pregnant, I had gone through testing.
Not because we were trying.
Because I was scared.
I had lost a pregnancy years earlier before I met Cole.
I never told anyone except my doctor.
“What about them?””
He looked at me.
“You knew there was a chance the baby wasn’t mine.””
The room went silent.
I felt sick.
“What?””
“You heard me.””
I stared at him.
“That’s why you’re doing this?””
“No.””
“You think I cheated?””
“I think you hid something.””
I laughed bitterly.
“You mean the fact that I was afraid?””
His face changed.
“I found out my fertility test results were normal.””
I understood.
“You think because yours were normal, mine couldn’t be?””
He didn’t answer.
My anger disappeared.
Something worse replaced it.
Disappointment.
“You really believed I could do that to you?””
He looked down.
“I didn’t know what to believe.””
I walked closer.
“You believed my mother before you believed me.””
Silence.
Then he said the words that shattered whatever was left.
“Darla told me she had proof.””
I stared.
“Proof of what?””
His phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
I saw the name.
Darla.
He rejected the call.
But it was too late.
I had seen it.
My mother was still controlling the situation.
“Call her.””
“Emma—”
“Call her.””
He hesitated.
Then dialed.
She answered immediately.
“Cole?””
I grabbed the phone from his hand.
“Hi, Mom.””
Silence.
Then a shaky breath.
“Emma.””
“What proof did you show my husband?””
Another silence.
Then:
“I didn’t want him to find out this way.””
My hands started trembling.
“Find out what?””
And then my mother said something I never expected.
May you like
Something that changed the entire story.
“Your daughter isn’t the only child connected to that family.””