Chapter 3: The Counselor’s First Lie
Elise had always believed the worst betrayal came from the person who broke the promise.
She was wrong.
The worst betrayal came from the person who convinced you there was no broken promise at all.
Vanessa sat across from her, finally telling the truth in pieces.
Small pieces.
Careful pieces.
Like someone afraid the whole thing would collapse if she dropped it all at once.
“Reid came to me eight months ago,” Vanessa said.
Elise stared at her.
“Eight months.””
“Yes.””
“That’s when we started therapy.””
Vanessa nodded.
Elise leaned back.
“So you weren’t helping us repair our marriage.””
“No.””
The honesty almost shocked her.
“What were you doing?””
Vanessa looked away.
“I was trying to manage the situation.””
Elise laughed softly.
“Manage?””
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the chair.
“You mean manage me?””
“No.””
“Yes.””
The answer came too quickly.
Vanessa went quiet.
Elise stood.
“You studied me.””
“Elise—”
“You learned what I was afraid of.””
She pointed toward the room.
“This entire place. Every conversation. Every question.””
Her voice trembled.
“You knew exactly what I would say.””
Vanessa didn’t deny it.
That hurt.
More than another lie would have.
“What did Reid tell you?””
Vanessa looked uncomfortable.
“That you were unhappy.””
Elise shook her head.
“Was I?””
Vanessa said nothing.
“Was I unhappy?””
The counselor’s silence answered.
“No,” Elise whispered.
“I wasn’t.””
She remembered.
She remembered the months before everything fell apart.
She had been tired.
Stressed.
Trying to balance work and marriage.
But unhappy?
No.
She had loved her husband.
“I made mistakes,” Elise said quietly.
“I know I did.””
Vanessa looked up.
“But I thought we were fixing them.””
The counselor’s expression changed.
Almost guilt.
Almost regret.
“He told me he wanted a divorce.””
Elise swallowed.
“And you believed him.””
“Yes.””
“Without hearing me?””
Vanessa didn’t answer.
Elise nodded.
“Of course.””
She walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
“One question.””
Vanessa looked up.
“Did you ever care about me?””
For the first time, Vanessa looked truly broken.
“Yes.””
Elise laughed bitterly.
“That’s the saddest answer you could have given me.””
Outside, Elise sat in her car.
She didn’t know where to go.
She didn’t want to go home.
Home was where Reid’s clothes were hanging in the closet.
Where his toothbrush was beside hers.
Where every room carried memories that now felt poisoned.
Her phone rang.
Mara.
Elise answered.
“Where are you?””
“Driving.””
“You need to come to my house.””
“Why?””
Mara hesitated.
“Because I found something.””
An hour later, Elise sat at Mara’s kitchen table.
Mara placed a folder in front of her.
“I found this in Reid’s desk.””
Elise opened it.
Inside were printed emails.
The first one made her stomach drop.
It was from Reid.
To Vanessa.
*I need you to keep Elise calm until I figure out the timing.*
Elise read the sentence again.
And again.
“What timing?””
Mara looked nervous.
“Keep reading.””
The next email.
*The house needs to be transferred before she knows.*
Elise looked up.
“The house?””
Mara nodded.
“Reid has been meeting with a lawyer.””
Cold rushed through Elise.
“He’s trying to take the house?””
“There’s more.””
Mara handed her another page.
At the bottom was a signature.
Not Reid’s.
Not Vanessa’s.
Someone else’s.
Elise stared.
Because she recognized the name.
It was the attorney who had handled her family’s estate.
The same attorney who had helped Elise inherit the house.
The same attorney who had promised her:
“Your husband can never take this property without your approval.””
Elise looked at Mara.
“What is this?””
Mara’s face went pale.
“I think Reid has been planning to leave for months.””
Elise looked back at the document.
Then she noticed the date.
The date was six months before she discovered the affair.
And one more thing.
A handwritten note in the corner.
Three words.
*After the baby.*
Elise froze.
Because she wasn’t pregnant.
May you like
She never had been.
So why had Reid written those words?