CHAPTER 2: THE TRUTH MICHAEL NEVER KNEW
CHAPTER 2: THE TRUTH MICHAEL NEVER KNEW
At seven o'clock that morning, I drove directly to Michael's penthouse.
For the first time in years, I used my old security code.
It still worked.
Interesting.
The elevator opened.
The apartment was quiet.
Too quiet.
Then I heard voices.
Michael.
And Brittany.
Arguing.
I stepped closer.
"You should have told her!" Brittany shouted.
"I was trying to protect everyone."
"By lying?"
Michael ran a hand through his hair.
"I didn't know how."
I pushed the door open.
Both of them froze.
Brittany immediately turned pale.
Michael looked like he had seen a ghost.
"Claire."
I held up the photograph.
"Start talking."
Nobody moved.
Then Brittany surprised me.
She laughed.
Not because she found anything funny.
Because she was exhausted.
Completely exhausted.
"You think I'm sleeping with him."
The statement hung in the air.
I didn't answer.
Brittany shook her head.
"Oh my God."
Then she looked at Michael.
"See? This is exactly why I told you this would happen."
Michael closed his eyes.
The guilt on his face was undeniable.
But not the guilt of a cheating husband.
The guilt of a man hiding something.
Finally he spoke.
"Brittany isn't my mistress."
My jaw tightened.
"Then explain the photos."
Brittany answered.
"I sent them."
"I noticed."
Tears appeared in her eyes.
"Because I hated you."
That confession caught me off guard.
She continued.
"I hated how much he loved you."
The room fell silent.
Michael stared at her.
Brittany looked away.
"When I was a kid, he was always there."
"Birthdays."
"School events."
"Every crisis."
"I spent years believing he was my father."
Michael's expression darkened.
"And I spent years believing it too."
Suddenly everything clicked.
The promotions.
The financial support.
The protection.
The secrecy.
Not an affair.
A family mystery.
May you like
One built on assumptions.
The exact thing that had destroyed my marriage.
