I expected to see John with his arms around another woman from his perfect, secret life.
Instead, I saw five children!
They were scattered across the yard. One boy kicked a soccer ball. Two girls sat at a picnic table, drawing with chalk. A toddler chased bubbles near the deck.
I froze.
Before I could make sense of it, I spotted a woman reclining on a pool chair near a small above-ground pool. She wore a tank top and jeans. She looked relaxed, as if she belonged there.
Anger surged through me again.
Instead, I saw five children!
I marched toward her.
John stepped out from the side of the barbecue stand at that exact moment. When he saw me, his face drained of color.
“Emma?” he said sharply. “What’re you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” I shot back. “What are you doing here, John?”
He moved toward me quickly. “Please, let’s just talk.”
I shoved past him.
“Don’t touch me!”
The children had stopped playing. They stared at us. The toddler started crying.
“What’re you doing here?”
I pointed at the woman by the pool. “Do you know you’re dating a married man? His mother just died!”
The woman’s eyes widened. She sat up straight. “Excuse me?”
Before she could say anything else, John stepped between us.
“Emma, stop! You’re scaring them.”
“Oh, I’m scaring them?” I let out a broken laugh. “You told them you’d stay here ‘forever.’ Is that the plan? Just replace us?”
The boy with the soccer ball started crying. One of the girls covered her ears.
“Do you know you’re dating a married man?”
“Please,” John said quietly. “Let’s go inside and talk.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said. “You made your choice.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is! I’m ashamed to be your wife!”
His jaw tightened. “Don’t say that.”
“You said you’d stay here forever. Fine. Stay. Don’t come back home.”
I turned and walked out of the yard. I didn’t look back.
I drove home in silence, my thoughts loud enough to drown out everything else.
“You made your choice.”
When I reached our house, I slammed the door behind me and leaned against it. The quiet felt heavy.
I looked up at the ceiling and whispered, “Why didn’t you tell me? Why would you protect him instead of me?”
I felt foolish talking to my MIL like that, but I couldn’t stop.
“You said ‘find out the truth,'” I said, my voice shaking. “Well, I did. Was that what you wanted me to see?”
No answer came.
I wiped my face and grabbed my purse. If John could build a second life without me, I could build one without him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
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