Chapter 1 - The Burden of Secrets
Ethan tightened his grip on the phone.
“Why am I calling?” Norah repeated softly.
She looked out the window of the cottage at the dark, relentless rain.
“Because you left a mess behind, Ethan, and I am not cleaning it up this time.”
Ethan let out a frustrated sigh.
“Norah, I told you we are taking space.”
“You don't get to decide what we are doing anymore,” she said.
“I called because you need to know who else was carrying your secret.”
Ethan froze in the dimly lit kitchen of their Brookline home.
“What are you talking about?”
“Lily knows,” Norah said, her voice completely hollow.
The silence on the line stretched so tight it felt like it might snap.
“She saw your iPad months ago,” Norah continued.
“She read the messages between you and Madison.”
Ethan felt all the blood drain from his face.
“Norah, no.”
“She spent months terrified that if she told me, our family would fall apart.”
Ethan leaned heavily against the marble counter, his chest heaving.
“She’s a child, Ethan.”
“I’ll fix it,” he stammered, panic finally rising in his throat.
“I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”
“You won't,” Norah replied calmly.
“She is staying with me, and Rebecca agrees.”
“You can’t take my daughter away from me!” Ethan yelled.
“You gave her away the moment you decided a hotel bar was more important than your family,” Norah said.
She ended the call without another word.
Ethan stared at the dark screen, his perfectly constructed life suddenly collapsing.
He grabbed his keys and rushed out the door, desperate to find Madison and end the affair forever.
He drove recklessly to her upscale apartment building and bypassed the concierge.
He pounded on her door, fully prepared to tell her they were done.
May you like
The door swung open, but Madison was not the one standing there.
Ethan stumbled back as he came face-to-face with Marcus, his senior business partner, who was wearing Ethan's favorite watch.
