Chapter 2 - What He Wouldn't Say
I stared at my husband — the man I'd trusted with everything. For the first time, I wondered if I knew him as well as I believed.
"You have to tell me what that was about."
He avoided my eyes. "I can't tell you."
"You can't, or you won't?"
He finally looked at me. There was a weight in his expression I'd never seen before. "Both. Not yet."
Something cold settled in my chest. "My father just accused you of hiding a child. He researched you, Emmett. He knew things about your past, about the band, about years I don't even know."
"I heard everything he said."
"Then say something back! Deny it. Tell me he's lying."
Emmett pressed his lips together and shook his head. Until then I'd still hoped Dad had misread what he'd seen. Now Emmett had confirmed two things: there really was a boy, and there was a woman he'd never mentioned.
"I made a promise," he added softly. "It isn't mine to break."
That was the first thing he'd said that didn't sound like an excuse. Still — he was hiding something, and I needed the truth.
"Do you have any idea what this looks like?"
"I know exactly what it looks like."
A year earlier, my parents had stood in their driveway and told me marrying Emmett would be the biggest mistake of my life. I'd been absolutely certain they were wrong. Now, as my husband refused to defend himself, their voices came back to me. Sharp. Judgmental. Certain.
Dad's accusation followed me to bed that night, and stayed with me for two days. Emmett moved through the house like nothing had changed. I told myself I was waiting for him to explain. That wasn't true. I was waiting for him to make a mistake.
And suddenly I noticed everything.
Wednesday morning he left before sunrise without waking me. When I asked where he'd gone, he only said, "Sorting something out," and wouldn't meet my eyes.
Thursday evening, his phone rang during dinner. He took the call in the garage, door closed behind him.
Whatever Emmett was hiding hadn't ended with Dad's visit. It had started long before, and now that I was looking, I saw his secrecy everywhere. When he came back in, his face wore the guarded look I'd started to dread.
"Everything okay?"
May you like
"Fine."
I nodded. But inside, I'd already made a difficult decision.
