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By the time Lily went off to play, my coffee had gone cold. I sat there at the table, numb, trying to make sense of what I’d just heard.
But now, my daughter’s words kept echoing in my head like a warning bell.
“Her other house.”
“The man there doesn’t know about me.”
It sounded absurd — like a child’s fantasy — and yet, kids often repeat things they’ve overheard. Things adults never meant them to hear.
When Julia returned that evening from the grocery store, I tried to act normal. She was her usual self — calm, polished, smiling. She kissed my cheek and asked, “Everything okay? You look pale.”
“Just tired,” I said. “Long week.”
But as she unpacked groceries, humming softly to herself, I couldn’t shake the thought that maybe I didn’t know my wife as well as I believed.Continue reading…