When the truth came out, it destroyed more than my marriage. It tore my family apart. My parents begged me not to “make a scene.” My mother’s exact words still ring in my ears:
“Love doesn’t always make sense, Claire. At least he’s still in the family.”
As if that made the betrayal easier to bear.
Four Years of Silence
Those first few months were unbearable. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t even walk past a mirror without seeing failure staring back at me.
Eventually, I threw myself into my work at St. Mary’s Hospital, taking every shift offered to me. The exhaustion became my shield — the busier I was, the less I had to feel.
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