“At work?”
“Yes.”
“Will you be home for dinner?”
“No. I’ll probably be back later. Don’t wait.”
He kissed my forehead.
“Is there anything you need to tell me first?”
His hand paused on the door.
Then he said, “You need sleep, Meg.”
The door closed behind him.
This time, I didn’t wait for another lie.
Mom looked up from the couch, Theo asleep against her chest. Kai lay beside her in his portable bassinet, batting at the soft toy above him.
“Go,” she said.
I slipped on my shoes and grabbed my keys.
“The bottles are labeled. Theo ate 20 minutes ago.”
“I know their routine. Call me, sweetheart.”
I was already moving.
I stayed several cars behind him as he passed his office, the stores, and the hospital.
Several miles outside town, he stopped near a wooded memorial area.
I parked farther back and followed on foot.
That’s when I saw a young woman.
Then I heard her call my husband Dad.
“Isla,” he said gently. “Hi, sweetheart.”
That’s when I gasped.
Daniel stepped toward me.
“Megan, please. Let me explain.”
I pointed at the open box in Isla’s hands.
“You brought her photographs of Kai and Theo.”
“She’s their sister.”
The word hit harder than any affair could have.
“Then why did you make her a secret?”
Beside the oak stood a memorial plaque bearing the name Esme. The dates ended seven months earlier.
I faced Isla.
“How old are you?”
“Seventeen.”
I turned back to my husband.
“You have a 17-year-old daughter, and you never told me.”
“I was 19 when she was born. My parents said Esme wanted me gone.”
“My mom kept his letters,” Isla said. “She gave them to me before she died.”
Daniel stared at her.
“She kept them all?”
“Every one.”
His face crumpled, but after weeks of lies, I couldn’t comfort him.
“When did Isla contact you?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Before the twins were born,” Isla answered.
“You knew while I was pregnant?”
“I didn’t reply at first,” he said.
