PART 4

“I know.”

“But every time I try to build something with him, he brings up how Claire did it before. I feel like I’m being graded against a woman who isn’t even married to him anymore.”

Rebecca looked down at her hands.

“I think Mark has gotten used to having both of you in different roles. Claire knows his history. You are his future. But he hasn’t learned that respecting his history doesn’t mean allowing it to control his present.”

Her words stayed with me.

“Do you think he still loves her?”

Rebecca took a moment before answering.

“I can’t tell you what Mark feels. But I can tell you that he likes being needed. Claire knows how to make him feel important, and he likes that. Sometimes people confuse being needed with being loved.”

I looked toward the closed door.

“Then he needs to decide what kind of husband he wants to be.”

Rebecca nodded.

“Yes. And you shouldn’t have to make that decision for him.”

We sat quietly for another minute.

Then Rebecca stood.

“For what it’s worth, I think you handled yourself better than most people would have.”

I gave her a tired smile.

“Honestly, I don’t feel as though I’ve handled anything. I just know I can’t keep pretending that I’m fine.”

“Then don’t.”

She squeezed my shoulder and left.

I remained in the bedroom for another twenty minutes.

Downstairs, the party continued, although the cheerful atmosphere had disappeared. Eventually, I heard chairs moving and guests saying their goodbyes.

Then came a knock at the bedroom door.

This time, it was Mark.

“Can we talk?”

I didn’t answer immediately.

“Please,” he added. “Just open the door.”

I unlocked it.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

His expression had changed. The anger was still there, but it had been replaced by something closer to anxiety.

“Claire left,” he said.

I waited.

“She was upset.”

I almost laughed, but I didn’t.

“And how are you feeling?” I asked.

He looked confused by the question.

“What?”

“How are you feeling, Mark? Not Claire. You.”

He rubbed his face.

“I’m angry. I feel like you deliberately humiliated me in front of my friends.”

I nodded.

“All right.”

“That’s it? You’re not even going to defend yourself?”

“I’ve spent the entire evening explaining why I was hurt. You didn’t listen. Why would tonight be different?”

He stared at me for a long moment.

Then he sat on the edge of the bed.

“I shouldn’t have said that she ran the household better than you.”

“No, you shouldn’t have.”

“And I shouldn’t have let her move your place card.”

“No.”

He sighed.

“But you have to understand that Claire and I have known each other for a long time. She’s comfortable here.”

“Mark, being comfortable doesn’t give her the right to make me uncomfortable.”

He looked away.

“I know.”

I wasn’t sure he did.

I sat in the chair opposite him.

“Let me ask you something. If I invited my ex-boyfriend to my birthday, and he came into our house early, moved your things, took your seat, and spent the evening telling everyone how much better he knew me than you did, how would you feel?”

Mark opened his mouth, then closed it.

“Would you tell me I was overreacting if I asked you to make him stop?”

He didn’t answer.

“Would you tell me he ran the household better than you?”

“Of course not.”

“Then why was it acceptable when you did it to me?”

His shoulders sank.

For the first time that evening, he looked genuinely ashamed.

“I didn’t think of it that way.”

“That’s the problem. You didn’t think about how any of this would make me feel.”

He stood and began pacing.

“Claire and I have a complicated history. We didn’t end our marriage because we hated each other. We just wanted different things. I guess I never thought inviting her would be such a big deal.”

“Inviting her wasn’t the problem. Allowing her to treat me like an outsider was.”

He stopped pacing.

“You’re right.”

Those two words surprised me.

I had expected another argument, another excuse, another explanation of why Claire’s feelings mattered more than mine.

Instead, Mark sat beside me again.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I really am.”

I wanted to believe him.

Part of me still loved the man who had brought me soup when I had morning sickness, who rubbed my feet after long days at work, who had once driven across town in the rain because I mentioned craving a particular dessert.

That man hadn’t disappeared entirely.

But tonight, I had seen another side of him.

And I couldn’t ignore it simply because I loved the better parts.

“I need you to understand something,” I told him. “I will never ask you to hate Claire. I will never ask you to pretend your marriage didn’t happen. But I will not spend the rest of my life competing with your memories.”

He nodded slowly.

“I understand.”

“And if we’re going to raise this baby together, I need to know that when someone disrespects me, you won’t stand beside them and tell me I’m the problem.”

Mark looked at my belly.

“I don’t want our child growing up in a house full of arguments.”

“Neither do I. That’s why I’m talking to you now.”

He reached for my hand.

I let him hold it, but I didn’t squeeze his fingers back.

“I’m going to make things right,” he promised.

I wanted to ask how.

I wanted to ask whether he would finally establish boundaries with Claire, whether he would stop comparing us, and whether he would be willing to seek counseling if we needed it.

Instead, I said, “Then show me.”

He nodded.

That night, we slept in the same bed, but neither of us slept well.

I heard him turning from side to side in the darkness.

Once, he reached toward me.

I remained still.

Not because I wanted to punish him.

Because forgiveness was not something I could manufacture just to make the room feel peaceful again.

The following morning, Mark made breakfast.

He brought me toast, scrambled eggs, and a cup of ginger tea. He even remembered that I had recently stopped drinking coffee because it made my stomach uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry about last night,” he said again.

I looked at the plate.

“Thank you for breakfast.”

He seemed disappointed that I hadn’t immediately accepted his apology.

But he didn’t argue.

For the next several days, he tried harder.

He stopped mentioning Claire when I cooked. He asked my opinion before making decisions about the house. He even suggested we spend Saturday afternoon looking at baby furniture.

I allowed myself to hope.

Maybe the birthday party had been a painful wake-up call.

Maybe Mark had finally realized that marriage required more than affection when everything was easy.

Then, on Thursday afternoon, my phone rang.

It was an unfamiliar number.

“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Mrs. Mark?”

“Yes. Who is this?”

“My name is Daniel. I’m Claire’s brother.”

I sat down at the kitchen table.

“Is everything all right?”

There was a pause.

“I hope so. I actually need to ask you something about Mark.”

My stomach tightened.

“What about him?”

Daniel lowered his voice.

“Claire told our family that she and Mark have been discussing something important. She said he asked her to help him with a personal matter, and she thought you already knew.”

I stared at the wall.

“What personal matter?”

“I don’t know the details. She wouldn’t tell us much. But she mentioned your house, and she said Mark was worried about what might happen after the baby arrived.”

For a moment, the room seemed to tilt.

I gripped the edge of the table.

“What exactly did she say about my house?”

Daniel hesitated.

“She said Mark had asked her to help him make sure his family was protected.”

My heart began to pound.

“His family?”

“That’s what she said.”

I forced myself to breathe.

“Daniel, I appreciate you calling, but I need you to tell me exactly what you know. Did Claire say Mark was planning to sell our house?”

“No. Nothing like that. I don’t want to start trouble between you two. I just thought you should know because Claire sounded very certain that Mark was going to make a major decision soon.”

I thanked him and ended the call.

For several minutes, I sat motionless.

There could have been a perfectly innocent explanation.

Mark might have been discussing financial planning, insurance, or arrangements for our baby. Daniel might have misunderstood Claire. And Claire might have exaggerated a conversation that meant very little.

I refused to turn suspicion into certainty without evidence.

But I also refused to ignore the warning.

That evening, when Mark returned from work, I asked him directly.

“Have you been discussing our house with Claire?”

He froze while taking off his coat.

“What?”

“Claire’s brother called me. He said she told their family you were discussing an important matter involving our house and the baby.”

Mark’s expression changed so quickly that I noticed.

Then he laughed.

“Seriously? You’re listening to Claire’s family now?”

“I’m asking you a question.”

“Daniel has no idea what he’s talking about. Claire and I discussed financial planning. That’s all.”

“What kind of financial planning?”

“Life insurance. Future expenses. Things married people discuss.”

“Then why didn’t you discuss them with me?”

He threw his keys onto the counter.

“Because I hadn’t finished looking into anything yet!”

His voice was louder than necessary.

I took a step back.

He noticed and immediately lowered it.

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. I’m just tired of feeling like every conversation involving Claire becomes a fight.”

“Then stop having conversations with her about our future before you have them with me.”

He rubbed the back of his neck.

“You’re right. I’ll tell you everything once I’ve figured it out.”

I watched him for a moment.

“Promise me something.”

“What?”

“Whatever you decide about our home, our finances, or our baby, we discuss it together. No secret arrangements. No decisions made with Claire behind my back.”

He hesitated.

Only for a second.

But I saw it.

“I promise,” he said.

That night, I tried to believe him.

I told myself that every marriage had uncomfortable moments. I reminded myself that a difficult conversation did not automatically mean betrayal.

I even apologized to myself for wondering whether the man I loved could be hiding something from me.

But two days later, I discovered something that changed everything.

It happened by accident.

Mark had left his laptop open on the dining table while he showered. I wasn’t looking for anything. I had walked over to move a glass of water away from his computer when a notification appeared on the screen.

It was an email.

The subject line read:

RE: Property Planning — Next Steps

The sender’s name was Claire.

I stood completely still.

For several seconds, I told myself to walk away.

The email was private. Whatever Mark and Claire were discussing, I had no right to assume the worst.

Then I noticed the date.

The message had been sent the morning after his birthday.

CONTINUE FOR NEXT PART…