I parked my car a little distance away and watched from the shadows of the early morning, the cold air nipping at my skin. My heart pounded with every passing second. The curtains of my mother-in-law’s window were slightly parted, allowing enough of a view to see what was unfolding inside. My husband was there, as I expected, but he wasn’t alone.
Beside him was a woman I’d never seen before. She was holding a baby, a tiny creature with a face that was painfully familiar. My mind raced, piecing together the fragments of a puzzle I hadn’t realized I’d been collecting. Memories flooded back—the evasive answers, the late nights, the fatigue that seemed to hang around my husband’s eyes like a shadow.
The woman, gently swaying, smiled at my husband in a way that made my stomach churn. His reciprocated smile was warm, comfortable, a smile I hadn’t seen directed my way in months. They seemed… happy, a kind of serene happiness that hurt to witness. My heart felt heavy, sinking deep into a well of confusion and betrayal.
