Valerie came by today. She cried. Then she threatened me. She said if I humiliated Jack, I would regret it. She said Chloe would never forgive me if she knew the truth about her father. I told her Chloe deserves truth more than comfort. Valerie said truth burns houses down.
My throat closed.
Below that, Mom had written one more line.
If anything happens to me, look at Valerie first. Then Jack.
The kitchen blurred.
Grandma whispered, “Sarah.”
Adrian gave us a moment.
Then he said, “There’s an additional complication.”
I looked up.
Valerie was pregnant.
That was what he told us.
Or rather, Valerie claimed she was pregnant.
She had sent Dad an ultrasound photo and a message saying that canceling the wedding would make him “a man who abandoned two children.”
Two children.
Me and whatever she claimed to be carrying.
I should have felt something.
Shock. Jealousy. Fear.
Instead I heard Mom’s sentence in my head.
Believe his actions. Not his apologies.
Dad’s actions were clear.
He had not canceled the wedding.
Pregnant or not, threatened or not, he was still walking down the aisle.
Grandma sat very still.
“Adrian,” she said, “find out whether that ultrasound is real.”
He nodded.
“I already have someone checking.”