Chapter 2: The Woman I Trusted
I don’t remember the rest of the wedding.
Not the music.
Not the food.
Not the guests leaving one by one.
The only thing I remember clearly was my son’s small hand wrapped around mine as I walked him away from the stage.
Martha followed us.
“Daniel, stop this right now.””
I turned around.
The woman standing in front of me was my mother.
The same woman who taught me how to ride a bike.
The same woman who stayed up all night when I had the flu.
The same woman I trusted more than anyone.
But suddenly, she looked like a stranger.
“You hid letters from me?””
Her lips tightened.
“Your son doesn’t know what he’s talking about.””
Leo immediately stepped behind me.
That was enough.
I moved between them.
“Don’t talk about him like that.””
Martha looked shocked.
“You’re choosing a child’s fantasy over your own mother?””
“No.””
I looked directly into her eyes.
“I’m choosing the truth.””
The next morning, I went to my mother’s house.
I didn’t tell Elena where I was going.
I needed answers before I confronted anyone else.
Martha opened the door and sighed when she saw me.
“I knew you’d come here angry.””
“I came here confused.””
She stepped aside.
“Come in.””
I walked into the house where I had spent half my childhood.
Everything looked the same.
The family pictures.
The old furniture.
The wooden clock my father bought before he died.
But suddenly, none of it felt comforting.
“Where are they?””
Martha looked away.
“Where are what?””
“The letters.””
Silence.
A long, painful silence.
Then she said something I never expected.
“I destroyed them.””
My stomach dropped.
“You what?””
She crossed her arms.
“I did what I had to do.””
I stared at her.
“Rachel wrote me letters, and you destroyed them?””
“She was manipulating you.””
“How?””
“She knew exactly what to say.””
I laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“You never even let me read them.””
Martha’s face hardened.
“Because I knew you would run back to her.””
“Run back?””
I stepped closer.
“She was my wife.””
“She was using you.””
“No.””
My voice shook.
“She was the mother of my child.””
Martha looked away.
And that small movement told me everything.
She wasn’t sorry.
She believed she was right.
“I saved you, Daniel.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You controlled me.””
Her expression turned angry.
“After everything I sacrificed for you?””
I thought about that sentence.
How many times had I heard it?
How many times had she made me feel guilty for disagreeing with her?
“I need the truth.””
“You can’t handle the truth.””
“Try me.””
For the first time, my mother looked nervous.
Then she walked toward a drawer.
She opened it.
And pulled out a stack of envelopes.
My heart nearly stopped.
My name was written on them.
My handwriting wasn’t on them.
Rachel’s was.
Hundreds of thoughts rushed through my mind.
She didn’t leave.
She wrote.
She tried.
And I never knew.
Martha held the letters tightly.
“You don’t understand.””
I reached for them.
She pulled back.
“I did this for your future.””
“No.””
My voice became quiet.
“You did this for control.””
She looked at me.
And then she said something that made my blood run cold.
“Rachel wasn’t the only person who wanted to take you away from me.””
I froze.
“What does that mean?””
My mother didn’t answer.
Instead, she looked toward the hallway.
May you like
And whispered:
“Ask Elena.””
