Chapter 2: The Room That Was Already Prepared
I stared at the photograph on my phone until the screen dimmed.
A small bedroom.
Pink curtains.
A narrow bed.
A stuffed rabbit sitting neatly against the pillow.
A suitcase beside the closet.
It looked like a child’s room.
Not a temporary place.
Not a place someone had thrown together overnight.
A place that had been prepared.
My thumb hovered over the message.
*Ready for your daughter tomorrow?*
My first instinct was to call the number.
My second was to look at Emily.
She was still standing beside me, holding onto my jacket like if she let go, someone would take her away.
I forced my voice to stay calm.
"Emily, come here.""
She stepped closer.
I turned my phone away from her.
Not because I wanted to hide the truth.
Because she had already heard enough for one day.
"Who sent you that?"" Rebecca asked.
Her voice was no longer soft.
No longer the gentle voice she used when we were alone.
There was panic underneath it.
"I should be asking you that," I said.
Rebecca looked around at the guests.
Her perfect wedding day was falling apart in front of everyone.
The flowers.
The music.
The decorations.
All of it was still there.
But the illusion was gone.
"Can we talk privately?"" she whispered.
I looked at Emily.
"No.""
Rebecca blinked.
"No?""
"No.""
Her face tightened.
"This is between adults.""
I stepped in front of my daughter.
"No. The person this affects is standing right here.""
Emily lowered her head.
Claire walked closer, her expression filled with confusion.
"Brother, what's happening?""
I looked at her.
"I don't know yet.""
That was the truth.
I didn't know how deep this went.
I didn't know if Rebecca had been planning this for weeks or months.
I didn't know if the woman I was about to marry had been pretending every single day.
But I knew one thing.
Someone had arranged a room for my daughter.
Someone had packed a suitcase.
Someone expected her to leave tomorrow.
Rebecca took a breath.
"Everyone needs to calm down.""
I almost couldn't believe those words came from her mouth.
"Calm down?""
"Yes.""
"You wrote a note telling my daughter she was leaving after my wedding, and you want me to calm down?""
Her eyes moved toward Emily.
"She misunderstood.""
Emily immediately shook her head.
"No, I didn't.""
Rebecca looked at her sharply.
"Emily.""
Just her name.
Nothing else.
But my daughter flinched.
That was when something inside me broke.
For two years, I had told myself Rebecca was patient.
That she was learning how to be a stepmother.
That any mistakes were just growing pains.
But I had ignored small things.
The way Emily sometimes became quiet when Rebecca entered the room.
The way she stopped asking Rebecca for help with school projects.
The way she started saying, "It's okay, Daddy," whenever something bothered her.
Children don't always say they are hurt.
Sometimes they just become smaller.
And I had missed it.
I turned toward Linda.
"You knew about this.""
It wasn't a question.
Linda lifted her chin.
"I knew Rebecca needed support.""
"Support for what?""
"For dealing with this situation.""
I looked at Emily.
"This situation?""
Linda sighed.
"She is a difficult child.""
Emily's eyes filled instantly.
"No, I'm not.""
Linda gave a small laugh.
"There. That reaction. Exactly what I'm talking about.""
I felt anger rising in my chest.
But before I could answer, Rebecca spoke.
"Mom, stop.""
Everyone looked at her.
It was the first time she had disagreed with Linda.
But it wasn't because she was defending Emily.
It was because Linda was making things worse.
Rebecca turned to me.
"Listen to me.""
I said nothing.
She stepped closer.
"I love Emily.""
My jaw tightened.
"Do you?""
Her eyes flashed.
"Yes.""
"Then explain the room.""
Silence.
That silence told me more than any answer could.
Rebecca looked away.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
She was searching for a way out.
A version of the truth she could control.
Finally, she said:
"Your mother offered to help.""
I frowned.
"My mother?""
Rebecca nodded.
"She thought Emily would benefit from spending some time away.""
I stared at her.
"My mother has been dead for three years.""
The color drained from Rebecca's face.
A mistake.
A huge one.
She opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
And I understood.
The room wasn't connected to my family.
It wasn't some misunderstanding involving my mother.
It was hers.
Her plan.
"Whose room is that?"" I asked.
Rebecca didn't answer.
"Whose?""
Linda stepped forward.
"Enough.""
I turned toward her.
"No.""
"You are embarrassing yourself.""
I laughed quietly.
"Am I?""
I looked around.
Nearly two hundred people were watching.
People who had come to celebrate my marriage.
People who had believed Rebecca was kind.
"Tell me what happened," I said.
Linda crossed her arms.
"Fine.""
Rebecca looked at her.
"Mom.""
But Linda continued.
"Your daughter attacked Rebecca yesterday.""
Emily gasped.
"I didn't!""
Linda ignored her.
"She screamed. She threw things. She said Rebecca was not her mother and never would be.""
I looked at Emily.
She was crying silently now.
I knelt down.
"Emily, did that happen?""
She shook her head quickly.
"No.""
"Tell me the truth.""
"I did say she wasn't Mommy.""
Her voice cracked.
"But I didn't throw anything.""
Rebecca looked almost relieved.
"See?""
I looked at her.
"See what?""
"She admits it.""
"She admitted she misses her mother.""
Rebecca's face changed.
"That isn't the point.""
"Then what is the point?""
She didn't answer.
Because there wasn't a good answer.
Emily wiped her cheeks.
"Rebecca said I was ruining your life.""
The chapel became silent again.
I looked up.
Rebecca froze.
"When did she say that?""
Emily looked down.
"Last week.""
"Where?""
"In the kitchen.""
Rebecca immediately shook her head.
"That's not what I said.""
Emily whispered:
"You said Daddy would be happier if he didn't always have to choose between us.""
I felt like someone had punched the air out of my lungs.
I looked at Rebecca.
"Did you say that?""
"No.""
But her answer came too fast.
I had learned something important during my years as a father.
Children can misunderstand words.
They can exaggerate details.
But they rarely invent the feeling behind something.
Emily had felt unwanted.
And someone had made her feel that way.
Rebecca reached for my hand.
"Please.""
I stepped back.
That hurt her more than anger would have.
"I need to know everything.""
"There is nothing to know.""
I looked at my phone again.
The photograph.
The suitcase.
The room.
"There is a bedroom waiting for my daughter.""
Rebecca swallowed.
"It was just an idea.""
"An idea?""
"Yes.""
"Without telling me?""
She looked away.
That was her answer.
A wedding coordinator approached carefully.
"Mr. Anderson?""
I turned.
She looked nervous.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but the guests are asking if the ceremony is delayed.""
I looked toward the chapel.
The priest was standing near the altar.
Waiting.
The wedding ceremony that was supposed to begin ten minutes ago.
The moment I had dreamed about.
The moment I thought would create a family.
I looked at Rebecca.
Two years of memories passed through my mind.
Our first date.
The night she stayed awake with Emily when she had a fever.
The way she laughed when Emily called her "almost Mom.""
Had all of that been fake?
Or had something changed?
I didn't know.
And that uncertainty was almost worse.
"Tell the priest the wedding is postponed.""
Rebecca's eyes widened.
"What?""
Emily looked up at me.
I put my arm around her.
"The wedding is postponed.""
The guests started whispering.
Linda looked furious.
"You cannot be serious.""
I faced her.
"I am completely serious.""
Rebecca's voice became quiet.
"You're choosing her over me.""
The words hung in the air.
And everyone heard them.
I stared at the woman I was supposed to marry.
"No.""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"You are.""
I shook my head.
"I'm choosing the truth over a lie.""
For the first time, Rebecca looked genuinely hurt.
But then her expression changed.
Something colder appeared.
Something I had never seen before.
"Fine.""
The single word made everyone stop.
Rebecca wiped away a tear.
"If you want the truth, then you should know everything.""
I watched her carefully.
"What does that mean?""
She looked at Emily.
Then at me.
"You think I was trying to get rid of her.""
A pause.
"You have no idea what your daughter did.""
Emily grabbed my hand.
"Daddy...""
Rebecca continued.
"Ask her why she was really crying yesterday.""
My stomach tightened.
"What are you talking about?""
Rebecca smiled faintly.
Not kindly.
Not sadly.
Like someone who had been waiting for this moment.
"Ask her what she found in my room.""
Emily went completely still.
And that was when I realized.
Rebecca wasn't afraid anymore.
Because whatever she thought she had on Emily...
She believed it was enough to destroy everything.
"Emily," I said softly.
My daughter looked at me.
Her lips trembled.
"I didn't mean to find it.""
I felt my heartbeat change.
"Find what?""
Emily looked toward Rebecca.
Then whispered:
"The picture.""
Rebecca smiled.
May you like
And she said:
"The picture of the woman your daughter has been talking to behind your back.""
