Chapter 4: The Woman Before Me
I read the sentence again.
Then again.
*If he ever finds another woman who believes his mask, she needs to know what happened to Rachel before it’s too late.*
The words blurred slightly as I stared at them.
Not because I didn’t understand them.
Because I understood them too well.
Another woman.
Another warning.
Another secret.
I looked at Margaret.
“Who wrote this?””
She didn’t answer immediately.
Her fingers trembled as she touched the edge of the paper.
“Daniel’s father.””
“Your husband?””
She nodded.
“Richard.””
I looked down at the letter.
The handwriting was firm, almost angry.
A man trying to leave behind the truth before it disappeared with him.
“Why would he write this?””
Margaret looked away.
“Because he was afraid of what Daniel was becoming.””
The room felt colder.
I folded the letter carefully.
“What happened with Rachel?””
Margaret stood.
“I think you need to hear it from someone who lived through it.””
“Who?””
She walked toward the kitchen counter and picked up her phone.
For a moment, she hesitated.
Like making this call would change everything.
Then she pressed a name.
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
I expected voicemail.
Instead, someone answered.
“Hello?””
The voice was female.
Soft.
Careful.
Margaret looked at me.
Then she said:
“Rachel, it’s me.””
My heart stopped.
Rachel agreed to meet us at a small coffee shop twenty minutes away.
The entire drive, I stared out the window.
Portland passed by in gray skies and wet streets.
People walked with umbrellas.
Cars moved through traffic.
Everything looked normal.
That was the strangest part.
My life had changed completely, but the world kept moving.
When we arrived, Margaret found her immediately.
Rachel sat in the corner of the café, both hands wrapped around a coffee cup she barely touched.
She looked younger than I expected.
Not young.
Just tired.
Like someone who had spent years carrying something heavy.
When she saw me, her expression changed.
She didn’t look surprised.
She looked sad.
“You’re Emily.””
I stopped.
“You know who I am?””
Rachel nodded.
“I saw the wedding photos.””
My stomach tightened.
“You saw them?””
She looked down.
“Daniel posted them everywhere.””
Of course he did.
Daniel loved being admired.
The perfect husband.
The perfect son.
The perfect man.
Rachel gestured toward the chair.
“Sit.””
I sat across from her.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Rachel looked at my cheek.
And quietly said:
“He hit you.””
It wasn’t a question.
I swallowed.
“Yes.””
Rachel closed her eyes.
For a moment, she looked like she was fighting back memories.
“I’m sorry.””
“Did he hit you?””
The question came out quickly.
Rachel opened her eyes.
“Yes.””
The answer was so simple.
So immediate.
I felt my chest tighten.
“When?””
“Near the end.””
“Of your relationship?””
She nodded.
“We were engaged.””
I looked at Margaret.
She looked down.
Rachel took a breath.
“Daniel wasn’t always like that.””
I almost laughed.
Everyone said that.
“He was charming,” she continued.
“That’s what people don’t understand.””
Her fingers moved around the coffee cup.
“The worst people aren’t always cruel from the beginning.””
I listened.
Because I knew exactly what she meant.
“He made me feel special,” Rachel said.
“Like I was the only person in the world who understood him.””
My throat tightened.
“He said the same things to me.””
Rachel gave a sad smile.
“I know.””
“How?””
“Because he used the same words.””
The sentence made my skin crawl.
“What do you mean?””
She looked directly at me.
“He has a script.””
A script.
“He says he’s different from other men. He says nobody understands the pressure he carries. He says his family needs him. He says he only gets angry because he cares too much.””
Every word felt familiar.
Because I had heard them.
Not exactly.
But close enough.
Rachel continued.
“Then one day, you disagree with him.””
She paused.
“And suddenly, love becomes disrespect.””
The café noise faded around me.
I could hear cups moving.
People talking.
A machine steaming milk.
But all I could focus on was her.
“What happened the day you left?””
Rachel looked at Margaret.
Then back at me.
“Daniel found out I was planning to leave.””
My hands tightened.
“How?””
“He found my apartment search history.””
I frowned.
“You were trying to move out?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Rachel looked at me.
“Because I realized I was afraid of my fiancé.””
The honesty of those words hurt.
She continued.
“He didn’t hit me every day. That’s what made it confusing.””
I nodded slowly.
Because that was exactly how it felt.
One terrible moment surrounded by hundreds of normal ones.
“He apologized,” Rachel said.
“He bought flowers. He cried. He promised it would never happen again.””
“Did you believe him?””
Rachel looked down.
“For a while.””
I understood that.
More than I wanted to.
“What made you leave?””
Rachel was silent.
Then she reached into her purse.
She pulled out her phone.
“I recorded something.””
My eyebrows lifted.
“Recorded what?””
“The last argument we had.””
She unlocked her phone.
“I didn’t know if anyone would believe me.””
My stomach dropped.
She pressed play.
At first, there was silence.
Then Daniel’s voice.
“You’re making me do this.””
My entire body went still.
Rachel’s voice followed.
“Daniel, please leave.””
A loud sound.
Something hitting a surface.
Then Daniel again.
“You think you can just walk away after everything I’ve done for you?””
I stopped breathing.
The voice was unmistakable.
The same voice that told me I was being dramatic.
The same voice that said I would regret turning something into a war.
Rachel stopped the recording.
“I left that night.””
I stared at her.
“What happened afterward?””
She looked uncomfortable.
“He told everyone I was unstable.””
I felt anger rise.
“He blamed you?””
“Yes.””
“Did anyone believe him?””
Rachel gave a small, bitter smile.
“Almost everyone.””
Almost.
That word mattered.
“Who didn’t?””
She looked at Margaret.
“His father.””
I remembered the letter.
“He knew.””
Rachel nodded.
“Richard was the only one who apologized to me.””
She swallowed.
“He told me he was sorry for raising someone who learned to hurt people when they couldn’t control them.””
I looked at Margaret.
“And Daniel?””
Rachel’s face hardened slightly.
“He never apologized.””
The answer was devastating.
Because some part of me still wanted there to be an explanation.
A reason.
Something that would make the man I loved appear again.
But maybe that man had never existed.
“What happened after you left?””
Rachel looked toward the window.
“I changed my number. I moved. I started over.””
“And Daniel?””
“He moved on.””
My heart sank.
“With me.””
Rachel didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
The silence said everything.
That afternoon, I returned to Margaret’s house.
I had hundreds of questions.
But one mattered most.
“Why did Daniel marry me?””
Margaret looked at me.
“I don’t know.””
I shook my head.
“He didn’t just randomly choose me.””
“No.””
Her answer was quiet.
“You’re right.””
I waited.
Margaret walked to the same cabinet and pulled out another folder.
My stomach tightened.
“What is that?””
“Something I found after the wedding.””
“Why didn’t you show me before?””
“Because I hoped I was wrong.””
She handed it to me.
Inside were printed pages.
Messages.
Emails.
I looked at the first page.
My blood went cold.
It was a conversation between Daniel and Vanessa.
From three months before my wedding.
The first message was from Vanessa.
*Do you really think she’ll go along with everything?*
Daniel replied:
*Emily is different. She wants a family. She’ll do anything to keep one.*
I felt sick.
I kept reading.
Vanessa:
*And after the wedding?*
Daniel:
*After the wedding, she’ll understand how things work.*
My hands started shaking.
Another message.
Vanessa:
*What if she pushes back?*
Daniel:
*She won’t. Women like Emily don’t leave.*
I closed my eyes.
The room spun.
Because suddenly, the slap wasn’t an accident.
The dinner wasn’t the beginning.
It was the moment he realized I wasn’t going to obey.
I looked at Margaret.
“Where did you get these?””
Her face turned pale.
“Vanessa left her tablet here.””
I stared at the messages.
Then I noticed the date.
The conversation had continued after my wedding.
There was a message from Vanessa sent just one day after the ceremony.
The day before Daniel hit me.
I read it slowly.
*She’s already starting to question things. What if she becomes like Rachel?*
Daniel’s response came thirty seconds later.
*Then I’ll remind her why women stay.*
My hands went numb.
I looked up at Margaret.
“What does that mean?””
She didn’t answer.
Because she knew.
And then my phone buzzed.
A new message.
From Daniel.
I opened it.
Only one sentence appeared.
*Emily, we need to talk before you make a mistake you can’t undo.*
I stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
This time from an unknown number.
A number I didn’t recognize.
May you like
The message contained only four words.
*Don’t go back alone.*
