Chapter 3

Two days before Everett's secret wedding, he threw a grand birthday party for me at our home.

Our living room was filled with our friends and neighbors.

Six months ago, a car crash had taken my ability to walk. Since then, Everett had been leaving the house frequently, and Nico had grown unusually quiet and distant around me.

I had blamed the trauma of the accident. Tonight, however, we looked like the perfect, devoted family.

Everett stood behind my wheelchair and raised his wine glass.

"No matter what happens," Everett said, looking deeply into my eyes, "Tessa is the only woman I will ever love. I will never let her be alone. I will always love her."

Our friends applauded. Several women wiped away tears.

His performance was flawless.

I looked down at my motionless legs. Since the car crash six months ago, everything had changed. Everett had started taking frequent "business trips."

Nico, who used to cling to me, had grown quiet and distant.

I had spent half a year blaming myself, thinking the trauma of the accident had pushed them away.

After cutting the cake, I wheeled down the hallway to check on Nico.

His bedroom door was slightly open.

Nico was not a perfect actor. He was only five.

"I want to call Mommy," Nico whined. He was sitting on the rug, clutching a new plastic T-Rex. "She bought me this dinosaur. I miss her."

I stopped my wheelchair outside the door.

"Okay, buddy. Let's call her," Everett's voice came from inside the room.

A video call connected. I heard Marlowe's sweet, familiar voice through the speaker.

"When can we all live together, Mommy?" Nico asked eagerly.

"You have to ask Daddy, sweetie," Marlowe replied softly.

Through the crack in the door, I saw Everett gently stroke Nico's hair.

"Soon, buddy," Everett whispered. "Just wait until I get Tessa settled somewhere nice."

Settled.

Like an old piece of furniture that needed to be moved out of the way.

My hands gripped the cold metal armrests of my wheelchair. I did not push the door open to confront them. I turned my chair around and rolled quietly back into the shadows.

The next morning, I called my lawyer, Julian, to finalize my divorce papers.

Julian's voice was unusually hesitant.

"Tessa... I went to the registry to pull your marriage records. There is nothing there."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Everett never filed your marriage certificate seven years ago. Legally, you are not married."

The phone grew heavy in my hand.

I remembered our beautiful outdoor ceremony. I remembered Everett taking the signed documents from the officiant, kissing my cheek, and saying, "Let me handle the boring paperwork. You just focus on being my wife."

He had never planned to be tied to me.

I had spent seven years believing I was a wife, five years raising his illegitimate son, and six months hating myself for becoming a burden.

Now, he was going to sign real, legally binding marriage papers with Marlowe.

Strangely, in that moment, I didn't feel any heart-wrenching sadness, only wave after wave of numbness washing over me, cold as ice.

I hung up the phone, opened my laptop, and booked a one-way flight out of the state for Friday morning.

By the time he says his vows, the woman he promised to love forever will have already disappeared.