The Diary That Ended My Marriage

Chapter 2

For a long moment, no one spoke a word.

The silence shattered when Dominic's phone blared to life. He answered the call, then shot to his feet.

"Wait for me. I'll be right there."

He turned to leave right after hanging up, but I called out to stop him.

"Dominic! Where the hell do you think you're going!? Rosalie hasn't even been buried yet!"

He froze mid-step, raking a hand roughly through his hair in clear frustration. He didn't say a word back, just kept darting anxious glances at his phone every few seconds.

The entire funeral ritual dragged on, and by the time Rosalie's urn was sealed shut, it was already mid-afternoon.

After we saw the last of the staff off, Dominic grabbed his car keys and jacket off the table.

"Sorry, something urgent came up out of nowhere. Can you look after Evie for me for a couple of days?" He hurriedly dropped the line and made a beeline for the exit before anyone could reply.

I opened my mouth to yell after him, but Sebastian caught my arm to hold me back.

"Let it go. Let him go. He probably really does have something important to deal with."

I wrenched my arm out of his grip, my face darkening in anger.

I grabbed Evie's small hand in mine and headed straight for the car.

"Drive me to Rosalie's place. I need to grab Evie's clothes."

Sebastian let out a heavy sigh, then resigned himself to his fate and climbed into the driver's seat.

On the drive over, I caught him opening his mouth to speak several times, but he bit back his words every single time.

We finally pulled up in front of Rosalie's apartment building. My hand was already on the door handle when he finally found his voice.

"Veron, listen, let me explain. That thing I said back there, I didn't mean anything by it, I just—"

I cut him off before he could fumble through the rest of his excuse.

"I'm going up to get her things first. Stay here with Evie, she's asleep."

I knew the passcode to Rosalie's door by heart. I let myself in and made a beeline straight for Evie's bedroom.

It was obvious Rosalie had been living here for a while now; her things were scattered all over the room.

I finished packing up Evie's clothes and daily necessities, then a small notebook tucked in the back corner of a drawer caught my eye.

I'd known for years that Rosalie kept a diary. This was the one she'd been carrying around forever.

I drew in a deep, steadying breath and reached out to pull the notebook out.

I had to know. There were so many things she'd kept from me, and I was going to find out what they were.

I flipped straight to the last page.

Dominic really doesn't love me anymore. He has a child with another woman.

A dull, throbbing pain exploded in my chest the second I read the words.

I kept flipping back through the pages, and I spotted a photo of a woman tucked between the pages.

I'd never met her before, but something about her face felt weirdly familiar.

This woman's name is Marissa Vyrne. So this is the type he likes now.

My whole body went rigid.

'Marissa. Delia.'

My hands started shaking so badly I could barely hold the photo steady.

I stared at the woman's face again, and it overlapped with the face of the Delia I'd seen that morning, and they really did share a clear family resemblance.

Before I could unpack what this meant, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

It was Sebastian.

"Veron, why haven't you come down yet? Do you need a hand?"

I stared at the diary in my hand, and a wild thought popped into my head out of nowhere.

I took a deep breath and answered, "Be right down."

I tucked the diary carefully into my bag, grabbed the packed belongings, and headed downstairs.

On the ride back, my mind was a total mess. I had a vague feeling that some scattered puzzle pieces were clicking into place, but I couldn't pin down the full picture just yet.

When we got to my place, I took Evie's hand and headed straight upstairs.

Rosalie and I were as close as blood sisters, so we each kept a permanent bedroom just for the other in our houses.

My gaze landed on the matching sister pajamas and skincare set I'd specially bought for Rosalie last week, laid out neatly on the bed. For a second, I felt dazed.

Just one short week, and everything had changed.

After I got Evie to fall asleep, I pulled out my phone and opened the chat with the private investigator.

Rosalie had been all hush-hush when she sent me his contact, saying it was good to have on hand for a rainy day.

I took another deep breath, sent over a sum of money, and typed my question straight out.

Veron: Does Marissa Vyrne, the person Rosalie asked you to investigate before, have any biological sisters?

He replied almost immediately.

Investigator: She has a younger sister named Delia Vyrne.

My stomach dropped. All the scattered pieces clicked into place all at once.