Chapter 9
1588 Words
Claire read the message again.
Ask your husband what he promised her before he ended things.
She placed her phone on the bedside table, but within seconds, picked it up again. The words seemed to have found a permanent place in her mind.
Who was sending these messages? And why were they so determined to make her question Ethan?
She looked across the bed. Ethan was still asleep, one arm stretched across the space where she had been lying. His face was peaceful, almost innocent. It was difficult to imagine that the same man had once made promises to another woman while returning home to sleep beside his wife.
Claire slipped out of bed and walked towards the balcony.
She opened the message thread and typed.
Who are you?
A reply arrived almost immediately.
Someone who thinks you deserve to know the truth.
Then tell me.
There was a brief pause.
Ask Ethan what he told Sophie about your marriage.
Claire stared at the screen. Her fingers trembled slightly.
Whatever had happened between Ethan and Sophie, she was beginning to realise that she knew far less than she had imagined.
Ethan woke to the sound of the shower running. He checked the time and stretched before getting out of bed.
When he entered the bathroom, Claire was standing in front of the mirror, tying her hair.
“Good morning,” he said, leaning against the doorway.
“Morning.”
He walked towards her and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. She acknowledged it with a faint smile, but something in her expression made him pause.
“Everything okay?”
Claire met his eyes through the mirror.
“Did you promise Sophie something before you ended things with her?”
Ethan went still.
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Someone sent me a message.”
“Who?”
“Does it matter? I’m asking you a question.”
He looked away, and Claire immediately noticed.
“What did you promise her, Ethan?”
He sighed. “I didn’t promise her anything about our marriage.”
“Then what did you promise?”
“I told her things between us were complicated. That we weren’t happy. That I wasn’t sure what would happen to us.”
Claire turned towards him.
“You told her we might separate?”
“I told her I didn’t know what our future looked like.”
“And did you tell her you still loved me?”
“Yes.”
“After telling her our marriage might end?”
Ethan stepped closer. “I was confused. I won’t pretend I handled things well.”
Claire gave a small, humourless laugh.
“You’re always confused when it comes to explaining your decisions.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Neither was making another woman believe she might have a future with my husband.”
He had no immediate answer.
“I told her that if things didn’t work out between us, I wouldn’t expect her to disappear from my life,” Ethan finally admitted.
Claire stared at him.
“So you kept the door open.”
“I cared about her. I didn’t want to make promises I couldn’t keep.”
“But you made sure she knew she could still have you if things went wrong here.”
“That’s not what I intended.”
“Intentions don’t change what you did.”
Her voice was beginning to break.
“You came home to me, kissed me goodnight, told me you wanted to fix our marriage, and somewhere in all that, you made sure Sophie knew there could still be a place for her.”
Ethan lowered his eyes.
“I ended it because I want to be with you.”
“After keeping her as an option?”
“I know I hurt you, Claire.”
“Do you?” She shook her head. “Because I don’t think you understand how exhausting it is to keep discovering new versions of the same betrayal.”
She walked past him and left the bathroom.
For the rest of the morning, they moved around the apartment like strangers trying not to collide.
Ethan made coffee. Claire sat at the dining table, scrolling through her phone without reading anything.
Finally, he placed a cup in front of her.
“Your favourite.”
“Thank you.”
He sat opposite her.
“I know I made mistakes with Sophie. I’m not defending them. But I ended things because I want to try with you.”
Claire looked at him.
“Why?”
“What?”
“Why do you want to try with me now? Because you love me, or because things with Sophie didn’t become what you expected?”
Ethan leaned forward.
“Because I love you.”
“Then why wasn’t that enough before?”
He was quiet for a moment.
“Because I was selfish. I wanted to feel wanted without having to admit how lonely I was. I wanted someone to make things easy when I should have been making an effort here.”
Claire looked down at her coffee.
For once, he wasn’t hiding behind excuses.
But honesty didn’t necessarily make the truth easier to accept.
“I can’t rebuild something if I’m constantly wondering what else you haven’t told me,” she said.
“You won’t have to.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Ethan nodded.
“Then I’ll show you.”
Later that afternoon, Claire received a call from Ryan.
She watched his name appear before answering.
“Hello?”
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I heard from Sophie.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“What did she tell you?”
“That Ethan ended things with her. And that you two are trying to work things out.”
“That’s true.”
There was a pause.
“Are you choosing him, Claire?”
She walked towards the balcony, away from Ethan, who was working in the living room.
“I haven’t chosen anyone. I’m trying to understand what I want.”
“That’s what you’ve been saying for weeks.”
“I know.”
“Claire, I care about you. You know that.”
She pressed her fingers against her forehead.
“Ryan, please don’t make this harder.”
“I’m not trying to. I’m just tired of pretending what we have means nothing.”
“It doesn’t mean nothing.”
“Then tell me there’s still a chance.”
Claire remained silent.
She thought about their conversations, the way Ryan remembered the smallest details, and how easily she had begun depending on his attention.
But she also remembered Ethan standing in their kitchen, admitting his mistakes without looking for an escape.
“I don’t know,” she finally whispered.
Ryan let out a quiet breath.
“I can’t keep waiting for you to decide whether I’m worth choosing.”
“I never asked you to wait.”
“No. You didn’t. But you never asked me to leave either.”
The call ended shortly afterwards.
Claire remained on the balcony, staring at her phone. She knew Ryan deserved an answer, but she wasn’t ready to give him one.
That evening, Ethan found Claire sitting on the sofa with an old photograph album.
He sat beside her.
“What are you looking at?”
“Our wedding.”
He glanced at the open page. In the photograph, they were standing beneath a canopy of flowers, smiling as though the rest of the world had disappeared.
“You looked beautiful that day,” he said.
“I remember being nervous.”
“You were shaking.”
“And you told me everything would be fine.”
“I meant it.”
Claire closed the album.
“Did you ever imagine we’d become this?”
Ethan looked at her.
“No.”
“Neither did I.”
He took a breath.
“I can’t change what happened. But I don’t want to keep hiding things from you. If you have questions, ask me. Even if the answers are difficult.”
Claire studied his face.
“Did Sophie know about Ryan before you ended things with her?”
Ethan’s expression shifted.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“She knew you were seeing someone. I told her.”
Claire felt a cold uneasiness settle inside her.
“Did she know his name?”
“Yes.”
“Did you tell her anything else about him?”
Ethan hesitated.
“She asked whether you were serious about him. I told her I didn’t know.”
Claire looked away. Another conversation about their marriage had happened without her.
Before she could respond, her phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
You should ask Ethan why Sophie was willing to wait for him. It wasn’t just love.
A second message followed.
She believed he had already made a decision about your marriage.
Claire turned towards Ethan.
He noticed her expression.
“What is it?”
She placed the phone between them.
Ethan read the messages. His face slowly lost colour.
“Claire, I can explain.”
She looked at him, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Then explain one thing to me, Ethan.”
He said nothing.
“What decision did you make about our marriage that Sophie knew about before I did?”
For the first time that evening, Ethan looked genuinely afraid of what his answer might cost him.
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