Loving You in Secret.

Chapter 11

Ethan stared at the message on Claire’s phone.

You should be asking Sophie what happened on the night Ethan told her he might leave you.

For a moment, the room seemed unusually quiet.

Claire watched his face, searching for an explanation, but he remained silent.

“Well?” she asked.

Ethan rubbed his forehead. “I know what this is about.”

“Then tell me.”

“It happened a few months ago. Sophie and I had an argument.”

“An argument about what?”

“About us. About where things were going.”

Claire gave a small laugh. “You keep saying that as though your relationship with her was some kind of business arrangement.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Then what do you mean, Ethan? Because every time I ask you something, I discover another piece of a relationship I didn’t know existed.”

He sat down beside her.

“That night, Sophie asked me whether I would ever actually leave you. I told her I couldn’t promise anything, but I also couldn’t keep living the way we were.”

“And what happened after that?”

“I went home.”

Claire stared at him.

“That’s it?”

“Yes.”

“Did you tell her you were going to leave me?”

“No. I told her I needed time to figure things out.”

Claire stood up.

“Do you hear yourself? You were asking another woman to wait while you figured out whether you wanted to remain married to me.”

“I wasn’t asking her to wait.”

“You didn’t have to. You gave her a reason to.”

Ethan looked down.

Claire walked towards the wardrobe, trying to steady her breathing.

“Was that the night you stayed out until two in the morning?”

He looked up.

“Yes.”

She closed her eyes.

She remembered that night. Ethan had told her he had an urgent work commitment. She had waited for him, reheated dinner twice, and eventually fallen asleep on the sofa.

When he returned, she had barely opened her eyes before he kissed her forehead and told her he was sorry.

She had believed him.

“Where were you?” she asked.

“With Sophie.”

The answer was quiet, but it landed like a slap.

Claire sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Did you spend the night with her?”

Ethan didn’t answer immediately.

“Claire—”

“Please don’t make me ask again.”

“Yes.”

She looked away.

For a few seconds, she couldn’t find the words. She remembered the cold dinner, the television playing in the background, and the message she had sent him asking when he would return.

He had replied that he was on his way.

All the while, he had been somewhere else with Sophie.

“Did you come home that night and lie beside me?”

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t think I deserved to know?”

“I was ashamed.”

“Of course you were.”

He reached towards her, but she moved away.

“I know there’s no excuse.”

“No, there isn’t.”

Claire wiped the corner of her eye.

“I keep thinking about all those nights when I wondered what I had done wrong. I thought perhaps I wasn’t affectionate enough, perhaps I wasn’t making you happy, perhaps I had become too comfortable in our marriage.”

“Claire, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then why did you make me feel like I wasn’t enough?”

Ethan had no answer.

The following morning, Claire woke before him.

She quietly made herself coffee and sat at the dining table. Her phone lay beside the cup, the unknown number still visible on the screen.

She had spent most of the night thinking about the messages.

Whoever was sending them knew details that were never supposed to leave the private conversations between Ethan and Sophie.

She finally opened the message thread.

I know what happened that night. Tell me who you are.

The response took a few minutes.

You won’t believe me if I tell you.

Try me.

A message appeared.

I’m someone who was there when Sophie called you.

Claire frowned.

Called me?

She called you that night. You didn’t answer because your phone was on silent.

Claire’s heart began beating faster.

She remembered receiving a missed call from an unknown number around midnight. She had ignored it, assuming it was a wrong number.

Why did she call me?

There was no response.

Claire tried again.

What did she want?

This time, the reply was immediate.

She wanted you to know Ethan wasn’t coming home.

Claire stared at the screen.

Then another message appeared.

But he came home anyway. And he never told you where he’d been.

Ethan entered the dining area, adjusting his watch.

“You’re up early.”

Claire locked her phone.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

He poured himself a coffee and sat opposite her.

“About last night…”

“Don’t.”

“I just want you to know that I regret it.”

“Regret what? Spending the night with Sophie? Lying to me? Or making her believe you might leave me?”

“All of it.”

Claire studied him.

“Did Sophie ever contact me?”

Ethan frowned.

“What?”

“Did she ever call or message me?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Think carefully.”

He looked confused.

“Why?”

“Because someone claims she called me that night.”

Ethan placed his cup down.

“That’s impossible.”

“Why?”

“She wouldn’t have done that.”

Claire leaned back.

“You seem very certain about what Sophie would or wouldn’t do.”

“Claire, she knew you were my wife. She wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

“Then why was she involved with you?”

Ethan fell silent.

Claire shook her head.

“That’s what I thought.”

Later that afternoon, Claire made a decision.

She was tired of hearing pieces of the truth through anonymous messages. If Sophie had something to say, Claire wanted to hear it directly.

She opened her contacts and searched for a number she had saved weeks earlier.

Sophie Bennett.

Her thumb hovered over the call button.

She hesitated.

What would she even say?

Did you love my husband?

Did you think he would leave me?

Did you ever feel guilty coming into my home, knowing I was waiting for him?

There were too many questions, and none of them seemed capable of changing what had already happened.

Finally, she sent a message.

Hi Sophie. I think we need to talk. Just the two of us.

The reply came sooner than she expected.

I was wondering when you would reach out.

Claire stared at the screen.

Tomorrow?

Yes. There’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for a while.

Claire put her phone down.

For the first time, she felt that she might finally hear the truth from someone other than Ethan.

That evening, Ethan noticed Claire getting ready.

“Are you going somewhere?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“To meet someone.”

He looked at her reflection in the mirror.

“Ryan?”

“No.”

“Then who?”

Claire picked up her handbag.

“Sophie.”

Ethan stood up immediately.

“You’re meeting Sophie?”

“Yes.”

“Claire, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

She turned towards him.

“Why? Are you afraid she’ll tell me something you haven’t?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then let me have this conversation. You have had plenty of conversations about our marriage without me.”

Ethan walked towards her.

“Please don’t let someone else create more problems between us.”

Claire looked at him for a long moment.

“You don’t need someone else to create problems, Ethan. We already have enough of our own.”

She opened the door.

“Claire.”

She paused.

“I love you.”

Her expression softened, but only slightly.

“I wish love had been enough to make you honest.”

And she left.

Ethan remained standing in the hallway, listening to the sound of the door closing.

His phone vibrated.

A message from Sophie appeared.

She’s coming to meet me tomorrow. I hope you’re prepared for what I’m going to tell her.

He read it twice before typing a reply.

Please don’t make this worse.

Sophie’s response arrived almost instantly.

I didn’t make it worse, Ethan. We both did.

He put his phone away.

For the first time, he realised that the past he had tried so desperately to leave behind was about to catch up with him.

And this time, he might not be able to control what Claire discovered.