The wife he gave away

Untitled EpisodeChapter13

Questions without answers

The words refused to leave my head.

"She came here several times after he was born."

Even after the records keeper said them, even after several seconds passed, I remained standing in front of her desk staring at the photograph between us as if it might suddenly explain everything. My fingers tightened around the edge of my purse while my mind struggled to catch up with what I had just heard. The room suddenly felt warmer than before, the air heavier somehow. I had come looking for answers and instead found something much worse. Another question. Another mystery. Another reason to doubt everything I thought I knew about my own life.

The elderly woman seemed unaware of the storm raging inside me.

She adjusted her glasses and looked down at the photograph again before nodding slowly, as though she was confirming the memory to herself.

"Yes," she said thoughtfully, her wrinkled fingers lightly touching the corner of the picture. "I remember her because she came more than once. Most visitors ask their questions and leave. She didn't."

My heart skipped. I forced myself to smile. Not too eager. Not too suspicious. Just enough.

"What kind of questions?" I asked carefully, keeping my voice calm even though my pulse was hammering so loudly I could hear it in my ears.

The woman frowned slightly. For several seconds she seemed to search her memory. Then she shrugged.

"I don't remember everything."

Disappointment hit immediately.

But she wasn't finished.

"She asked about family records. Birth registrations. Household information."

My entire body went cold. Family records? Birth registrations?

Why?

Why would Valeria care about any of that?

The records keeper leaned back in her chair and folded her hands together comfortably.

"At the time, I assumed she was helping someone."

She paused. Then shook her head. "But she seemed unusually interested."

My mouth went dry. "Interested in what?"

The woman pointed at the photograph again. "The boy."

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

The boy. Kael. My son. The child I had carried. The child I had fed, bathed, comforted, protected, and loved every day of his life.

Valeria had been asking questions about him years ago. Not months ago. Not recently. Years.

The realization settled into my chest like a block of ice.

I thanked the woman shortly afterward and left before she could notice how shaken I was. The moment I stepped outside the records building, the sunlight hit my face, but it did nothing to warm me. People moved through the streets around me. Children laughed. Merchants spoke to customers. Warriors crossed the square on patrol.

Everything looked normal, except that my life wasn't.

As I walked, memories began surfacing one after another…

Not random memories.

Specific ones.

Valeria handing Kael gifts. Valeria attending school events. Valeria somehow appearing everywhere he happened to be. Valeria speaking to him in soft voices. Valeria remembering every tiny detail about him.

At first, I had assumed she was simply trying too hard. Now I wasn't so sure. The more I thought about it, the less innocent everything seemed.

Normal people didn't spend years watching a child. Normal people didn't investigate family records. Normal people didn't appear in photograph after photograph long before officially becoming part of someone's life.

A chill crawled down my spine.

I suddenly realized I had been asking the wrong question this entire time.

The question wasn't why Valeria liked Kael. The question was why she wanted him.

The difference terrified me.

I was so lost in thought that I almost didn't notice the familiar black vehicle parked several streets away.

My steps slowed immediately. Then stopped. I recognized that car…

Valeria's.

Confusion flickered through me. School had ended hours ago. What was she doing here?

My gaze swept across the area. The street wasn't particularly busy. A few shops lined both sides. People moved in and out carrying purchases. Nothing seemed unusual.

The moment I spotted her, my stomach tightened.

Valeria stood near the corner of a building speaking with someone. Not Dominic; someone else… a man.

I couldn't see his face clearly from where I stood, but the conversation appeared serious. Valeria wasn't smiling. She wasn't acting charming. Her posture was tense. Focused. Almost nervous.

I immediately stepped behind a nearby flower stall in order to avoid her seeing me. The vendor glanced at me curiously. I pretended to examine the flowers.

“They are beautiful,” I said, feigning a smile.

“They're not expensive,” she said. She must have expected me to make a purchase.

Meanwhile, my eyes remained fixed on Valeria. The conversation between her and the man lasted less than two minutes. Then the man handed her something… an envelope.

My pulse quickened.

Valeria accepted it quickly and slipped it into her handbag before looking around.

Instinctively, I turned away. But a second later, I risked another glance. Both of them were gone.

The encounter should have meant nothing. Instead, it bothered me the entire drive home. By the time I arrived, my headache had grown fierce enough to make my temples ache.

The house was quiet, too quiet.

For a moment, I simply stood in the living room staring at familiar furniture that suddenly felt unfamiliar.

This had been my safe place, my home. Now every room seemed filled with secrets.

Hours later, Kael finally returned. The moment he burst through the door, his face was glowing with excitement. For a brief second, seeing him smile eased the pressure in my chest.

Then reality returned.

"Mom!"

I forced a smile. "How was school?"

His grin widened immediately. "It was amazing."

The answer came so quickly that I already knew what was coming next.

Valeria.

Sure enough, the next words confirmed it.

"Auntie Valeria taught me something cool today."

I felt my smile weaken. "Oh?"

Kael nodded enthusiastically and dropped his school bag near the couch.

"She taught me how important bloodlines are."

My body froze. The words sounded innocent coming from a child.

They didn't feel innocent… not anymore.

"What do you mean?" I asked quietly.

He shrugged. "I don't know."

Then he laughed.

"Auntie Valeria said I'll understand when I'm older."

My stomach twisted painfully. Something about that statement felt wrong, very wrong.

Before I could ask more questions, Kael continued talking excitedly about his day. New lessons. New friends. New activities. I listened carefully, responding whenever necessary, but my thoughts remained elsewhere… on records, photographs, secrets… it remained even on envelopes exchanged in hidden corners… on a woman who had apparently been planning something for years.

That night, after Kael went to bed and Dominic left for work, I found myself wandering through the house, unable to settle. Sleep wasn't an option. Thinking wasn't helping. Nothing seemed to be an option.

Eventually, I entered our bedroom. The room looked exactly as it always had. Nothing appeared different. Nothing appeared suspicious. Yet I couldn't shake the feeling that answers existed somewhere nearby.

Maybe not all of them, but enough.

My gaze settled on Dominic's dresser, then his desk, then the small cabinet near the window.

I hesitated for several long moments, because searching through my husband's belongings felt wrong. Then again, so did sleeping with another woman while telling your wife everything was fine.

The thought hardened my resolve.

Slowly, I crossed the room. The first drawer contained ordinary paperwork. The second held work documents. The third contained old receipts and personal items.

Nothing.

I moved to the desk. More papers. More records. Nothing.

Disappointment slowly began replacing determination. Maybe I was chasing shadows.

Maybe…

My thoughts stopped completely… because buried beneath a stack of old documents was a photograph, a very old photograph.

My hands immediately began shaking as I picked it up slowly and keptt eyes glued to it.

The picture showed Dominic… much younger, several years younger, standing beside Valeria. Both of them were smiling. They looked comfortable, familiar, close, far too close for two people who supposedly hadn't known each other back then.

The date written on the back made my blood run cold. It had been taken years before Dominic ever claimed to have met her.

The photograph nearly slipped from my fingers. I stared at it for what felt like forever. My heart pounded violently against my ribs, while my throat tightened.

And one horrible realization settled over me.

Dominic hadn't just lied to me…

He had been lying for years.