Love and illusion

Chapter 6: The Mystery of the Shadows

Mia froze on the side of the bed, the magnitude of Alex’s words settling deep in her bones. In their former bedroom, the air was stale with cologne and lies.

“Say it again,” she whispered, barely above a whisper.

Alex faced her, his hands shaking at his sides. “I… I have a son,” he confessed, raising a finger and trembling slightly. "With Rachel."

Mia’s heart stopped. Something snagged in her throat, and for a second, everything — the whole world — faded to an out-of-focus blur. It was the worst of which her mind speculated but had hoped and prayed that would never come to pass.

"A son?" she echoed, her voice hollow. "How long have you known?"

Alex’s silence was deafening.

Mia sprang to her feet, blood pumping in her ears. "How long, Alex?! "

"Five years."

The number cut to her like a knife. Five years. That meant he knew it before they were even married. He had stood by her at the altar, promised to love and cherish her, all while keeping this from her.

Tears stung her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall. Not now. Not in front of him.

“You made me think we had something real,” she said, her voice quivering. “You let me fight for this marriage, and you never told me you had a child?”

“I was scared,” Alex said, moving into a posture. “I didn’t know how to tell you. And then time continued to pass, and — ”

“And you decided to be silent,” Mia interrupted, her tone clipped. "You chose lies."

Alex raked a hand through his tousled hair, his features contorted in agony. "Rachel threatened me. She said she’d destroy everything if I told you. She wanted control. And I—I was a coward.”

Mia laughed bitterly. "You were a coward, Alex. And now you want me to know? To just accept this?"

He stepped closer to her again. “I don’t expect anything, Mia. I have to—I need you to know the truth.’

She shook her head. "The truth? The truth is five years behind.”

A Dangerous Alliance

While Mia stood in the wreckage of her marriage, Rachel was spinning her own web. She was sitting in her office, a glass of wine in one hand, her phone in the other. On the screen, her message to Alex that she’d just sent still glowed.

If you believe she knows all, you’re misinformed.

She leaned back and smirked; she knew the game had really only just begun. Mia wasn’t the only one who would have the blindsided by the truth. There was more—so much more.

And this time, there was no turning back.

What else is Rachel hiding? And can Mia bear to know the whole truth to be

for it vaporizes her?