Married to the Man Who Forgot Me

Chapter 4: The Secret I Can’t Keep

Chapter 4: The Secret I Can’t Keep

I left the city three days later.

No goodbye.

No explanation.

No closure.

I told myself it was the only way to survive.

The train pulled out of the station just as the sky began to lighten, the city shrinking into the distance like a life that no longer belonged to me. I pressed my forehead against the cold glass and finally allowed myself to cry.

I was running.

Not just from Ethanbut from the truth he could never know.

---

I moved into a small coastal town where no one knew my name.

The air smelled like salt and rain, and the nights were quiet enough to hear my own thoughts. I rented a modest apartment above a bakery, the warmth from the ovens drifting up every morning like a reminder that life, somehow, went on.

Weeks passed.

Then months.

My body changed in ways I couldn’t ignore. Morning sickness became a constant companion. My clothes grew tighter. My reflection became unfamiliar.

One evening, I stood in front of the mirror, my hands resting on the faint curve of my stomach.

“You’re all I have now,” I whispered.

The baby kicked softly, like an answer.

For the first time since everything fell apart, I smiled.

---

But peace never lasts.

One rainy afternoon, as I was locking up the bookstore where I’d found a part-time job, my phone buzzed with an unfamiliar number.

I almost ignored it.

Almost.

**Unknown Number:** *Lina. It’s me.*

My heart dropped.

I stared at the screen, my pulse racing.

**Me:** *You have the wrong number.*

The reply came instantly.

**Unknown Number:** *You always say that when you’re scared.*

My hands began to tremble.

Only one person knew that habit.

**Me:** *What do you want, Ethan?*

Several seconds passed before he replied.

**Ethan:** *Where did you go?*

I didn’t answer.

Another message came through.

**Ethan:** *Vivian says you were lying. But things don’t add up.*

My breath caught.

**Me:** *You don’t remember me. That should be enough.*

**Ethan:** *Then why do I dream about you?*

I leaned against the bookstore door, my knees weak.

Dreams?

**Ethan:** *I see your face. I hear your voice. I wake up angry… like something was stolen from me.*

Tears blurred my vision.

**Me:** *Dreams don’t mean anything.*

**Ethan:** *They do when they won’t stop.*

I swallowed hard, my free hand instinctively moving to my stomach.

This couldn’t happen. Not now.

**Me:** *Please don’t contact me again.*

There was a long pause.

Then his final message appeared.

**Ethan:** *I found our apartment lease. Both our names were on it.*

My heart stopped.

**Ethan:** *Lina… what aren’t you telling me?*

I stared at the screen, my chest tight, the baby shifting restlessly inside me as if sensing my fear.

I typed three words.

**Me:** *You wouldn’t believe me.*

The phone buzzed immediately.

**Ethan:** *Try me.*

Rain hammered against the windows as I slowly lowered myself into a chair, my hand pressed protectively over my belly.

I knew this was the moment everything would change.

If I told him the truth, my quiet life would shatter.

If I didn’t…

I would lose him forever.

And the secret growing inside me would remain just that

A secret.

*End of free chapters.*