He Cheated Seven Times the Day Our Twins Died

Everyone in Westhaven's financial district said my husband, Alexander Reed, was as cold as an iceberg—and that I was the only one who ever saw his tenderness. Then, on the day I took our children for a checkup, his secretary sent me seven videos. The same hotel room, at seven different times from morning to night. Lily Carter smiled into the camera, then sent me a message: Lily: Seven times in one day. He says the moment he sees you at home, all he feels is exhausted. Before I could respond, our cab collided with an out-of-control truck ahead of us. Our children, Ben Reed and Lucy Reed, were trapped inside the mangled car. All I could do was reach for their fingertips. Alexander finally answered on my 20th call. "It's just a checkup. Why are you being so dramatic? If you can't handle it, divorce me!" "We've been in an acci—" He hung up and never answered again. I watched both of our children slowly stop breathing beside me. Lucy's last word was Daddy. Ben's hand slipped from my palm. I fought desperately to catch it, but he never squeezed my hand again. After I was discharged from the hospital, I slipped the divorce papers into Alexander's signature folder. He signed them without even looking and left every follow-up notice for his secretary to handle. Once the judgment became final, I took our children's ashes and left Westhaven for good. Six years later, I accompanied my mother-in-law to a private medical center in downtown Westhaven—and ran into Alexander, who was there for a business meeting. He frowned when he saw the boy and girl holding my hands. "So you've finally come back? For the children's sake, I'll overlook you running away from home all these years. Lily is divorced now. Raising her son alone isn't easy. She'll be living with us from now on. I'm her boss, so I should look after her. Taking care of two children or three makes no difference. She needs to help me run the company, so you take care of the house. Henry can't eat peanuts—remember to prepare his food separately." His tone made me glance instinctively at my own hands. Once, hearing those words would have been my cue to take his briefcase and head for the kitchen. Lily was still at his side. She held the hand of her son, Henry Carter, who was absorbed in a handheld game console. When she saw me, surprise flashed across her face. Then she laughed. "Emma, you've finally decided to show your face! You know, Alexander even said you must have died out there." He cleared his throat. "I only said that because I was angry." He had remembered every detail of Henry's lunch, yet he hadn't once bent down to look at the two children beside me. I tightened my grip on their hands. Smiling, Lily straightened Alexander's collar. "Don't be angry. You know he never says what he means. Since you left, he's gone through I don't know how many housekeepers, and not one of them satisfied him. I offered to do it, but he couldn't bear the thought. He said these hands were meant for signing contracts, not scrubbing pots." She waved the diamond ring on her finger. "Now that you're back, we can finally focus on work again." As she spoke, she brushed his cuff with easy intimacy, making no attempt to hide it. The shirt was from the same brand I used to choose for him. She said her hands were meant for signing contracts. Once, I had been offered that kind of future too. The year I graduated from Wexley University, an architecture firm offered me a job. Alexander proposed and promised me a home. After I became pregnant, he said he didn't trust nannies and asked me to quit my job to care for the children. At first, I emailed the firm once a year. By the 3rd year, the hiring manager had changed. The new one asked whether I had any recent work. When I opened my computer, the newest drawing there was still the one I had made before my pregnancy. I later found Lily outside a supermarket after her landlord had thrown her out. She stood there clutching a cardboard box and crying. I paid for a hotel room and recommended her for a secretarial job at Alexander's company. She took my hand and swore that she would repay me. I had even worried that she might be mistreated, so I specifically asked Alexander to look after her. Later, those seven videos became the earliest evidence I gave my divorce lawyer. Last week, that same lawyer forwarded me an email. It was from Lily's ex-husband.