Chapter 2
At the grocery store, two women peered into my stroller and lowered their voices.
“That’s the Carter family.”
“I heard those babies might not be his.”
I walked out without purchasing milk.
Daniel said we simply needed to wait for the results. He said it as though the report would sew us back together. I watched him work late and drive to his mother’s house after dinner.
Every time he said, “Just until the results,” I heard something different.
Just until you prove yourself.
One night, I stood in the kitchen while the twins slept upstairs. Daniel walked in with his badge still attached to his shirt. He looked older than he had one month earlier.
“We need to talk,” I said.
He nodded.
“I know.”
“No, I don’t think you do.”
My voice trembled, but I refused to lower it.
“Your mother is attacking your wife. Your babies are being called strangers. Somehow I am the one expected to remain patient.”
He dragged both hands across his face.
“I am trying to keep everyone together.”“Everyone except us.”
The following morning, I packed two diaper bags. I folded onesies, bottles, blankets, and every ounce of courage I still had. Daniel watched from the hallway.
“What are you doing?”
“Leaving.”
His expression changed.
“For how long?”
“I don’t know.”
I picked up Noah’s carrier first, then Emma’s.
“They deserve a home where no one questions whether they belong.”
Megan opened the door before I could knock. My older sister took one look at me and wrapped both arms around me. She did not ask what happened.
“I already know,” she said.
My stomach sank.
“What did Margaret say?”
Megan’s jaw tightened.
“She asked whether you had ever cheated.”
For a second, I could not breathe. Margaret had not simply accused me within the family. She had gone searching for witnesses.
Megan glanced down at the carriers.
“They are beautiful,” she said.
May you like
“Anyone who cannot recognize that does not deserve them.”
I slept for nearly three hours that afternoon. It was the first real rest I had gotten since the delivery room.
