I turned back to Emily, my hands balled into fists. “How long?” My voice cracked. “How long have you been lying to me?”
I let out a hollow laugh, shaking my head. “You were going to tell me? When, exactly? When he started college? Or maybe on his wedding day, so I could get a nice déjà vu moment?”
Emily flinched, but I didn’t care.
My mom stepped forward, wringing her hands. “Sweetheart, we… we wanted to tell you. But you were hurting so much. We didn’t know how.”
I whirled on her, my hands trembling. “So your solution was to lie? To let me come home thinking I was surprising you, only to walk into this?” I gestured wildly at Emily, Nathan, and the little boy—their little boy. “What did you think was gonna happen? That I’d just smile and say, ‘Oh, what a cute family!’?”
“Sweetheart, please—”
“No, Mom. No more ‘pleases.’ You all chose for me. You decided I didn’t deserve the truth.” My voice cracked. “You let me mourn a man who didn’t even have the decency to tell me why he left.”
Finally, Emily’s eyes met mine. “It wasn’t like that,” she whispered.
I scoffed, my laugh sharp and humorless. “Really? Because from where I’m standing, it sure looks like that.”
Nathan took a breath like he was about to speak, but I turned on him before he could. “Don’t. I swear to God, if you try to explain yourself now, I’ll lose it.”
His mouth snapped shut.
Then, the worst part.
“How did I not know?” I asked, more to myself than anyone else. “I’ve seen your posts. Your life. How did I miss this?”
Emily hesitated.
