I don’t know how to begin, but maybe it’s best if I just tell it as it happened. There are days that start out ordinary, and then, in the blink of an eye, everything changes. This was one of those days.
While tidying up, I noticed Bryan’s nightstand drawer slightly open. I wasn’t snooping, but something about it caught my eye. When I opened it fully, I found a wristwatch—my late husband Jeff’s. My heart stopped. Bryan didn’t know Jeff; we met six months after Jeff’s death. I felt a cold wave of confusion.
I dropped the watch, trembling. When Bryan came home, I confronted him. “Where did you get this?”
Bryan went pale. “I… I didn’t want you to find out like this.”
“Find out what?” I snapped.
“There’s something I need to tell you. Jeff was my brother.”
I stared at him, stunned. “Your brother? Jeff never mentioned you. We’ve been married three years! How could you—”
“I didn’t just not say anything. I changed my name, left the country, and cut ties with my past after a big falling out with Jeff. I thought leaving everything behind was the only way to move on.”Bryan’s voice cracked. “I didn’t know Jeff was gone until months later. By the time I came back, he was dead. I saw you at his grave, and I was drawn to you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“After I returned, I found my mother at Jeff’s grave. She gave me this watch as a way to make peace. I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid you’d hate me.”
I stood there, overwhelmed. “You lost me the moment you hid this from me. I fell in love with a lie.”
“No, it wasn’t a lie. My love for you is real. Everything we’ve built together is real.”
“Maybe not,” I said, struggling to hold it together. “But you deceived me. I trusted you with everything I had left after Jeff, and now… now I don’t even know who you are.”
Bryan’s shoulders slumped. I turned away, tears spilling over. “I need to pack,” I muttered, needing to move, to keep from falling apart.
Bryan stood in the doorway, watching me pack with helplessness. “Angela, please,” he begged, his voice barely a whisper.
I zipped up the suitcase, lifted it, and walked past him. At the door, I hesitated, then stepped out into the cool evening air. I didn’t look back. The man I loved, the man I thought I knew, was a stranger. And I couldn’t live with that. Not anymore.
