CHAPTER 4: The Confrontation

ARIA'S POV

Rebecca had texted me the address. A small apartment building in Sellwood. Unit 2B.

I sat in my car across the street for twenty minutes. Hands on the steering wheel. Engine off. The sun had set but the sky still held some light, that blue-grey color that meant night was coming.

Seven months pregnant.

I kept saying it in my head. Trying to make it real. Seven months meant he'd been with her while we were planning our fourth anniversary trip. While we'd had dinner with Jordan and her family. While he'd told me he loved me every single morning.

The building was old but maintained. Brown siding. Small patios with dead plants. A bike rack with two bikes chained to it. Not the kind of place Flynn would normally notice. Not the kind of place that matched our house with its hardwood floors and granite counters.

But he'd found it. Had been here. Multiple times, probably, if he was paying her rent.

I made myself get out of the car. My legs felt wrong. Too heavy and too light at the same time.

The front door was unlocked. The hallway smelled like someone's dinner. Garlic and tomato. My stomach turned. I took the stairs because I needed the extra seconds. Because if I stopped moving, I might leave.

2B was at the end of the hall. The door had a small wreath on it. Spring flowers. Cheerful.

I knocked before I could change my mind.

Footsteps inside. Slow, careful footsteps. The door opened.

She was younger than I'd expected. Early twenties, maybe. Blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. Blue eyes. Wearing leggings and an oversized sweater that couldn't quite hide the swell of her stomach.

We stared at each other. Her hand went to her belly. Protective. Automatic.

"Can I help you?" Her voice was soft. Uncertain.

"Are you Sienna Thornfield?"

Her face changed. Recognition mixed with something that looked like fear. "Oh god. You're Aria."

I hadn't told her my name.

"Flynn said you were beautiful." She was still holding the doorframe. Using it for support. "He didn't... he said he'd tell you."

"Tell me what?" My voice came out steadier than I felt. "That he's having a baby with someone else?"

"Please." She looked past me down the hallway. Like she was afraid someone would hear. "Please come in. I can explain."

I didn't want to go in. Didn't want to see where my husband had been spending his time. His money. His secrets.

But I'd come this far.

The apartment was small. Living room, kitchen visible beyond it, one door that probably led to a bedroom. Everything was clean but sparse. A couch that looked secondhand. A coffee table with a library book on it. Baby magazines. Pamphlets from a clinic.

And baby things. Everywhere.

A bassinet in the corner with a yellow blanket. A changing table already assembled. Boxes of diapers stacked against the wall. A mobile with little elephants that would hang over a crib.

My chest tightened. I couldn't breathe right.

On the kitchen counter, I saw it. A vase. Cobalt blue glass. I'd bought it at an art fair two years ago. Given it to Flynn for his office. He'd said he loved it.

Now it was here. In her apartment. With fresh flowers.

"I'm so sorry." Sienna closed the door. Twisted her hands together. "I never wanted... I told him to tell you. From the beginning. But he said-"

"Why does he owe you money?"

She blinked. "He's helping me. With the baby. With rent. I didn't ask, but he insisted."

"For eight months."

"Since I found him."

"Found him?"

Her hand went to her stomach again. The baby must have kicked or moved because her whole belly shifted under the sweater. I looked away.

"Can we sit?" she asked. "The baby's been kicking all day and my back..."

I didn't want her to be sympathetic. Didn't want to care about her back or her kicking baby. But I nodded.

We sat on opposite ends of the couch. She moved slow, like it hurt.

"I know you don't want to hear this," she said. "I know you're angry. You have every right to be."

"Just tell me the truth."

She took a breath. "It's complicated."

I stood up. "Everyone keeps saying that. Everyone keeps telling me it's complicated. But it seems pretty simple to me."

"Wait. Please." Tears filled her eyes. Real tears. She wasn't faking. "I never meant for any of this. I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't even know he was married when I first—"

"When you first what? Started sleeping with him?"

"No." She shook her head hard. "No. It's not like that. I swear it's not like that."

"Then what is it like?"

She opened her mouth. Closed it. More tears spilled over. "I can't tell you.."

"Yh right." I grabbed my purse. I was going to be sick. Or scream. Or both. "Perfect. Another promise he kept wasn't to me."

"I'm so sorry," she said again. She was crying now. Really crying. "I never wanted to ruin your marriage. I just... I didn't have anyone else."

I looked at her. Twenty-three, maybe twenty-four. Pregnant and alone. Living in a tiny apartment in Sellwood. No wedding ring. No photos on the walls. Just baby things and that vase from my husband.

"How old are you?" I asked.

"Twenty-four."

"And the baby's father?"

"It doesn't matter. He's not part of this."

"But Flynn is."

"He's helping me. That's all."

"That's all?" I heard my voice rise. "Forty thousand dollars. That's just helping with nothing involved?"

"I didn't ask for that much. He insisted. Said he wanted to make sure we were okay." She touched her stomach. "Me and the baby."

We. Like they were a unit. Like they had a future I wasn't part of.

I walked to the door. My hands were shaking so bad I could barely turn the knob.

"Aria, please," Sienna called. "Let him explain. It's not what you think."

I made it to my car before the sobs came. Seven months. She was seven months pregnant. He'd been lying to me since before our third anniversary.