Where His Vows Died

It was the first time my son, Caleb, had ever looked at me that way.

A chill climbed slowly up my spine, and I faked being angry to cover it.

"Go do your homework. Keep talking nonsense like that and I'll let your father deal with you when he gets home."

Caleb looked at me once, then went back to his room without a word.

"Believe me or don't. That's up to you.

"But Dad's going to take my side anyway."

The door banged shut, and just like that we were in two different worlds.

I stayed frozen on the couch, my hands and feet shaking.

He hadn't been putting it on. Had Julian really been keeping another family somewhere?

That influencer.

The mother's name was Serena Harlow, thirty years old, with a soft, gentle face.

The daughter was Maya, only four months younger than Caleb.

I'd been following them for a year, and the girl's father had never once appeared on camera.

Now that I was looking properly, Maya's eyes and brows really did have something of Julian in them.

I scrolled, gripping the phone until my fingertips went white.

Back in June, Serena posted that Maya's father had given her milk she was allergic to by mistake, and she'd panicked and asked her follower group chat what to do.

Caleb was allergic to milk too, so I knew the drill. I typed out a long list of what to watch for.

Afterward, she messaged me privately.

"Her dad's so careless. He's home so rarely that he wants to give her everything at once. Thank you for today."

The photo showed Maya asleep, with a man's hand resting beside her.

The wedding band on that ring finger was identical to Julian's.

I'd spent two months designing that ring myself. There wasn't another one like it.

And at the time I'd been busy setting up Julian's new study, so I hadn't looked twice.

My blood went cold all through me. Tears slid down from the corners of my eyes.

But where would he even find the time to get to Harborcrest?

At ten past eight, right on schedule, the front door opened.

Julian cupped my face, startled and stricken.

"Audrey, why are you crying?"

I looked at him and the tears came harder.

I couldn't get a single word out.

Julian turned, kicked open Caleb's door, and hauled him out for a scolding.

"You upset your mother again, didn't you?"

Once, watching this would have made me feel adored. Now it just felt like a blade going in.

The bag he'd set down held a new home fragrance.

I never used that kind. But it was all over Serena's house in every video she posted.

I looked it up. The brand was sold in Eastcliff only. You couldn't buy it in Harborcrest.

"Audrey, did you get Caleb's things and mine packed? We fly out to the estate tomorrow."

Julian steered Caleb into the kitchen to carry the food out.

I blinked. "I packed it all this morning."

On the twentieth of every month, he flew a thousand miles to the Whitlock estate to lay flowers at his mother's grave.

Julian said my old back injury made long flights a bad idea.

I used to find that thoughtfulness sweet.

Later, once Caleb was old enough, he started taking him along.

It never occurred to me to wonder about any of it.

Now, with my hands shaking, I logged into his airline account.

Eastcliff to Harborcrest.

Eight years of marriage. Two hundred thirty-six tickets.

Not one of them went anywhere near the estate.

So all of it had been a lie.

A BrightLoop alert popped up. Serena had posted a new video.

"Maya's dad comes home tomorrow, so I'm at the store picking up everything they like."

Walking past a shelf of intimate products, she dropped two boxes into her cart.

Her followers went wild. I felt like I'd gone through the ice.

I knew Serena had filmed that part for me.

Julian chattered away, moving food onto my plate.

"Don't stay up late while you're here on your own. Caleb and I will be back as soon as we've been out to the cemetery..."

Under the table I was gripping the pregnancy report until my vision went soft at the edges.

"Are you going to your mother's grave, or are you going to Harborcrest?"