When Lily and Jasonâs son, Nathan, brings his fiancĂ©e home for the long weekend, Lily is excited to get to know the young woman.
But during that weekend, she notices her husband acting strange.
So, she tries to uncover what is going on with Jason â only to open a can of worms with secrets wriggling everywhere.
From the moment Nathan introduced us to his fiancée, I knew something was off.
It wasnât that she wasnât sweet or lovely, because she was.
Her name was Tessa, and sheâd come to Chicago with Nathan from his college in Michigan to spend a long weekend with us and meet the family.
My son and his new beau had been dating for over a year, and sheâd just been a name until now. Now that she was here, I could see why my son was head-over-heels. Tessa was sharp, funny, and kind in a genuine way.
Within minutes, my eight-year-old daughter, Sophie, was practically glued to her side.
But my husband, Jason, was different that night.
Usually, heâs animated and easygoing, especially around Nathan and his friends. But when Tessa was around, he was quiet, almost as if he were retreating into himself.
It was strange. Very strange.
At one point, I even noticed his hand shaking as he lifted his glass of wine.
I didnât think much about it at the time. Honestly, it could have been anything from work or nerves about meeting our sonâs future wife for the first time.
But later, I couldnât shake the feeling that something was lurking behind his newfound silence.
That feeling only got stronger in the days that followed.
Jason would get jumpy if his phone buzzed while I was nearby, always flipping it over or pulling it close if I tried to sneak a peek. It wasnât like him to be so secretive.
But then, one night, as he slept, I finally let suspicion get the better of me.
I crept over to his side of the bed and picked up his phone.
I took it to the bathroom with me and sitting on the edge of the counter, I unlocked it with his code. It was the kidsâ birthday, so it was a complete no-brainer.
I hated what I was doing, but I just needed to see if I was losing my mind or if something was really wrong.
I scrolled for a second or two before everything changed. One message stopped me in my tracks.
Iâll be waiting for you at the restaurant tomorrow.
6 P.M., okay?
The sender was Tessa.
The blood drained from my face, and my stomach twisted. I read the message over and over again, hoping, praying that Iâd misread it.
Tessa.
Nathanâs fiancĂ©e.
Our sonâs fiancĂ©e was arranging secret dates with my husband? I knew that I had to see it with my own eyes.
The next day, I watched until Jason left the house at 5 P.M.
I got into my car and followed him. I parked outside the restaurant, where Jason jumped out of his car and hugged Tessa, who was waiting outside, scrolling on her phone.
I could see them clearly through the large windows. There they were, sitting across from each other, laughing, heads close.
I felt sick.
My breath came in short, choppy gasps.
What the hell was this?
And then, to make it worse, Jason reached out and took her hand, his expression softening in a way I hadnât seen in a long time.
That was it.
I couldnât sit there and watch them share a secret that was tearing me apart.
If this was killing me, what would it do to Nathan?
I threw open the car door, marched right into the restaurant, and stopped in front of them, crossing my arms as I glared at them both.
Jason looked up, shock forming all over his face.
âLilyâŠâ
âWhat is this?â I demanded, my voice barely holding together as my eyes darted between him and Tessa.
âIâm your wife, for goodnessâ sake, Jason! And you! Youâre my sonâs fiancĂ©e!
Are you both out of your minds?â
Tessaâs eyes widened; she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. I could feel every eye in the restaurant on us, but I didnât care.
Jason stood up, almost knocking over the bottle of wine that had been delivered to the table as I walked in.
âLily, wait, this isnât what you think it is!â he said, his hands hanging limply at his side.
âOh, itâs not?â I shouted, crossing my arms. âBecause it looks an awful lot like youâre seeing your sonâs fiancĂ©e behind my back.â
Tessaâs lip trembled as she looked down.
She looked like a sad child who just wanted a hug.
âLily, sit down, please,â Jason said. âIâll tell you everything.â
I stayed standing, eyes locked on him, waiting for any explanation that could possibly make sense.
Jason looked at Tessa, then back at me. Tessa nodded and sighed.
âThis is difficult to explain, Lil,â he said.
âButâŠTessa is my daughter.â
His words hit me like a physical blow.
âWhat?â I shouted. âHow? When?
What?â
Jason lowered his head, taking a long breath.
âLily, I only just found out myself,â he said. âI didnât know I had a daughter. But Tessa and I took a DNA test two weeks before she got here.
The results came in yesterday. Sheâs mine.â
I looked over at Tessa, whose face was red, her eyes misty. She nodded slowly.
âItâs true.
IâŠI wanted to tell Nathan when we found out, but I didnât know how. My mom saw a photo of your whole family on socials. She wanted to see if she could get a âvibeâ from you guys before letting me come here without her.
She recognized Jason.â
The poor girl sniffed.
Jason took over from her, his voice wavering.
âTwenty years ago, before I met you, Lily, I dated someone briefly. She left suddenly. She moved to another state, but I never heard from her again.
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