Tears of anger and embarrassment blurred my view as I stormed out on my own accord, fumbling with my keys before I climbed into the car. As I sped back to the city, back home, an unsettling thought raced through my head.
In a way, she'd answered my question.
Jacob was right.
Whatever this secret was, it would change everything.
Anger turned me inside out, wringing and twisting my heart until I couldn’t breathe. I wouldn’t become Alicia. I wouldn’t sit by while my husband kept secrets and shut me out.
I swerved to the shoulder of the road, not even bothering to park as I punched Jacob’s number. It only rang once before he answered. I had no time to practice what came next. So I just rolled with it.
“Hey ba-”
“You’re lying to me!” I interrupted vehemently, tears piercing my eyeballs. Slashing their way down my cheeks. “You told your mother no more secrets, but apparently it’s just fine to keep secrets from your wife.”
The line went quiet and for one infuriating moment, I thought he hung up on me. But the call was still connected according to my dashboard.
“I’m not dropping this. It’s not going away,” I snarled, my chest pumping, rushing to catch up with my racing heart. “I know what I heard. Why won’t you talk to me?!”
“I’m still sorting through all of this myself, Leila!” he snapped. “I was hit with this information, and then I had to verify it. I had to be certain before I took any action. “
My heart flip flopped in the pit of my stomach. “Baby, talk to me. Tell me what’s going on so I can be there for you.”
He let out a heavy sigh and that just made it worst. I could hear how much this weighed on him. My guy. My Dom. Something was tearing him up inside—and he’d been going through it alone. I put aside my anger. I couldn’t change the past. I could only be here for him now.
“It’s going to be okay, Jacob.”
The scoff he answered with told me he wasn’t so sure.
“My father wasn’t the only one living a lie. I have a younger brother—and he wants to be a part of my life.”