Chapter 1
The day my husband returned from the sea, I brought our twin daughters to the harbor because I wanted him to see how much they had grown.
I had imagined that moment a thousand times.
I imagined him running toward us.
I imagined his strong arms wrapping around me.
I imagined him lifting our little girls from their stroller, kissing their cheeks, and promising he would never stay away so long again.
Instead, I watched him walk down the ship's ramp and kiss another woman.
Right in front of me.
And when that woman turned toward me, I discovered something even worse.
She believed she was his wife.
My name is Nia Williams.
I was thirty-two years old, married to Marcus Williams, and the mother of two beautiful baby girls named Ava and Mia.
Until that morning, I believed my marriage was struggling because my husband worked at sea.
I never imagined he had built an entirely different life while I was waiting for him to come home.
"Look, girls! Daddy's coming!"
I leaned over the stroller and adjusted Ava's pink bow.
Mia kicked her tiny feet beneath the blanket.
Both girls wore matching white dresses with little pink flowers.
I had spent the previous evening washing their clothes, packing diapers, and preparing everything for this reunion.
Marcus had been away for almost eight months.
Eight months of sleepless nights.
Eight months of feeding two babies alone.
Eight months of telling myself that every sacrifice was worth it because he was working to provide for our family.
I wore my favorite lavender dress beneath a cream coat.
Marcus had always loved that dress.
He used to tell me the color made my skin glow.
I had even styled my long black hair the way he liked it.
I wanted him to remember the woman he had married.
Not just the exhausted mother who sent him photographs of dirty diapers and midnight feedings.
The harbor was crowded.
Dock workers moved between giant cargo containers.
Seagulls circled above the blue water.
Families stood near the terminal, waiting for sailors to come down the ramp.
Then I saw him.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Short fade haircut.
Trimmed beard.
My Marcus.
He wore a cream polo shirt and navy trousers.
A blue travel duffel bag hung from his shoulder.
My heart jumped.
"Marcus!"
I waved both arms.
He didn't look toward me.
I assumed he couldn't hear over the noise.
I pushed the stroller forward.
"Marcus! We're here!"
Then I noticed the woman.
She stood near the bottom of the ramp wearing an elegant cream pantsuit.
Her long straight hair fell over her shoulders.
She was beautiful.
Confident.
Smiling.
And she was watching my husband with the same excitement I felt.
Marcus saw her.
His entire face lit up.
I stopped walking.
He hurried down the final steps.
The woman opened her arms.
Marcus dropped his duffel bag.
Then he pulled her against his chest and kissed her.
Not a polite greeting.
Not a friendly kiss on the cheek.
He kissed her mouth like a man returning to the love of his life.
My hands tightened around the stroller.
For several seconds, I couldn't breathe.
I waited for him to pull away.
I waited for someone to explain that I had misunderstood.
But he kissed her again.
The woman laughed and touched his face.
"Welcome home, baby."
Home.
That single word made my stomach twist.
I looked down at Ava and Mia.
They were smiling at the bright sky.
They had no idea their mother's world was falling apart.
I forced my legs to move.
The stroller wheels rolled over the concrete.
"Marcus?"
He turned.
His smile disappeared.
For one terrible second, he stared at me as though he had seen a ghost.
Then his eyes dropped toward the stroller.
His face went pale.
"Nia?"
I stopped a few feet away.
My voice barely worked.
"Who is she?"
The woman turned toward me.
She looked confused.
Marcus opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
I pointed toward the woman.
"Marcus, I asked you a question."
He stepped forward.
"Nia, please. Let me explain."
I laughed once.
It sounded broken.
"Explain what?"
He glanced toward the woman.
Then toward our daughters.
I felt tears burning my eyes.
"Eight months, Marcus."
"Nia—"
"Eight months!"
Several people nearby turned.
I didn't care.
"I raised your daughters alone while you were at sea."
My voice cracked.
"I sat in emergency rooms alone. I celebrated their first milestones alone. I cried myself to sleep because I missed you."
He reached toward me.
I stepped back.
"Don't touch me."
His hand stopped in the air.
"And this is what I came here to find?"
The woman slowly released his arm.
"Wait."
Her eyes moved toward the stroller.
"Your daughters?"
Marcus closed his eyes.
I stared at her.
Something about her reaction stopped me.
She didn't look angry at being discovered with a married man.
She looked genuinely shocked.
"What exactly did he tell you?" I asked.
The woman looked at Marcus.
"Marcus?"
He shook his head.
"Vanessa, don't."
Vanessa.
Now I knew her name.
She stepped away from him.
"Who is this woman?"
I felt my chest tighten.
"I'm his wife."
Vanessa stared at me.
Then she looked at Marcus.
"No."
Marcus reached for her.
"Baby, listen—"
She jerked away.
"Don't call me that."
I watched her face change.
Confusion.
Fear.
Disbelief.
Then Vanessa slowly raised her left hand.
A diamond wedding ring glittered in the sunlight.
I stared at it.
My heart seemed to stop.
"He told me I was his wife," she whispered.
The harbor noise faded around me.
I looked at Marcus.
He couldn't meet my eyes.
I whispered, "What?"
Vanessa's lower lip trembled.
"We got married five months ago."
My knees weakened.
Five months.
While I was waking up every three hours to feed our daughters, Marcus had been standing beside another woman exchanging wedding vows.
I gripped the stroller to keep myself upright.
"Marcus?"
He looked at me.
Tears filled his eyes.
"Nia, it's complicated."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Please."
"No, Marcus."
Vanessa began crying.
"He told me you were gone."
I stared at her.
"What do you mean, gone?"
She looked toward the babies.
Then back at me.
Her voice broke.
"He told me his first wife died."
For a moment, I couldn't understand the words.
Died.
My husband had told another woman I was dead.
I looked down at Ava and Mia.
Mia began crying.
Her little face turned red as she reached toward me.
I bent down automatically.
My hands were shaking so badly I could barely adjust her blanket.
Marcus stepped closer.
"Nia, let me explain everything."
I looked up at him.
The man I had loved for nine years.
The father of my children.
The person I trusted more than anyone.
And suddenly, I realized I knew almost nothing about him.
"Tell me one thing," I whispered.
He swallowed.
"Anything."
I pointed toward Vanessa.
"If she thinks I'm dead, what did you tell her about our daughters?"
Marcus stared at the ground.
Vanessa covered her mouth.
Then Marcus said something that made both of us freeze.
"She doesn't know everything."
I looked at him.
"What else is there?"
He glanced toward the cargo ship.
Then toward the security officers standing near the terminal.
His expression changed.
It wasn't only guilt.
It was fear.
Real fear.
And before either of us could ask another question, his phone began ringing.
The name on the screen made Vanessa gasp.
I looked down.
The caller was saved as:
MY WIFE — HOME.
Vanessa stared at the screen.
Then she looked at me.
"If that's his wife," she whispered, "then who are we?"
May you like
Marcus grabbed the phone.
And I knew the nightmare had only begun.
