Chapter 6
I left the house without waiting for Marcus to explain.
My mother drove while I sat beside her.
I watched familiar streets pass through the window.
The grocery store where Marcus and I bought our first Thanksgiving dinner.
The park where we used to walk on Sundays.
The coffee shop where he proposed.
Every place seemed to belong to a life I no longer recognized.
Mom glanced at me.
“You're quiet.”
“I'm tired.”
“I know.”
I looked at her.
“Do you think people can love someone and still destroy them?”
She considered the question.
“I think people can feel love and still behave selfishly. But love without honesty and respect won't keep a marriage healthy.”
I nodded.
Marcus had told me he loved me.
Maybe part of him believed it.
But his actions had made our home unsafe for my heart.
At the temporary apartment, Renee met us with several folders.
She explained the next legal steps.
We would request full financial disclosures.
Review the home equity documents.
Identify marital assets and debts.
Preserve evidence of the transfers.
And determine whether any signatures or representations had been improper.
I listened carefully.
For the first time since discovering the affair, I felt a sense of control.
Not over Marcus.
Over myself.
Renee looked at me.
“Nia, I also want you to consider counseling.”
I frowned.
“Marriage counseling?”
“Individual counseling. You need support while making difficult decisions.”
I looked at my mother.
She nodded.
“She's right.”
I agreed.
I had spent so long being the strong one that asking for help felt unfamiliar.
But strength had not protected me from betrayal.
Perhaps it was time to stop pretending I could carry everything alone.
That afternoon, my phone rang.
An unfamiliar number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A woman's voice spoke.
“Is this Nia Carter?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Simone Walker.”
My entire body went cold.
I sat down.
“How did you get my number?”
“Marcus gave it to me years ago.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course he had.
“What do you want?”
She hesitated.
“I need to talk to you.”
I felt anger rise.
“About what?”
“About Marcus.”
I laughed bitterly.
“I think I know enough.”
“No,” she whispered. “You don't.”
I looked toward Renee.
She noticed my expression.
I put the phone on speaker.
“Then tell me.”
Simone took a shaky breath.
“Marcus told me you were separated.”
I froze.
“What?”
“He said you were living together only because of financial arrangements.”
I felt my stomach twist.
“That was a lie.”
“I know that now.”
“How long did you believe it?”
She began crying.
“For years.”
I stared at the phone.
Something about her voice sounded different from the confident woman I remembered.
There was fear.
And shame.
“He told me you knew about our son,” she continued.
I felt sick.
“What?”
“He said you didn't want children and had agreed to keep your lives separate.”
I pressed my palm against my forehead.
Marcus had used the same lie in two directions.
He told me his business needed money.
He told Simone his marriage had already ended.
He constructed two realities.
And forced both women to live inside them.
“Simone,” I said, “you came to my house.”
“I know.”
“You sat at my kitchen table.”
She began crying harder.
“He said you were trying to maintain appearances because of your career.”
I closed my eyes.
“That doesn't explain why you never asked me.”
She went silent.
I continued.
“You had opportunities to tell me.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Losing everything.”
The answer was painfully honest.
I understood fear.
But I wasn't ready to excuse what she had done.
“Why are you calling now?”
Simone took a breath.
“Because Marcus came to the house last night.”
My heart pounded.
“What happened?”
“He was furious.”
I looked at Renee.
Simone continued.
“He said you were trying to destroy him. He told me not to answer your calls.”
“Did he threaten you?”
She hesitated.
“He said if I talked to you, he'd stop paying the mortgage.”
I closed my eyes.
Another threat.
Another attempt to control someone through money.
“Is your son safe?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Simone began crying.
“I don't know what to do.”
I stared at the phone.
Part of me wanted to hang up.
Another part thought about the little boy in the photograph.
He had done nothing wrong.
Whatever Marcus had done, that child deserved stability.
I took a breath.
“Simone, I'm not going to fight you over Marcus.”
She went silent.
“I'm not competing for a man who lied to both of us.”
Her voice trembled.
“I never wanted to hurt you.”
I looked at the wall.
“But you did.”
“I know.”
“And I need you to take responsibility for your choices.”
“I will.”
I glanced at Renee.
“I'm handling the financial issues through my attorney. You should get independent advice too.”
Simone hesitated.
“Are you going to take the house?”
“I don't know what the legal outcome will be. That's not something I can promise.”
She began crying again.
“But I will not punish a child for his father's decisions.”
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then she whispered, “Thank you.”
I ended the call.
My mother sat beside me.
“How do you feel?”
I stared at my hands.
“Angry.”
“That's understandable.”
“Confused.”
She nodded.
“And relieved that at least some of the truth is finally coming out.”
Mom squeezed my hand.
“You don't have to forgive anyone today.”
I leaned against her shoulder.
“I know.”
That evening, Jonathan Whitmore, the chairman's son and the firm's chief legal officer, called about an unexpected issue with my new partnership.
He sounded concerned.
“Nia, have you spoken to Marcus today?”
“No.”
“Has he contacted your colleagues?”
I sat upright.
“Why?”
Jonathan hesitated.
“Someone sent an anonymous complaint to our board.”
My stomach dropped.
“What kind of complaint?”
“It alleges you concealed financial conflicts during the partnership process.”
I closed my eyes.
Marcus.
I knew it before Jonathan finished.
“Do you believe it?”
“No. We reviewed the disclosure process. But we have to investigate the allegation properly.”
My hands began trembling.
“Could this affect my position?”
“Not if the facts support what you've told us. We won't prejudge you.”
I swallowed.
“What do you need?”
“Documents showing the timeline of your discovery and your lack of involvement in the disputed transfers.”
I looked at Renee.
“We have them.”
“Good.”
After the call, I sat motionless.
Marcus had threatened to end our marriage if I pursued my career.
Now someone was trying to damage that career with accusations.
I picked up my phone and opened his latest message.
Come home, Nia. We can still fix this.
I stared at the words.
Then another message appeared.
You don't want this to become public.
My blood ran cold.
May you like
For the first time, I stopped seeing Marcus simply as a husband who had betrayed me.
I began seeing how far he might go to avoid facing the consequences.
