Chapter 3 - The Other Woman's Version
Rachel almost hung up.
Instead, she walked outside onto her parents' porch.
“What do you want?”
Claire's voice sounded different from what Rachel remembered.
Less confident.
More frightened.
“I know you probably hate me.”
“I don't know you well enough to hate you.”
A pause.
“That might change after we talk.”
Rachel closed her eyes.
“Are you sleeping with my husband?”
Silence answered first.
Then:
“Yes.”
Rachel had known.
Still, hearing the word felt like being burned again.
“How long?”
“Three months.”
Rachel's eyes opened.
Three months.
The fire had happened four months earlier.
“So while I was in the hospital.”
“Yes.”
Rachel gripped the porch railing.
Claire spoke quickly.
“He told me your marriage was over.”
“Did he mention I was in the hospital because I dragged him out of a burning house?”
Another silence.
“He told me the fire had changed everything.”
Rachel laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“It certainly did.”
Claire explained that Daniel had contacted her first.
A business meeting became dinner.
Dinner became drinks.
Daniel told Claire that Rachel no longer wanted him.
That they slept separately.
That divorce was inevitable.
Some of those details were technically true.
The reason behind them was not.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because yesterday I asked Daniel when he was filing for divorce.”
Rachel waited.
“He said he couldn't yet.”
“Why?”
“He said it would look terrible.”
Rachel felt something cold settle inside her.
Not heartbreak.
Clarity.
Daniel wasn't staying married because he loved her.
He was protecting himself.
His image.
His agency.
His reputation.
Claire continued.
“Then I asked what would happen if you told people he'd left you while you were recovering.”
“What did he say?”
Claire hesitated.
“He said nobody needed to know the timeline.”
Rachel went silent.
There it was.
Not merely betrayal.
Calculation.
Claire apologized.
Rachel didn't forgive her.
Not then.
But she thanked her for telling the truth.
When the call ended, Rachel sat outside for almost an hour.
Then she did something Daniel wasn't expecting.
She called an attorney.
The consultation took place two days later.
Rachel arrived wearing a scarf over her healing neck and kept her left hand tucked close to her body.
The attorney, Maya Collins, didn't stare.
That alone made Rachel trust her.
Maya listened while Rachel explained the marriage, the fire, Daniel's agency, the unexplained trips, and Claire's call.
When Rachel finished, Maya folded her hands.
“What do you want?”
Rachel hadn't expected the question.
“A divorce.”
“I understand. But what do you want from the divorce?”
Rachel thought.
“I want my life back.”
Maya nodded.
“That's a better starting point than revenge.”
Rachel hadn't realized how badly she needed someone to say that.
The legal process began quietly.
Daniel still believed Rachel was waiting.
His messages changed tone.
Hope you're feeling better.
Then:
We should talk when I get back.
Then:
Why aren't you answering?
Rachel read them.
She didn't respond.
Meanwhile, she returned to the cosmetics company.
Her first day terrified her.
People tried not to stare.
Some failed.
Rachel nearly turned around at the entrance.
Then Olivia appeared.
No dramatic reaction.
No pity.
Just a hug.
“Welcome back.”
Rachel exhaled.
Her old job involved customer-facing consultations, but Olivia offered training work behind the scenes while Rachel recovered.
Rachel accepted.
For the first time since the fire, she spent an entire afternoon thinking about something other than Daniel.
Product formulations.
Training schedules.
Customer feedback.
Ordinary problems.
Beautifully ordinary problems.
When Rachel arrived home that evening, exhausted but smiling, Daniel's car was parked outside.
Her smile disappeared.
He stood in her parents' living room.
Daniel looked tired.
“I've been calling you.”
“I know.”
“Can we talk privately?”
Rachel's father started to object.
Rachel stopped him.
“It's okay.”
She and Daniel went outside.
For several seconds, he stared at her.
Not quite at her eyes.
Rachel noticed.
“Where were you?” he asked.
“Working.”
“You went back?”
“Yes.”
“You shouldn't be pushing yourself.”
Rachel almost laughed.
“You lost the right to worry about that.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Claire called you.”
Rachel didn't answer.
“She told me.”
“Then why ask?”
“Rachel, what happened with Claire—”
“Three months.”
Daniel looked away.
“While I was in the hospital.”
“It wasn't like that.”
“Then tell me what it was like.”
Daniel struggled for words.
Rachel realized she'd spent months imagining this confrontation.
In every imagined version, she screamed.
In reality, she felt strangely calm.
“I was scared,” Daniel said finally.
“So was I.”
“I didn't know how to handle everything.”
“Neither did I.”
“I felt trapped.”
Rachel stared at him.
“I was the one wrapped in bandages.”
Daniel flinched.
“That isn't what I meant.”
“No. I think it's exactly what you meant.”
He stepped closer.
“We can fix this.”
Rachel's eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
Daniel blinked.
“What?”
“Why do you suddenly want to fix it?”
His silence answered.
Rachel understood.
“Because Claire threatened your comfortable arrangement.”
“No.”
“Because I'm not calling anymore.”
“Rachel—”
“Because you're realizing I might actually leave you.”
Daniel reached for her hand.
Rachel stepped back.
His hand remained suspended between them.
Four months earlier, Rachel had run into a burning house for that hand.
Now she couldn't bring herself to touch it.
“I filed for divorce this morning.”
Daniel's face drained of color.
“You what?”
“You heard me.”
“You can't make a decision like that without talking to me.”
Rachel stared at him.
“You made your decision months ago.”
Daniel's expression changed.
Anger replaced surprise.
“This is your parents talking.”
“No.”
“Your father never liked me.”
“This is me talking.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“You're emotional. You're still recovering.”
Rachel looked directly into his eyes.
“Don't ever use my injuries to explain away my decisions again.”
Daniel stopped.
Rachel turned toward the house.
Behind her, Daniel said something that made her freeze.
“If you divorce me, Rachel, there are things about the fire you're going to learn that you won't like.”
She slowly turned around.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel immediately looked as though he regretted speaking.
“Nothing.”
“No. Tell me.”
“I was angry.”
Rachel walked toward him.
“What don't I know about the fire?”
Daniel picked up his keys.
“Forget I said anything.”
He walked toward his car.
Rachel watched him leave.
That night, she called Maya.
“I think there's something Daniel hasn't told me.”
“About the affair?”
“No.”
Rachel looked toward the scars on her arm.
May you like
“About the night our house burned.”
And for the first time since escaping the flames, Rachel began wondering whether the fire itself contained a secret.
