Chapter 5 - His Confession
“There's something I need to tell you.”
Lukas stood beside the fireplace.
I sat opposite him.
He looked nervous.
Good.
“Okay.”
He inhaled.
“You remember Sophia?”
“Yes.”
“I ran into her months ago.”
Technically true.
“We started talking.”
I waited.
“One thing led to another.”
There it was.
The smallest possible description of a five-month deception.
“And?”
He lowered his head.
“She's pregnant.”
I allowed silence to stretch between us.
“How far?”
“Almost five months.”
I stared at him.
Then I asked the question he expected.
“Is it yours?”
“Yes.”
His eyes filled with tears.
I wondered whether he had practiced those too.
“I'm sorry.”
“How long?”
“It happened once.”
Lie.
“I was confused.”
Lie.
“I never stopped loving you.”
Maybe another lie.
“I don't expect forgiveness.”
That one almost made me smile.
He absolutely expected forgiveness.
“What happens now?”
He moved closer.
“That depends on us.”
“Us?”
“Yes.”
Then he knelt in front of me.
Ten years earlier, he had knelt when he proposed.
Now he knelt to sell me another future.
“Sophia isn't ready to be a mother.”
False.
“She’s overwhelmed.”
Partly true.
“And I know how much you've wanted a child.”
There it was.
I felt something inside me turn cold.
He took my hands.
“Maybe something beautiful can come from something terrible.”
I pulled my fingers free.
“What are you suggesting?”
“Nothing immediately.”
“Say it.”
He swallowed.
“That we help raise the baby.”
I looked at him.
Not because I was surprised.
Because I wanted to remember his face.
“You want me to raise your mistress's child?”
“Don't call her that.”
Interesting.
“Why?”
“Because this isn't about blame.”
I almost laughed.
He continued quickly.
“You've always wanted to be a mother.”
“And therefore?”
“Evelyn, I'm trying to find a way forward.”
“No. Explain the connection.”
He looked uncomfortable.
“You could love this child.”
“I'm sure I could love many children. That doesn't answer my question.”
His expression changed.
For the first time, the rehearsed confession began slipping away from him.
“I thought you'd understand.”
“Understand what?”
“That families aren't always created in conventional ways.”
I stood.
“I need time.”
“Of course.”
He seemed relieved.
“Can I stay somewhere else tonight?”
His relief disappeared.
“You want me to leave?”
“Yes.”
“Evelyn—”
“One night.”
He stared at me.
Then nodded.
After he packed a bag, he kissed my cheek.
I let him walk out.
The second the door closed, I called Sophia.
“He told me.”
“What did he say?”
“That you're overwhelmed and not ready to be a mother.”
Silence.
Then:
“He told me you offered.”
“Offered what?”
“To help raise the baby.”
I closed my eyes.
Two realities.
Two women.
One liar standing between them.
“What did you tell him?”
“That I needed time.”
“Why?”
“Because tomorrow we're going to give him exactly what he wants.”
Sophia hesitated.
“What does that mean?”
“We're going to meet.”
“With him?”
“Yes.”
“Does he know we already spoke?”
“No.”
“And you're not going to tell him?”
“Not until we're sitting at the same table.”
For the first time since Sunday dinner, Sophia laughed.
It wasn't a happy laugh.
It was the sound of someone realizing the maze had an exit.
The next morning, Lukas texted me.
Sophia agreed to meet us tonight.
I answered:
Good.
Then he sent:
Please let me do the talking.
I stared at those six words.
May you like
That was exactly what he had been doing for months.
Tonight, it would stop.
