Chapter 2 - What Sophie Was Told to Keep SecretDaniel did not ask another question while Sophie was standing there.
Every instinct in him wanted answers immediately.
How many times?
How long?
What had Sophie seen?
What had Laura told her?
But Sophie was seven.
Whatever Laura and Mark had done belonged to the adults.
Daniel refused to make his daughter responsible for explaining their betrayal.
"Go pick a movie," he told her gently. "I'll come see you in a little while."
"Can I watch the one with the talking dog?"
"Absolutely."
Even now, Sophie hesitated.
Her eyes moved between her parents.
"Are you mad?"
Daniel swallowed.
"Not at you."
"At Uncle Mark?"
Mark looked toward the floor.
Daniel took a breath.
"Go pick your movie, baby."
Sophie left.
Daniel waited until her bedroom door closed.
Then he shut the master-bedroom door.
The click sounded louder than it should have.
Laura spoke first.
"Daniel, I can explain."
He stared at her.
"What exactly are you planning to explain?"
"It's not—"
"If the next words out of your mouth are 'what it looks like,' don't."
Laura's lips closed.
Daniel turned toward Mark.
His best friend.
The man who had been beside him when his father died.
The man who'd held Sophie hours after she was born and jokingly demanded she call him Uncle Mark before she could even speak.
Daniel had once trusted Mark enough to put his name on emergency-contact forms.
Now that same man had been hiding behind Daniel's wife's dresses.
"How long?"
Mark looked at Laura.
Daniel saw it.
That single glance hurt almost as badly as the closet.
They had a language now.
A private communication built around him.
"I asked you," Daniel said.
Mark rubbed a hand across his jaw.
"It's complicated."
"No."
Daniel walked toward him.
"It's actually incredibly simple. How long have you been sleeping with my wife?"
Laura flinched.
"Daniel, Sophie is down the hall."
"Then keep your voice down when you answer me."
Mark breathed out.
"Five months."
Laura's head snapped toward him.
Daniel caught it.
"Five?"
Mark nodded.
Daniel looked at Laura.
"Is that true?"
She didn't answer quickly enough.
"Laura."
"Approximately."
He almost laughed.
"Approximately?"
"It didn't start the way you're making it sound."
"How am I making it sound?"
"We were friends."
"You were friends because he was my friend."
"That's not fair."
Daniel stared at her.
"That's the sentence you're choosing?"
Laura's eyes became wet.
Normally, seeing her cry would have changed him instantly.
He would have softened his voice.
Moved closer.
Tried to fix whatever hurt.
Now he found himself wondering how many versions of those tears Mark had already seen.
Mark stepped forward.
"This is on me too."
Daniel turned.
"Do you want credit?"
"No."
"You want me to respect you because you're admitting you participated?"
"Daniel—"
"How many times were you in my house?"
Mark didn't answer.
Daniel's voice hardened.
"How many?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Enough."
That word landed.
Enough.
Enough to develop routines.
Enough that Sophie recognized his visits.
Enough that Laura knew exactly where to hide him.
Daniel looked at the bed.
"Here?"
Laura wrapped her arms around herself.
"Don't."
"In our bed?"
"Daniel."
He understood.
His stomach turned.
He walked away before anger made him say something Sophie might hear.
"Get out."
Mark nodded.
"Okay."
He moved toward the door.
Daniel spoke again.
"Your key."
Mark stopped.
"What?"
"My house key."
Mark stared at him.
Laura did too.
Daniel gave a humorless smile.
"Don't look so surprised. I gave it to you three years ago when you were checking the house while we were in Florida."
Mark reached into his pocket.
He placed the key on the dresser.
The small metal object made a tiny sound.
Daniel stared at it.
How many times had Mark used it when Daniel wasn't home?
"Leave."
Mark looked at Laura once.
Daniel saw that too.
"Don't."
Mark looked back.
"If you look at my wife for permission one more time in my bedroom, I'm going to forget how hard I'm trying to stay calm."
Mark left.
Daniel heard his footsteps descend the stairs.
Then the front door opened.
Closed.
Laura remained near the bed.
"Daniel."
He didn't look at her.
"I'm sorry."
"How many times did Sophie see him here?"
"I don't know."
"That's becoming a popular answer."
"She didn't see anything."
"You had our daughter keeping secrets from me."
"I never said it like that."
Daniel turned.
"She literally told me you said not to tell Daddy."
Laura wiped her cheek.
"Because I didn't want her mentioning Mark and making you suspicious."
Daniel stared at her.
For a moment even Laura seemed to realize what she had admitted.
"You used our seven-year-old to protect your affair."
"No. I was trying to keep her out of it."
"You made her part of it the second you asked her to hide something from her father."
Laura looked away.
Daniel walked toward the door.
"Where are you going?"
"To talk to my daughter."
Her head rose.
"About what?"
"Not your affair."
"Then what?"
"I'm going to make sure she knows she never has to keep an adult's secret from me."
Daniel opened the door.
Then Laura said something behind him.
"You weren't supposed to find out today."
He stopped.
Something about the wording bothered him.
Not You weren't supposed to find out like this.
Today.
Daniel slowly turned.
"When was I supposed to find out?"
Laura's face tightened.
He walked back into the room.
"You said 'today.'"
"I didn't mean anything."
"Yes, you did."
"Daniel—"
"When were you going to tell me?"
She said nothing.
And in her silence, Daniel remembered Mark's first words from before the door opened.
Muffled through the hallway.
He hadn't understood them then.
Now they replayed perfectly.
When are you finally divorcing him?
Daniel felt the next betrayal before Laura admitted it.
May you like
This wasn't an affair without a destination.
They already had a plan.
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