His Secret Shame

room and now dying in our shared Zilker apartment. It felt li

the real alarm bell was the privacy

" I asked, trying

rchitect's focus absolute. "Work stuff.

. Now, his phone was a black, unreadable

e claimed was all for me. His phone lay on the kitchen counter, screen facing up. A text lit it up. I couldn't

htly as I picked it up. The screen

ing of

t to it. An intern from his firm, he'd mentioned her once or twice. Young, pr

thought. The car accident that took my parents and my ability to have children. A pain he knew, a pain he' d promised to share, but l

e porch, the meal he claimed was for

brain could stop them. I

ver. Sh

ent

ch and waited, my hea

l rang. Liam, wiping his hands on a towel,

t are you d

nty-three, blonde, wearing a sundress that probably cost more t

et, practiced melody. "You left this at the office after the po

me, her eyes widening in mock surprise. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn

e, unadulterated fury, masked b

loe. Chloe, my g

ou," Chloe chirped, her

ell of brisket filled the apartment, rich

the Tupperware, exchanged a few pleasant

or clicked shut,

hell was t

I asked, my voice

here, didn't you? You saw a text and you

on me, his voice

r you, this is the trust I get? She was just returning a cont

saw the message I'd se

" he spat. "Abs

e in the living room, the lie hanging in the air, thick as the smoke from the grill.

how goo