Shattered Vows, Unveiled Truths

n miles away. My husband, David Chen, stood at the head o

cy restaurant. "Accepted into the university's honors program! I alw

mix of excitement and embarrassment, beamed at his father. They looked l

I' d stayed up helping Ethan with his applications, the years I' d spent proofreading his essays, or the career I' d abando

lowness inside my chest. I mechanically picked up the dry cleaning from the floor, sorted the mail, and wiped down t

d storage, something David usually used for flight manuals.

dant. Olivia Hayes. They were in Paris, laughing over wine. In Tokyo, standing under cherry blossoms. In one photo, Olivia was wearing a delicate silv

ught it

tile floor. The sound was sharp, violent. It was the sound o

n I heard their key in the door. David an

he floor?" Ethan asked, his to

a frown of impatience. "Sarah, what's wrong now

rning with tears I refused to

panic in his eyes before it was replaced by anger. "

xpensive jewelry for?" I pushed the phone across the floor tow

nt through my phone? You have no ri

imed in, his loyalty firmly with his

ated my life to. He saw me not as a person who was hurting,

You celebrated your success, a success I helped build, a

ossed it on the table. "Look, I'm sorry. I was caught up in the momen

urse could patch the gaping hole in our marriage, in m

ce suddenly clear and steady. The tears wer

"Do whatever you want. Ethan, let's g

before following his father upstairs. They left me there, alone in the ec

lie. My entire adult life had been a lie. I had sacrificed my ambition, my dreams, my very identity for them. I was Sarah Mill

position as a foreign correspondent right after graduation. "You have the talent for it, Sar

the back of the closet. Inside, beneath old photo albums, was my reporter

ears, but I still had it. My thumb hovered over the call button. My hear

ssed

the second ring

e shaking slightly. "It

My god. It' s been a long t

buried dreams. "But it's going to be. That offer you made me, all t