When Clara’s cousin finished recounting what she had overheard, Clara stumbled back in disbelief. Her mother reached out instinctively to steady her.
“No… no way,” Clara muttered, shaking her head like she could somehow erase the words from her ears. “Lucas already told me about his family. He even showed me a photo of his mom. It’s the same woman I met today–there’s no mistake.”
“And besides, if they weren’t actually related, they wouldn’t have hugged like that in front of me. Right? Right?”
Her voice cracked with hope, desperate for this to be some horrible misunderstanding.
“Grace,” she pleaded softly, “are you sure you hear it right?”
But her gave her a look filled with reluctant sympathy, then repeated herself with quiet conviction.
“I heard what I heard, Clara. I’m not saying Lucas isn’t her son. But from what I gathered, his birth mother–Madeline–is the other woman. The affair. Apparently, the woman who raised him–his dad’s actual wife–was the one forced to stay behind and keep up appearances. She is never allowed to leave the house.”
Grace paused, then added gently, “Think about it. That’s the household he grew up in. If that’s how his father treated women, what makes you think Lucas won’t do the same? I mean, I listened to him talk about that woman–who raised him, mind you–and there wasn’t a shred of respect. Called her a glorified housemaid. Said she was nothing but a cleaner. But that woman practically gave up her whole life
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for him. Raised him like her own. And he tosses her aside the second it’s convenient?”
Her met Clara’s eyes and finished with a pointed calm. “That’s not just about family dynamics, sweetheart. That’s about character. Are you sure you want to keep going with that?” Then she stepped back, her tone softer. “Well, that’s all from me. You do what you want with it.”
Clara stood frozen, her mind spinning.
She thought back to the months leading up to the wedding. The way Lucas had danced around certain topics. The subtle comments he made. The way he kept nudging her to consider stepping away from her job.
“Maybe you could cut back on hours after the wedding.”
“It’d be nice to have someone home with the kids when we have them.”
“You don’t have to work so hard anymore.”
Her family had never raised her to think like that. Both her parents worked and her mother had always emphasized the importance of independence and career. So
no–becoming a full–time housewife had never once crossed her mind.
But now… now she could feel something unraveling.
Still, she didn’t want to jump to conclusions–not yet. She and Lucas had been through too much together for her to throw it away without a word.
So she sent him a message.
[Lucas, is there something you haven’t told me?]
She told herself–if he just came clean now, if he just
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admitted everything and apologized like a grown man–maybe, just maybe, she could give him that chance to explain.
But what Clara didn’t know… was that one little text?
It was all it took for Lucas to believe she was already back under their control.
That single message set in motion a chain of events none of them could have predicted.
When Lucas saw the message light up on his phone, the first thing he did was glance at the time.
It hadn’t even been thirty minutes.
Right on cue, just like Madeline said.
He let out a smug little chuckle. “Mom, look,” he said proudly. “Clara just texted me.”
Madeline peeked over his shoulder at the message and smiled with satisfaction.
“She’s testing the waters,” she said smoothly. “Just reply casually. Keep her hanging a little.”
“I know you want her to give in on a few things. Let her stew a bit–then you can start setting some boundaries.”
Lucas nodded, completely sold on Madeline’s plan now.
He was convinced Clara would come around.
What he didn’t realize, though, was that just a few feet away, Ryan had been listening the entire time.
And something in his gut… twisted,
