Chapter 2 - THE THINGS ANNA NEVER TOLD ME
I caught Anna before she hit the floor.
"Anna."
"I'm okay."
She wasn't.
Her face had lost all color.
One hand gripped my arm while the other cradled the underside of her stomach.
"Is it the baby?"
"I don't know."
Another wave of pain crossed her face.
That was enough for me.
Within ten minutes, we were in the car heading toward the hospital.
My mother came downstairs while I was helping Anna through the front door.
She had changed clothes but had not packed anything.
"Where are you going?"
I ignored her.
"Ethan."
I turned around.
"If anything happens to Anna or our baby tonight, you stay away from us."
Her face changed.
For the first time, she looked afraid.
Not sorry.
Afraid.
At the hospital, the doctors monitored Anna and the baby for nearly two hours.
The contractions eventually slowed.
The baby was stable.
The doctor told Anna to rest and avoid unnecessary stress.
I nearly laughed when I heard the words.
Avoid stress.
We had been living with it under our roof.
On the drive home, Anna stared out the passenger window.
I reached across the console.
"Tell me everything."
She stayed quiet.
"Please."
Her fingers tightened around mine.
"The first time happened at dinner."
"When?"
"Five months ago."
I remembered the night.
I had been working late.
Mom had told me Anna went to bed because she was tired.
That was not what happened.
"She said I was eating too much."
I looked at her.
"What?"
"She took my plate."
My hands tightened around the steering wheel.
"She said pregnant women use babies as an excuse to become lazy."
Anna kept her eyes on the road ahead.
"Then she started giving me chores whenever you weren't home."
"Why didn't you call me?"
"Because she said you'd be angry with me."
"Why would I be angry?"
Anna swallowed.
"She showed me messages."
I glanced at her.
"What messages?"
"Messages from your number."
My heart stopped.
"What did they say?"
Anna looked at me.
"That you were tired of coming home to drama."
I pulled the car onto the shoulder.
"Anna, I never sent that."
"I know that now."
"There were more?"
She nodded.
Some messages told her I thought she was overly sensitive.
Some said I wished she would try harder with my mother.
One said I regretted letting Anna move into the house.
I had never written any of them.
Then I remembered the old tablet in my study.
Years earlier, I had connected my messages to it.
My mother sometimes used that room to print things.
My skin went cold.
"She had access."
Anna looked down.
"That's what I figured out last month."
"Why didn't you tell me then?"
"Because I didn't know if you'd believe me."
That hurt more than anything else.
Not because Anna had doubted me.
Because I had given her reasons to.
Every time she had hinted that Mom made her uncomfortable, I had minimized it.
Every time Mom said Anna was too sensitive, I had asked Anna to be patient.
I had unknowingly taught my wife that my mother's feelings came first.
When we reached home, Mom's car was gone.
Her suitcase was gone too.
For one second, I felt relieved.
Then my phone started ringing.
My aunt Linda.
Then my cousin Mark.
Then my sister Claire.
Then three more relatives.
I opened the first message.
My mother had already started telling her version.
According to her, Anna had attacked her in the kitchen.
According to her, I had thrown my grieving mother onto the street in the middle of the night.
According to her, Anna had been planning to separate me from my family for months.
I stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
This one was from Mom.
You want to believe your wife.
Fine.
But before you destroy this family for her, ask Anna where she's been sending money for the last four months.
I looked at Anna.
She had seen it too.
May you like
Her face went white.
And for the first time that night, she looked guilty.
