Scott's attempt to respond only fueled my frustration.
"No more lies, Scott! In that photo, you're with a pregnant woman, smiling and happy. How can you claim to be detached?" I shouted.
He sighed and sank back onto the couch. "Okay, you're right. It's Maya, Ella's mother. Even though my family cut off contact with her, I was seeing her secretly... and helping her," he confessed.
“Why hide it?” “Why did you lie to me?”
"I was afraid. I was afraid you would leave if you found out the truth. I wanted you to love Ella, to see our future in her… without getting caught up in the complications of her origins," Scott replied.
“Scott, again, how can you build a life on secrets and half-truths?” I asked, crossing my arms. “I need your honesty, for Ella’s sake, for our sake.”
“Wait!” I called after her, but she didn't turn around.
I took a deep breath, staring out at the ocean, then back at Ella. What secrets had she been born with? And what danger lurked in the shadows of Scott's past?
“We need to talk,” I suggested, walking through the door later.
Scott looked up, his lips pursed. "Everly, I've told you everything. There are no more secrets," he insisted, but his voice no longer sounded so confident.
I couldn't help but feel frustrated. "No, Scott. There's something you're not telling me. Ella isn't your niece, is she? She's your daughter," I accused.
Scott choked on his saliva and stood there for a few minutes, recovering before tilting his head. “Yes, Everly. Ella is my daughter,” he finally admitted.
"How could you lie about your child? How could you betray our trust like that?" I screamed.
“I thought if you loved her like my niece, we could finally become a family,” he explained.
Furious and heartbroken, I demanded honesty about Maya and their past, which prompted Scott to reveal more about his relationship with Ella's mother, who was not his half-sister, and his desperation to provide Ella with a stable life.
“You not only betrayed me,” I said, bursting into tears. “But you also betrayed your daughter by starting our marriage this way.”
I cried for days, wondering what to do. I loved Ella with all my heart, but I didn't know if I could survive being married to a liar. A few days later, I found myself face-to-face with my husband again.
"I'm leaving. I can't do this anymore," I announced. I had already packed my things.
Scott lunged to grab my arm. “Please, Everly, think of Ella. She needs you,” he pleaded, but I was firm.
“Ella is your daughter, Scott. Not mine,” I explained. I knew the words hurt, and they did, because Scott let go of me and let me go.
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