CHAPTER 10: REBECCA ANSWERS
I eventually contacted Rebecca.
Not secretly.
Not romantically.
I emailed her.
She responded two days later.
Daniel,
I wondered if this day would ever come.
That frightened me.
We spoke by phone.
Rebecca was married now.
Two children.
Living outside Boston.
I told her everything.
The card.
Melissa.
The divorce.
Rebecca was quiet.
Then:
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For kissing you.”
“That was five years ago.”
“I know.”
“I should have apologized properly then.”
“You did.”
“Not to Melissa.”
That was true.
“Did you ever contact her?”
“No.”
“Jenna?”
“No.”
“Claire?”
“No.”
“Then you're not involved.”
“No.”
She hesitated.
“But there is something you should know.”
Of course there was.
“What?”
“Melissa contacted me.”
I stopped.
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
Exactly when she learned.
“What did she say?”
“She asked whether we'd had an affair.”
“And?”
“I told her no.”
“Did you explain the kiss?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
Rebecca paused.
“She asked whether you loved me.”
My throat tightened.
“What did you say?”
“That I had feelings for you.”
I closed my eyes.
“Did I know?”
“No.”
“Did I encourage them?”
“No.”
“What else?”
“She asked whether I thought you would have chosen me if you weren't engaged.”
“And what did you say?”
“I said I didn't know.”
That was honest.
“And then?”
“She thanked me.”
That was all.
Melissa had known the entire truth.
Not a rumor.
Not Jenna's distorted version.
She had spoken directly to Rebecca.
And still told Evan I had carried on an affair.
That changed something.
Not the divorce.
That decision was already made.
But it ended my remaining guilt about whether I had somehow hidden information that might have justified her distrust.
Melissa had investigated.
Received the truth.
Then deliberately changed it later.
I thanked Rebecca.
Before hanging up she said:
“Daniel?”
“Yes?”
“Tell people sooner next time.”
I smiled sadly.
“I will.”
That was the lesson I deserved.
My silence had not caused Melissa's affair.
But secrets create empty spaces.
And eventually somebody fills them with whatever story serves them best.
CHAPTER 11: MELISSA FINDS OUT
I told Melissa about Rebecca during mediation.
Not to punish her.
Because she asked.
“Did you contact her?”
“Yes.”
Her face tightened.
“What did she say?”
“That you contacted her three years ago.”
Melissa went still.
Her attorney looked toward her.
Mine looked at me.
“You already knew exactly what happened.”
She said nothing.
“You knew there was no affair.”
Silence.
“Why tell Evan there was?”
Melissa began crying.
“I needed him not to think I was a bad person.”
That sentence was so simple it nearly broke my heart.
Not because I wanted her back.
Because I finally understood.
She had not been lying primarily to deceive me.
She had been lying to preserve her own image of herself.