The Secret in the Photo
Chapter 1
Seven years into my marriage, my husband’s
childhood sweetheart went viral after her grad
school commencement speech.
“To four seasons of you, better than any joy
on Earth.”
The video featured a slideshow of her and my
husband, all cozy and close.
Calmly, I posted a picture of our marriage.
certificate in the comments.
The next second, my husband was blowing up
my phone and social media, trying to deny the
truth.
<
“I’m the guy in the video! I’m head over heels
for Tiffany! I don’t even know this woman
photoshopping our wedding pics!”
“If you keep spreading lies, I’m calling the
cops.”
Tiffany, his little darling, doubled down with
another video showing a bank transfer of
five–hundred and twenty grand.
“Love means always feeling like you owe
them.”
I just laughed to myself.
“Oh, you feel like you owe her, huh? I’ll send
you the divorce papers, then you’ll be even.”
L
asi
I heard Ben come home just as I was putting
the embryo into a crystal jar.
It was my baby, who’d died earlier that day.
It was our anniversary, and he’d rushed out
the door early that morning.
It was freezing outside, maybe ten degrees.
I tried to give him his scarf, but he didn’t have
the time.
He yanked it out of my hand and slammed the
door.
The scarf made me lose my balance, and I fell
Sharp pains shot through my stomach.
I was crying and screaming his name, but he
just kept going, like he didn’t hear a thing.
I dragged myself to the hospital, calling him
over and over, but nothing.
Then I left that comment online, and Ben
threatened to call the cops, even sent his
assistant to give me a warning.
I got so worked up that I started
hyperventilating, shaking, and foaming at the
mouth, and our baby didn’t make it.
“Is that the stupid jar you wasted twenty
bucks on?”
く
Ben came over, scowling. “Seriously, Claire,
can’t you be a little more practical?”
“You don’t bring home the bacon, so you’ll
never understand.”
I looked up at him.
He’ll drop half a million on Tiffany without
batting an eye, but spending twenty on
something for our baby is impractical.
The joke is, I wasn’t even using his money.
I pay for my own things with my job.
He seemed uncomfortable, cleared his throat,
and asked, “What’s that ugly thing inside it?”
“An embryo.”
<
“Embryo?” Ben looked shocked. “Whose?”
I put the jar on the shelf before answering
him, “It’s fake.”
“You’re nuts,” he said.
Ben seemed relieved, then scowled and called
me a “crazy woman.”
“You can’t even make dinner. What are you
doing all day?”
I didn’t say anything.
He sat down, glanced at the flowers on the
floor, and instantly blew up.
“Where’d those come from? Another
<
“You’re a professor, dressing up like that for
class. Who are you trying to bang?”
I stayed silent.
He took my silence as agreement and got
even angrier. He grabbed the flowers and
threw them at me.
The ring rolled out of the bouquet, hitting the
tile floor with a sharp clink.
Ben picked it up, saw his initials engraved on
it, and suddenly looked away.
He must have finally remembered that today
wasn’t just Tiffany’s birthday; it was our
anniversary.
If Tiffany hadn’t intentionally pushed my
<
buttons today, I never would have known that
he picked our wedding date to make her
jealous.
The day I thought would be a celebration of
our love was a day he chose out of spite.
The whole situation was laughable.
The air grew thick with tension.
Ben held out a gift bag.
“Claire, I’m sorry. Tiffany and I got you this.”
“One of her coworkers at the lab was hitting
on her, so she wanted me to pretend to be
her boyfriend. When you posted our marriage
certificate, everyone saw it, and it looked bad
on her.”
く
“Tiffany was really upset by your comment,
but I know it’s because you love me so much,
so I forgive you. But you need to be a bit
nicer, okay?”
I almost laughed in his face.
Forgive me? You’d think I was the one having
an affair!
I didn’t say anything but stared at the gift in
his hand. A pair of earrings, the same brand
as the necklace Tiffany wore in her video
today.
That necklace was limited edition, at least ten
million big ones, and it took some serious
connections to get.
If a store sells something so exclusive, they
く
usually throw in earrings as a freebie.
I brushed past the gift bag, turning away to
show him I wasn’t interested.
He grabbed my arm and yanked me back.
“What’s your problem, Claire? Tiffany wasn’t
even mad about the comment you made; in
fact, she apologized to you, and now you’re
giving me the cold shoulder?”
“It’s just an anniversary, so what if I forgot?
Why do you have to be such a drama queen?”
My silence set him off.
He grabbed a bottle of perfume from the
display case and smashed it on the ground.
<
The flying glass cut my right hand, right
across an old scar.
Ben forgot that I got that scar when I threw
myself in front of a beer bottle to save him.
He also forgot that this perfume was a men’s
cologne I’d spent two months learning to
make, the summer after I graduated. It was
my first perfume.
I called it “By Your Side“.
I hoped that whenever Ben smelled it, he’d
think of me.
A wave of sadness crashed over me.
I stared at the blood running down my hand
and dripping onto the
<
and dripping onto the floor as tears streamed
down my face.
Ben, looking guilty, grabbed the first aid kit
and bandaged my hand.
“I’ll take you to the ER.”
“Okay.”
It hurt, and I wasn’t trying to be dramatic.
I opened the passenger door, but Ben
stopped me. “Don’t sit there!”
But it was too late.
As I sat down and went to close the door, a
small blade on the inside handle slashed my
hand.
The bandage came undone, and fresh blood
welled up.
The sight of the blood seemed to annoy Ben.
He scratched his head, sounding annoyed
when he said,
“I told you not to sit there. Tiffany said that’s
her seat, so she put that there.”
“This isn’t my fault. You shouldn’t have
ignored me when I told you not to sit there.”
Only Tiffany and I sat in the passenger seat,
so it was clear Tiffany was trying to provoke
- me.
Strangely, I didn’t feel upset.
く
I was just annoyed.
“Okay. Not your fault.”
I held a paper towel over my hand to try and
stop the bleeding. “Can you please take me
to the hospital?”
Seeing that I wasn’t angry made Ben look
surprised. Usually, if Tiffany was involved, I’d
argue and try to get him to choose me.
But I just didn’t care anymore. I knew that my
hand hurt.
Ben could tell I was acting differently, but he
just seemed relieved. He even tentatively
asked, “Uh… want to sit in the back?”
“Sure.”
<
I nodded and started to get out when Ben’s
face changed, and he grabbed my hand,
looking irritated.
“Don’t treat me like your chauffeur.”
He pushed me back into the seat, looking
angry as he started the car.
At the ER, Ben’s phone rang while the doctor
was cleaning my wound.
He answered with one hand. Tiffany’s bubbly
voice came through. “Benny, it’s snowing out!
Come watch it with me!”
“Okay.”
Ben beamed. He turned to leave, but the
<
doctor stopped him. “Her hand’s injured; you’ll
have to-”
“She’s not disabled; she can lift it herself,
right?”
Ben scowled. “She’s, like, forty. Does she
think she’s still a teenager? Look at those
wrinkles on her face; you could get lost in
those things.”
He walked away.
My hand slammed against the table, and I
gasped.
I ignored his cruel words and used my good
arm to support my injured one.
He didn’t even ask why I needed an IV when it
<
was just a hand injury.
The doctor glanced at me and called in a
nurse. At that moment, my nose started to
burn, and my eyes filled with tears.
I felt a little sorry for myself.
Just a little.
While the IV dripped, I saw another post on
Tiffany’s Insta, a video of her and Ben
dancing in the snow.
The caption read:
“If we’re ever snowed in together, this life
would be enough for me.”
