The secret in the photo 1

The secret in the photo 1

The Secret in the Photo 

Chapter

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 

fivehundred 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.” 

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,

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 

  1. 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, Uhwant 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

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

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.” 

 

The secret in the photo

The secret in the photo

Status: Ongoing

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