On Our Fourth Anniversary, My Husband Posed for Maternity Photos with Another Woman novel · Chapter 5 of 24

Chapter 5: Sunday at the Lake House

Marianne's invitation came by text on Saturday night.

"Brunch at the lake house tomorrow, eleven. Let's be adults about this. Come alone."

Fran wanted to come with the casserole dish.

I told her no, and I put my phone in my cardigan pocket with the recording already running.

The Kessling lake house sits on a bluff north of the city, with white shutters and a lawn that runs down to the water.

I had spent four Thanksgivings there, carving turkey for people who thanked me and never once asked me to sit down.

This time the long dining table was set for ten.

Rupert's aunt and uncle were there, and Brooke's mother, in pearls, and two cousins I barely knew.

Rupert sat at his mother's right hand. Brooke sat beside him, in a loose green dress with a hand resting on the bump.

Nobody looked surprised to see me, so they had all been told.

"Leah," Marianne said, pulling out the chair at the foot of the table. "Thank you for coming. Sit."

I sat.

A server poured coffee I couldn't drink, and the smell of the eggs on the buffet made my throat tighten.

Marianne waited until the plates were filled.

"We're all family here," she said, "so I'll be frank. Four years is a long time. Everyone at this table has watched you and Rupert try, and everyone has been kind about it."

She folded her hands.

"The petition is honest, dear. You cannot give Rupert a child. Brooke can. Nobody wants to hurt you."

Brooke stared at her plate.

Rupert stared at the tablecloth.

I put my hand under the table, flat over the place where my baby was, and I held my tongue.

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