A Woman Took My Reserved Seat on a Flight – Then My Husband Came over and Asked, ‘What Are You…
Crooked smile.
Something about his face made me uncomfortable.
I didn’t know why.
Then I saw Lily’s message underneath.
“He looks so much like him it’s scary.”
Another message:
“I thought I was imagining it until I found Dad’s college pictures.”
My hands began shaking.
I scrolled farther.
Claire reached for the phone.
“That’s enough.”
I pulled it away.
“Not even close.”
“Rachel.”
I kept reading.
Then I reached Lily’s final message.
“My mom still doesn’t know what really happened. I need you to tell her the truth.”
I looked at my husband.
“What truth?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
I couldn’t tell whether he was lying.
That terrified me even more.
Claire reached for her phone again.
“Give it back.”
Instead, I walked quickly toward the restroom.
“Rachel!”
I locked the door.
Claire knocked seconds later.
“Give me my phone!”
I ignored her.
I reread everything.
A boy at Lily’s university.
Photographs.
My husband.
Claire.
Something from twenty-one years earlier.
By the time I opened the restroom door, I already knew what question I needed answered.
Claire held out her hand.
“My phone.”
I gave it to her.
Then I said:
“Tell me what happened.”
The flight attendant had had enough by then.
Claire was sent to her assigned seat across the aisle.
Daniel sat beside me.
We fastened our seat belts.
I looked straight at him.
“Were you sleeping with her?”
His eyes widened.
Claire answered.
“Yes.”
My stomach dropped.
Then she added:
“Years before he met you.”
I looked at Daniel.
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“You dated her?”
He rubbed his forehead.
“For about two years.”
“You said you worked together.”
“We did.”
Claire snorted.
Daniel looked across the aisle.
“Could you please stop helping?”
I ignored them.
“When?”
Daniel told me.
I did the math.
Then did it again.
Their relationship had ended before Daniel and I met.
There had been no affair.
For approximately five seconds, relief flooded through me.
Then I remembered everything else.
“Why did Lily contact her?”
Silence.
I turned toward Claire.
“You said you’re visiting your son.”
“Yes.”
“What does your son have to do with my daughter?”
“They attend the same university.”
“Lily’s a freshman.”
“Evan’s a senior.”
Something about the way she said his name made Daniel look at her.
“How old is he?”
Claire didn’t answer.
Daniel asked again.
“How old is your son?”
“Twenty-one.”
Daniel went completely still.
So did I.
Twenty-one.
I looked at him.
Then Claire.
Then back at him.
“No,” Daniel whispered.
It wasn’t defensive.
He sounded confused.
Claire’s eyes filled.
“His name is Evan.”
“What are you saying?”
“Daniel…”
“What are you saying?”
Claire took a breath.
“Evan is your son.”
Everything around us seemed to disappear.
Passengers.
Announcements.
Overhead compartments.
The engines.
All of it.
Daniel stared at her.
I stared at him.
Then I asked:
“You have a son?”
Daniel immediately turned toward me.
“Rachel, I swear to you, I didn’t know.”
I looked at Claire.
“Did he abandon you?”
“No.”
“Did he know you were pregnant?”
“No.”
Daniel’s head snapped toward her.
“What?”
“I found out after we’d broken up.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“No.”
His face changed.
“You had my child and didn’t tell me?”
People nearby looked over.
I grabbed Daniel’s wrist.
“Sit down.”
He hadn’t even realized he’d started standing.
He lowered himself into the seat.
His voice was quieter now.
“Why?”
Claire looked toward the window.
“I was angry.”
“At me?”
“Yes.”
“So you hid my child from me?”
“We were finished. You’d made it clear we weren’t getting back together.”
“What does that have to do with telling me I had a son?”
“I was twenty-two.”
“So was I!”
“I thought I could handle it.”
“That still isn’t an answer.”
Claire looked at him.
“No.”
Her voice broke.
“It isn’t.”
The plane began moving.
None of us spoke until we were in the air.
Please click the Continue Reading button below to keep reading.
Comments (0)