When Lily’s husband started acting weird about their garage, telling her to stay out and making up excuses, she knew something was off. But what she found inside was way more than she bargained for.
You know how some things just don’t sit right with you, even if you can’t quite put your finger on why? That’s how it all started with Mike and our garage. It seemed so innocent at first — me just trying to do something as mundane as getting rid of our old mattress. But then he yelled, “DON’T GO IN THERE! I’LL TAKE CARE OF IT!” and everything changed.
It was weird, right? I mean, who freaks out over a mattress going into the garage? But I brushed it off. Maybe he had a project going on. He’s always been the type to tinker with things, fixing stuff up, or trying out a new hobby. But then, he started acting… sketchy.
I’d casually mention needing something from the garage, and he’d be all over it. “I’ll get it for you,” he’d say, not even letting me take a step in that direction. When I pressed him, he’d come up with the lamest excuses, like, “There are chemicals everywhere,” or “I just painted in there, and the fumes are too strong.”
“I would have understood, Mike,” I said quietly. “You didn’t need to lie to me.”
“I know,” he said, his shoulders slumping. “I just… I panicked. I didn’t know what else to do.”
For a long moment, we all just stood there in silence. Finally, I sighed and looked at Sophie. “You’re coming inside,” I said, my voice firm. “No one should have to sleep in a garage.”
Sophie’s eyes filled with gratitude, and she nodded, gathering her things. Mike looked relieved, but I wasn’t ready to let this go just yet. “But Mike,” I added, turning to him, “no more lies. If we’re going to make this work, we have to be honest with each other. Understood?”
He nodded quickly. “I promise, Lily. No more lies.”
For the next few days, things seemed to settle down. Sophie and her little boy, Leo, moved into the guest room, and we tried to adjust to the new arrangement. I felt a strange mix of emotions — relief that I had gotten to the bottom of things, but also an unease that I couldn’t quite shake.
Then one afternoon, while Mike was at work, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to find Greg, one of Mike’s old friends, standing on the doorway. He had a bag in his hand and a friendly grin on his face.
“Hey, Lily,” he said, holding up the bag. “Mike left this in my car last night. Thought I’d drop it off.”
I smiled, taking the bag from him. “Thanks, Greg. I’ll make sure he gets it.”
Greg was about to leave when he glanced past me into the house. His eyes landed on Sophie, who was sitting on the couch with Leo, and his expression changed. “Wait, what are you doing here?” he asked, clearly surprised.
Sophie froze, her eyes darting from Greg to me. “You know her?” I asked, my heart starting to race again.
“Yeah,” Greg said slowly, still staring at Sophie. “She used to work at that bar Mike and I would go to after work sometimes. She was a waitress there.”
The pit in my stomach that I thought had finally settled began to churn again. I turned to Sophie, my voice steady but cold. “Is that true?”
Sophie looked down at her hands, avoiding my gaze. “Yes,” she whispered. “I worked there for a while.”
I didn’t need to hear more. The unease I had been feeling was back in full force, and now it was starting to make sense. I thanked Greg for the bag and quickly ushered him out, my mind spinning.
That night, I couldn’t sleep again. I kept replaying Greg’s words in my head. If Sophie was just Mike’s cousin, why hadn’t he mentioned knowing her from the bar? Something wasn’t adding up.
The next morning, while Mike was still asleep, I decided to do something I never thought I’d have to do. I found a hairbrush that Leo had used and carefully plucked out a few strands of hair. Then I did the same with Mike’s comb. My hands were shaking as I sealed both samples in separate plastic bags. I knew someone who could help me with a DNA test, and I had to know the truth.
The days that followed felt like an eternity. I went through the motions — work, home, dinner — with a growing sense of dread. And then, finally, the results came in.
When I saw the words, I felt like the ground had been pulled out from under me. Leo wasn’t just Mike’s cousin’s child. He was Mike’s son.
I confronted Mike that night, holding the results in my trembling hands. He tried to deny it at first, but the evidence was undeniable. The lies, the secrecy — it all made sense now.
“I’m sorry, Lily,” he said, tears in his eyes. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”
But it was too late. The damage was done. I packed my bags and left that night, leaving behind the man I thought I knew and the life I had tried so hard to build.
In the end, the betrayal was too deep to forgive. Mike had taken away the one thing I valued most — trust. And without that, we had nothing left.
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