Chapter 2: The Life I Thought I Deserved
For several seconds, I couldn’t hear anything.
Not the music.
Not the conversations around us.
Not the laughter from people who had no idea my entire understanding of my past had just collapsed.
Founder.
CEO.
Carter Dynamics.
The company whose executives had been walking around the room all night.
The company Daniel had spent months trying to impress.
The company whose leadership gala we had been desperate to attend.
I stared at Marcus.
He didn’t look different.
That was the worst part.
If he had changed completely, maybe I could have convinced myself I had simply missed something.
But he still looked like Marcus.
The man who used to cook dinner when I came home exhausted.
The man who fixed my broken laptop instead of buying me a new one.
The man who wore old clothes because he believed money should be invested, not displayed.
I had mistaken discipline for failure.
I had mistaken silence for weakness.
Daniel cleared his throat.
“I think we should give him some space.””
I barely heard him.
“You knew?””
Daniel looked at me.
“What?””
“You knew who he was?””
“No.””
The answer came too quickly.
I studied his face.
“You didn’t?””
Daniel shook his head.
“I knew the company. I didn’t know him personally.””
Marcus finally spoke.
“Daniel is telling the truth.””
I looked at Marcus.
“You never told me.””
His expression changed slightly.
“I tried.””
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because I didn’t know what else to do.
“When?””
Marcus looked down briefly.
“Several times.””
“That’s not true.””
“It is.””
“No.””
My voice became sharper.
“You told me you were working on a business idea.””
“Yes.””
“You told me you were taking risks.””
“Yes.””
“You never said you owned a company.””
Marcus nodded slowly.
“You never asked.””
The words hit harder than they should have.
Because they were true.
I remembered every argument.
Every night I complained.
Every time I told him he needed to become more ambitious.
But I never asked what he was building.
I only asked when it would benefit me.
Daniel quietly stepped away to answer a phone call.
Leaving Marcus and me alone.
For the first time in years.
“I thought you failed,” I whispered.
Marcus looked at me.
“I know.””
The honesty hurt.
“Why didn’t you correct me?””
He looked around the ballroom.
“Because you had already decided.””
I crossed my arms.
“That’s unfair.””
“Is it?””
“Yes.””
Marcus smiled sadly.
“You told me I was wasting my life.””
“I was frustrated.””
“You told me I would never give you the future you wanted.””
I looked away.
“I was younger.””
“So was I.””
The quietness of his voice made it worse.
He wasn’t angry.
I almost wished he was.
Anger would have been easier.
“I left because I wanted more,” I said.
“I know.””
“And I found it.””
Marcus looked at Daniel across the room.
A strange expression passed over his face.
“Did you?””
I hated that question.
Because it sounded like he knew something.
“You don’t get to judge me.””
“I’m not.””
“You sound like you are.””
Marcus shook his head.
“I’m not judging you, Vanessa.””
“Then what?””
He looked directly at me.
“I’m wondering if you ever loved me.””
The question landed like a slap.
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
Marcus continued.
“When things got difficult, you didn’t leave because I stopped loving you.””
His voice softened.
“You left because you stopped believing in me.””
I looked away.
Because that was the one thing I couldn’t deny.
Before I could answer, Daniel returned.
His expression was tense.
“Vanessa.””
I turned.
“What?””
“We need to leave.””
I frowned.
“Why?””
Daniel hesitated.
“I just think it’s better.””
Marcus noticed.
“Is everything okay?””
Daniel forced a smile.
“Fine.””
But it wasn’t.
Something had changed.
The confident executive from earlier was gone.
Now he looked like someone standing too close to a cliff.
As we walked away, I looked back.
Marcus was already speaking with board members.
People listened when he talked.
They respected him.
They waited for his decisions.
I had spent years believing I escaped a small life.
But maybe I had walked away from something enormous.
That night, after the gala, Daniel barely spoke.
The silence in the car felt unbearable.
Finally, I asked.
“What aren’t you telling me?””
Daniel kept his eyes on the road.
“Nothing.””
“Don’t lie.””
He sighed.
“I should have known.””
“Known what?””
“That you knew him.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel gripped the steering wheel.
“Vanessa, Carter Dynamics is not just successful.””
“Okay?””
“It’s one of the most valuable private companies in the country.””
I stared out the window.
“And?””
“And Marcus Carter built it from nothing.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
Daniel continued.
“He turned down investors for years because he wanted control.””
I remembered Marcus saying something similar.
I never listened.
“He was on every major business list last year.””
My hands went cold.
“Why didn’t I know?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Because you never followed his life.””
That sentence stayed with me.
Because it was true.
When I left Marcus, I deleted his number.
Stopped checking his social media.
Told myself I didn’t care.
Maybe I didn’t want to know.
When we arrived home, Daniel went upstairs.
I stayed in the living room.
Unable to sleep.
At 2:17 in the morning, my phone lit up.
A message.
From an unknown number.
My heart stopped when I opened it.
There was only one sentence.
*You need to know why Marcus never told you the truth.*
And beneath it was a name.
May you like
A name I hadn’t seen in four years.
My own mother’s handwriting appeared in the attached photograph.
