Every muscle in my body tightened.
Julian turned.
She appeared in the doorway wearing a soft gray cardigan, her brown hair tied loosely at the nape of her neck. She looked older than the woman I remembered, but not diminished. There was a steadiness in her face that
had not existed when we were married.
Then she saw me.
The color drained from her cheeks.
“Adrian.”
My name sounded like a memory she had locked away.Find Baby Names
I wanted to apologize. I wanted to explain why I had come. I wanted to ask if Lily had my eyes because she was my daughter.
Instead, the only words I could manage were, “Hello, Evelyn.”
Her hand tightened around the edge of the door.
Julian glanced at her. “Do you want me to call someone?”
“No.”
The answer came quietly.
She looked at me again.
“Why are you here?”
“I found out about the children.”Hire Babysitters
Her face changed—not surprise, exactly. More like exhaustion.
“I wondered when you would.”
The sentence made my heart stumble.
“You knew I might find out?”
“I knew Marcus Reed was very good at his job.”
I looked toward the car, where Marcus stood beneath an umbrella.
How long have you known?”
“That he was looking for me? Since yesterday.”
“Then why didn’t you call?”
A faint, bitter smile touched her lips.
“You never called me for three years.”
There was no accusation in her voice. That made it worse.
“I didn’t know about Lily and Samuel.”
“You should have.”
“I know.”
She looked away.
Inside the house, a child laughed. Another voice called, “Mommy!”Hire Babysitters
Evelyn closed her eyes briefly.
That single word seemed to pull her back from the past.
