Trapped In Lies

When I returned from a five-year overseas assignment, I walked out of the airport expecting Dan Hill to finally keep his promise and propose to me.

Instead, he stood there with a distant expression.

“Stella, I’m sorry.”

Before I could even process the apology, he continued, “I was the one who arranged your transfer order. I deliberately had you reassigned to that remote project out in the desert because I needed space for Hayley and myself. She was pregnant back then, and I didn’t have any other choice.”

A long silence followed, and I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood.

Five years of scorching heat, endless dust storms, and sixteen-hour workdays in a place that felt forgotten by the rest of the world…

I finally learned it had all been a carefully constructed prison of his making.

“You’re overbearing and confrontational. I was afraid you’d go after her. I’m telling you the truth now not because I expect forgiveness, but because I hope you’ll stay calm and not make this uglier than it needs to be.”

His voice carried an air of weary resignation.

I took a step back to avoid him as he reached out toward me. I was smiling through my tears.

“Dan, this could’ve been a clean break, but you’ve ruined that.”

Dan’s car stayed behind my cab, and he flashed its headlights twice.

The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

“Miss, that car has been following us. A friend of yours?”

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth.

“No.”

“Want me to lose him?”

“It’s fine. He knows where I’m going.”

The apartment building looked exactly the same as I remembered, aside from the new advertisements plastered inside the elevator.

Dragging my suitcase behind me, I stopped at the door and pulled out my key.

The sound of the lock turning was wrong.

The door opened from the inside.

Hayley Hill stood there in a silk nightgown with a little boy of three or four in her arms.

“You’re back.”

The child wrapped his arms around her neck and looked at me curiously.

“Mom, who’s this lady?”

“She used to live here.”

Hayley gently patted his head before looking back at me.

“Would you like to come in? Dan told me you were coming back today. I just didn’t expect you this early.”

I looked past her into the living room.

Their wedding portrait hung on the wall, and the old couch had been replaced. There were children’s clothes hanging out to dry on the balcony.

“This place—”

“It’s my home.” Hayley cut me off with a soft and calm voice.

“It’s been so for five years. The moment Dan got the apartment, he moved me in.”

The wheels of my suitcase halted in the doorway.

“He told me that we’d get married once you had gone to the desert.”

The boy began squirming impatiently, eager to get down and play.

Hayley set him on the floor. He immediately