Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO DIDN'T KNOW SHE WAS BEING USED
Chloe called me on a Wednesday afternoon.
I was folding Lily's clothes when her name appeared on my screen.
For a moment, I considered ignoring the call.
Then I answered.
“Hello?”
“Jennifer?”
Her voice trembled.
“Yes.”
“I'm sorry to bother you.”
I sat down.
“What do you want, Chloe?”
She was quiet.
Then said, “I need to tell you something about Daniel.”
I closed my eyes.
“I'm listening.”
“He came to my apartment last night.”
I felt the familiar sharp ache.
“And?”
“He wanted me to sign something.”
“What?”
“A statement saying the money he gave me was repayment for an old personal loan.”
I frowned.
“Did you lend him money?”
“No.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
Chloe continued.
“He said it would simplify things with your attorney.”
I stared at the wall.
“Did you sign it?”
“No.”
I exhaled slowly.
“Why are you telling me?”
Her voice cracked.
“Because I didn't know where the money came from. And because I don't want my son growing up with lies about his father.”
I looked toward Lily.
“Is Daniel his father?”
Chloe was quiet.
“I believed he was. Daniel said he was. But my pregnancy began around the end of my divorce, and my former husband has questioned paternity.”
I sat upright.
“Does Daniel know?”
“Yes.”
“And he's been telling you the baby is definitely his?”
She began crying.
“He says we don't need a test.”
Something cold moved through me.
Daniel had spent thousands of dollars.
Destroyed his marriage.
Publicly presented himself as a devoted father to Lily.
And still refused to establish the truth about the other child he claimed to be supporting.
I thought about both babies.
Neither deserved to become a weapon in a contest between adults.
“Chloe,” I said, “you need independent legal advice. Don't sign anything you don't understand.”
“I know.”
She hesitated.
“Jennifer, I'm sorry.”
I stared at the folded baby clothes in my lap.
“Are you sorry you had an affair with my husband?”
“Yes.”
“Or sorry he lied to you too?”
A pause.
“Both.”
I believed she meant it.
But an apology couldn't return the months I'd spent frightened and alone.
“Thank you for telling me,” I said. “But I need distance.”
“I understand.”
We ended the call.
The next day, I met Rebecca.
I told her about Chloe's call, distinguishing what Chloe had said from what I knew independently.
Rebecca listened.
“If Daniel is asking her to sign a false statement, that may become relevant,” she said. “We need evidence, not assumptions.”
I nodded.
She looked toward Lily's photograph on my phone.
“How's your daughter?”
I smiled.
“She's discovering her hands.”
Rebecca laughed.
“Wonderful age.”
“She keeps trying to grab the ceiling fan.”
“Ambitious girl.”
For a moment, we laughed.
Then Rebecca returned to the documents.
“Jennifer, I want you to focus on one thing.”
“What?”
“You don't need to solve every mystery in Daniel's life to build a safe future for yourself and Lily.”
I looked down.
It was a lesson I badly needed.
For months, I had lived in the past.
Messages.
Transfers.
Screenshots.
The question of why Daniel had done what he did.
Now I was beginning to understand that discovering the full truth and moving forward could happen at the same time.
That evening, I received an unexpected visitor.
Robert Hayes stood outside my apartment holding a small paper bag.
“Jennifer.”
I hesitated.
“Robert.”
He looked uncomfortable.
“I brought something for Lily.”
Inside were two baby books and a soft yellow blanket.
I stepped aside.
He entered quietly.
When he saw Lily sleeping in her crib, his expression softened.
“She's beautiful.”
I smiled.
“Yes.”
He turned toward me.
“Jennifer, I owe you an apology.”
I stared.
“For what?”
“For assuming my son was the kind of man you could rely on simply because I raised him.”
His voice trembled.
“I should have asked how you were coping after Lily was born. Instead, I congratulated Daniel on a party.”
My eyes filled.
“You didn't know.”
“No,” he said. “But I didn't ask, either.”
He looked toward the baby.
May you like
Then quietly added, “I won't make that mistake again.”
For the first time since leaving Daniel, I felt the possibility that not every relationship connected to my marriage had to be destroyed along with it.
