Chapter 10: The Breaking Point
It happened on a random Tuesday.
I was in the kitchen making dinner when Ryan came home from work. He kissed me on the cheek and told me about his day. Everything was normal.
Until he said something that changed everything.
“I was cleaning out some of Mom’s old things today,” he said casually. “I found some old photo albums. There were pictures of you and her from when we first got married. You looked so happy back then.”
He smiled.
“I miss that version of you sometimes. You seem… different now.”
I froze.
Ryan didn’t notice. He kept talking.
“I know taking care of her was hard. But I’m glad we did it together. At least she didn’t die alone.”
Something inside me snapped.
I put down the knife I was holding and turned to face him.
“Ryan,” I said quietly. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
He looked at me, confused.
“What is it?”
I opened my mouth.
For a second, I almost told him everything.
I almost said: I poisoned your mother. I made her suffer for four years. I wanted her to die in pain because she killed our baby.
But then I stopped.
Because I realized something.
If I told him the truth, I would lose everything.
Ryan would never look at me the same way again. He would hate me. He might even turn me in.
And I wasn’t ready to lose the life I had built.
So instead, I smiled.
“It’s nothing,” I said. “I’m just tired.”
Ryan looked at me for a moment, then nodded.
“Okay,” he said. “Why don’t you go rest? I’ll finish dinner.”
I walked out of the kitchen and went upstairs.
I sat on the edge of our bed and stared at my hands.
For four years, I had been in complete control.
May you like
But now, for the first time, I felt like I was losing it.
And I didn’t know what to do about it.
