Chapter 8: The Woman Who Knew Him Before Me
Her name was Natalie.
I stared at the phone number for almost ten minutes before calling.
My hand hovered over the screen.
Part of me didn’t want to know.
Because every truth about Derek destroyed another memory.
But another part of me needed answers.
For Emily.
For myself.
For the woman I had been before him.
The phone rang twice.
Then a woman answered.
“Hello?””
I swallowed.
“Is this Natalie?””
A pause.
“Yes.””
“My name is Claire Bennett.””
Silence.
Then her voice changed.
“Oh my God.””
I closed my eyes.
“You know who I am.””
“Yes.””
“How?””
Another pause.
Then she whispered:
“Because I’ve been trying to find you.””
My heart started racing.
“Why?””
“Because I knew one day you would need to know the truth.””
We met at a small coffee shop outside Pittsburgh.
I almost didn’t recognize her.
She looked nothing like the woman I imagined.
I expected anger.
Bitterness.
Someone broken.
Instead, she looked calm.
Tired.
Like someone who had already survived the worst part.
When she saw me, she stood.
“I’m sorry.””
The first words out of her mouth.
I frowned.
“For what?””
“For not finding you sooner.””
We sat down.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then she placed a folder on the table.
“I kept everything.””
I looked at the folder.
“What is it?””
“Proof.””
The same word again.
The word Derek hated.
“What happened between you two?””
Natalie looked out the window.
“Derek was charming.””
I almost laughed.
“That’s exactly what everyone says.””
“Because it’s true.””
She opened the folder.
“Until you realize the charm is a tool.””
My throat tightened.
She continued.
“He made me feel chosen.””
I knew that feeling.
“He told me I was different.””
I looked down.
“He told me that too.””
Natalie nodded.
“That’s what he does.””
The coffee shop noise faded around us.
“He married me because my family owned property.””
My eyes lifted.
“What?””
“He didn’t tell me at first.””
She handed me a document.
A property transfer.
My stomach twisted.
“He used your family too.””
“Yes.””
I stared.
“Then what happened?””
Natalie’s expression changed.
“I got pregnant.””
The room went quiet.
“He changed.””
I felt sick.
“He did the same thing?””
She nodded.
“The criticism. The control. Making me feel like I couldn’t survive without him.””
I looked at my hands.
“Did you leave?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
She smiled sadly.
“Someone helped me.””
“Who?””
Natalie looked at me.
“Your father.””
My breath stopped.
“My father?””
“He found out what Derek was doing.””
I felt tears forming.
“He knew.””
“Yes.””
Natalie pushed another document across the table.
“This is why I contacted you.””
I looked down.
It was a letter.
From Natalie.
To me.
Written two years earlier.
“You tried to send this?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn’t I get it?””
She didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
Derek.
I understood.
He had blocked it.
Hidden it.
Controlled the information.
Natalie leaned forward.
“Claire, there is one more thing.””
“What?””
“He didn’t just manipulate us.””
My stomach tightened.
“What did he do?””
She looked at me carefully.
“Derek has done this before.””
The words were quiet.
But they changed everything.
“How many?””
She looked away.
“I don’t know.””
I felt cold.
“What do you mean?””
“I mean you weren’t the first woman he planned a future with.””
The room seemed to spin.
Then my phone rang.
Jonathan.
I answered immediately.
“Claire.””
Something in his voice made me sit up.
“What happened?””
“We received new evidence.””
“What kind?””
A pause.
Then:
“Derek’s attorney withdrew from the case.””
I frowned.
“Why?””
“Because someone contacted them.””
“Who?””
Jonathan’s voice lowered.
“A woman.””
I looked across the table at Natalie.
My heart stopped.
“Who?””
Jonathan answered.
And the name he said was one I had never heard before.
But Natalie had.
Her face went completely pale.
Because she knew exactly who it was.
“It can’t be,” she whispered.
I looked at her.
“Who?””
Natalie slowly reached for my hand.
Then she said:
“Claire…”
Her voice broke.
“That’s Derek’s first wife.””
I froze.
“But Natalie is his first wife.””
Natalie looked at me with fear in her eyes.
“No.””
She shook her head.
May you like
“I was his second.””
And suddenly, the entire story of my marriage changed.
