Mara has always trusted her husband Caleb, but that trust is shattered when she catches him on a live TikTok video with another woman while claiming to be away on business. Struggling with doubt, she begins to notice more red flags-late-night texts, secretive behavior, and lies that no longer add up. When a message saying, "Did she find out?" appears on Caleb's phone, Mara's worst fears are confirmed. Determined to uncover the truth, Mara starts digging into Caleb's life, only to find that another woman is pretending to be his wife in his professional circles. As the betrayal deepens, Mara also begins to question the loyalty of her best friend, Tessa, and Caleb's sister, Lena, who seem entangled in his web of lies. Battling between protecting her daughter and confronting Caleb's deception, Mara must decide whether to fight for her family or walk away from the life she thought she knew. **Hidden Scars** reveals the emotional unraveling of a marriage built on lies, and one woman's fight to reclaim her life.
Chapter 1 Doubt in Haven
I had put my daughter to bed and now that night settled, I could relax. I took out my cell-phone and began scrolling aimlessly through Tiktok when I came across a live talk show on street fashion.
I stood up and attempted to focus on the TV but the presenter had already cut away. My phone was stuck to me and my hands felt sweaty, my heart rate was through the roof. I checked that it was indeed a live broadcast from the same city by Googling the time.
Afterwards, I got off TikTok very quickly and video-called my husband, Caleb Brooks.
I saw him on the live streaming with another lady whilst he was supposed to be in Haven for a three days business trip. The phone hearth rang before he eventually picked it after an eternity.
My phone screen shook a little and his charming face appeared, "hey honey!"
"What's up?" I looked at the video on his side and asked quickly. He seemed to be in the hallway of a restaurant, wearing a white shirt and tie. But during the live, that was when I saw him for the first time, he wore on a grey wind coat.
"I'm having dinner with a client. I came out to pick up your phone call. What happened? Is anything wrong? Does Nora have any habit?" He asked.
"Are you in Haven?" I sidestepped his question and asked it again.
"Yes, why? what is wrong?" He looked at me with his usual intense but an inquisitive look through the webcam.
"Oh! It's nothing!" But I was embarrassed and asked, "When do you plan to return?"
"Soon... I'll come back once everything is wrapped up. Are you missing me?" Caleb looked at me with a smile of deep tenderness. "I'll try to return as soon as possible. It's getting late already. You should go and rest now. There are still a few matters I have to attend to here." With that he left!"
He gave me a peck before he hung up.
Struck and annoyed with myself for being suspicious, I reached for my phone. Caleb may have been nothing but a bum when we met, but he was an awesome, handsome, loving husband.
Despite growing up in a humble family with a sickly sister in the city, I chose him among all the guys who were interested in me because he was handsome.
I went into business with him after graduating from college, using my parents' house as collateral, and worked side by side with him for years. He handled the sourcing while I slaved away dealing constantly with customers to the point of almost bleeding internally. Fortunately, our business grew and eventually thrived.
I decided to leave, after I got pregnant and gave my husband the whole store for me to concentrate on our kid and our house. Our daughter turned four years old today. We are a family of three, we had a good life and were well off(made many people jealous).
Caleb felt awful that we didn't have the wedding he'd promised me he would throw, one that would make up for all the bad things I had done.
also what a loser of a husband to cheat?
I think I watched too many TV episodes that made me think like so, so I pursed my lips and chuckled. My mind was still on the vanishing man on TikTok live when I rolled in bed.
It felt like I had been thinking about Caleb all day. I'd ironed the windbreaker for him earlier in the day when he left for his business trip, so it looked familiar. That is to say, I was confused, why was the man on the live wearing similar one?
The next day, Caleb returned earlier than usual and he got for Nora lots of delicious sweets. He gave each and every one of us a warm hug which made the atmosphere all warm and cozy. As an obligation I happily skipped to the kitchen to prepare a lot of his best liked dishes.
We took our seats at dinner when Caleb commented so casually 'there's such a strong scent of oil in here...perhaps you should go take a shower?
I sniffed delicately. "That's how the good food smells." I smiled with satisfaction. "Don't you like how food smells?"
He laughed and ruffled my hair, and then began to shove food down my throat, giving Nora an occasional bite. "All right, my dears," he said at last. "Come along and eat!
I got Nora right to bed after I fed her and hopped in the shower. "Do I still smell like oil?" I said flirtatiously as I walked up to Caleb.
Caleb gave me a gentle pinch with a grin. "My love, I missed you so much!"
He didn't wait for me to reply as he pulled on my wrist to the bed. He seemed too excited today as well.
We were done and I smiled when I saw his tall figure make his way towards the bathroom. His phone lit up beside light breaking me from my reverie that he had got a WhatsApp message just when I was about to clean up.
I froze, my gaze flicking towards it.
Caleb dashed into the room, snatched the phone before me and looked at the message. Then he glanced back at me.
"Lena is here!"
"What's the matter? Are you scared that I might find out something? I threw him a sceptic look and had a strange feeling, like something was wrong.
It contained only four words. Had she found out the truth?
I'd interpreted it to mean the other party was scared I might uncover something, and that had been enough for me. But there'd also been an element of doubt in the text, hence my scrutiny of Caleb. And a strange sense of déjà vu had accompanied my intuition when my stomach told me.
With a light laugh Caleb put the phone back on the night stand. "You're over thinking!" he said, pulling me into his arms and giving me a kiss. It's about my sister Lena, not about you. She's defrauding Mom of money using me as front.
Lena Brooks was Caleb's younger sister. Her family had always baby and spoilt her because she had been weak and sickly since birth. And she was acting like a baby.
In her late twenties and Lena never use to think about anything all she did was travel, eat and have fun and she wasn't even in school yet.
"What are you trying to thief your mother of money? Where you feel she gets it from? I screamed.
With a smile, he knelt down and hugged me. Then he led me over to the Water Closet and bit my ear. It is all your money indeed. That's what happens when I marry a good kind man as you.
I appreciated what he said alright.
I have never been stingy with my family over the years because I felt a happy family brings good fortune in everything. I really subscribe to repaying people's kindness with my own.
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