Divorce by Deception

de finally cracking to reveal a flas

h. You're just emotional because of t

," I said, my voice flat, devo

her, and you chose to destroy someth

dear, don't be like this. Mark loves you. We were

d at Mark, a new layer

was Jessica's bir

Mark, burying he

uining everything!" she wailed, p

n, Mommy! I

hattered, seemed to

tred, were worse than Mark's

tesque parody of a happy family, and

gment on Mark's part, this was a

, my voice bar

in

he restaurant, the stares of

't loo

uzzing numbness replacin

he silence w

he corner of the living

ghost, the place we'd built our

en, the one he always kept locked, cla

een so secret

ckless impul

I didn't know about, hidden behin

bled as I unl

't filled wit

shrine to

chronicling their undying love, his re

ughing, kissing, on secret

things he claimed we couldn't afford – a

as just a placeholder, a conveni

d to our daughter, my daughter, as "our legacy, my darling, the beautif

caught in

id tha

to support Jessica's "influencer" lifestyle, faking financial troubles to kee

is deception w