His Choice Wasn't Me (Cassidy Morgan) novel Chapter 3

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The night carried a silence that felt heavier than stone. Sarah lay on her back, her eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling she could barely see.

Sleep refused her.

Every breath she drew was shallow, strained, as though her body no longer belonged to her.

The message she had seen earlier replayed in her mind like a haunting refrain.

Each word was a blade carving deeper into her chest.

James sat at the edge of the bed, his shoulders hunched forward, the tie at his neck hanging loose as if it had been tugged off in frustration. His back curved like a man bent under a weight he refused to name.

Sarah turned her head toward him. His outline in the dim light looked unfamiliar, like a stranger she had once loved but no longer knew.

Her lips trembled before she forced his name out. “James.”

He turned slightly, brows raised, his eyes already carrying the heaviness of someone bracing for a quarrel. “What is it, Sarah?”

Her throat tightened, but she refused to swallow the question any longer.

“When were you ever going to tell me the truth? That the woman living in this house, the one I am forced to see every single day, is not only Ryan’s widow but also the one you never stopped holding in your heart? When, James? When was I supposed to know?”

His hand stilled on his tie. It slipped from his fingers, forgotten. His jaw clenched, shadows darkening his face. “Sarah…” His voice was low, part warning, part plea.

But Sarah sat up, her voice cracking with anger and pain. “Don’t you tell me to calm down. Don’t ask me to understand. You let me believe she was here out of pity, because she lost Ryan. You let me bear that shame quietly. But all along, she was not a guest. She was the one you have been banging for only God knows how long. And you hid that from me.”

Her chest heaved. Her hands gripped the blanket as though it was the only thing keeping her steady.

James dragged a hand through his hair, his breath harsh. “I didn’t tell you because it doesn’t matter anymore. That was the past, Sarah. Long before you. It should not concern us now.”

Her laugh tore out sharp, bitter, laced with disbelief. “The past? Is that what you call it? When she sits in my living room every day? When she eats at my table and my son runs to her instead of me? When the phone you carry still glows with her messages? Tell me, James, is that past too?”

The silence between them pulsed with heat.

He exhaled sharply, irritation flashing across his face. “Why are you doing this to yourself? I told you it ended years ago. Whatever there was between me and Tiana is over.”

Sarah shook her head, her eyes wet but fierce. “Then why can’t I feel like it’s over? Why does this house feel more like hers than mine? Why does Daniel look at me like I’m an intruder, yet run into her arms as if she gave birth to him? Why do you soften at her touch but harden at my tears? Tell me, James, if it is over, why am I the one drowning?”

Her words cracked, her body trembling with the force of them.