My Husband’s Second Personality Loved His Sister-in-Law novel Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I sat there for a long time before pulling out the photo frame I had hidden behind a row of books.

It was from the first birthday I celebrated after I started dating Nathaniel.

He had begun planning the party a week in advance.

In the photo, I wore a paper crown and smiled without a single worry in the world.

Nathaniel looked tense, almost anxious-until he saw me laugh.

Only then did his expression soften with relief.

In the years that followed, I never saw that kind of care from him again.

On the wall, faint rectangular shadows marked where framed photos used to hang.

After Nathaniel had been “diagnosed,” the doctor warned that nothing related to his supposed ‘other persona’

could trigger him.

That included any intimate reminders of us.

Every photograph of the two of us-engagement portraits, couple shoots-had been cleared out and moved

to the basement.

Only this small frame had escaped because I hid it.

The apartment that was meant to be our wedding home now felt as cold and impersonal as a model unit in a new development. Meanwhile, the Reed Estate was filled with countless photos of Nathaniel and Sophia. Whenever he “returned” to his first personality, Nathaniel would hold me tightly, kiss my forehead, and whisper that once he recovered, he would give me a warmer, happier home.

I had waited like a fool.

If I hadn’t overheard that call today, I might have spent the rest of my life waiting for a cure that never

existed.

My phone rang.

Sophia’s cheerful voice floated through the speaker.

“Evelyn, it’s your birthday today.”

“Nathaniel hasn’t forgotten. He’s been thinking about you and even reserved a birthday dinner for you.”

“I’ve sent the address to your iMessage. Come quickly.”

My heart pounded violently.

I thought about the flicker of hesitation in Nathaniel’s eyes when he left earlier.

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A fragile spark of hope flared inside me.

After years together, surely I still had a place in his heart.

Maybe this was all a misunderstanding.

Maybe everything could still be talked through.

I pushed the half-packed suitcase back into the closet and headed straight to the restaurant.

The private dining room door was half open. Laughter and lively conversation spilled out.

I was about to push the door open when I realized there wasn’t a single empty seat inside. In that stunned moment, Margaret Reed’s words cut through my ears. “Nathaniel really knows how to handle things- pretending to have a split personality has Evelyn wrapped around his finger.”

“Otherwise, I really wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving Sophia alone.”

“Imagine how bad it would look if word got out.”

The blood in my veins seemed to turn to ice.

When Nathaniel collapsed, Margaret had been so frightened she’d fallen ill herself.

I had stayed by her hospital bed, running errands, caring for her day and night.

She used to wipe away tears and look at me with what I thought was genuine affection.

Even when Nathaniel’s supposed split personality insisted on raising Andrew’s children as his own, Margaret was the first to speak up in opposition. “You’ve suffered enough over this,” she had said.

“In my heart, you’re the only daughter-in-law I recognize.”

Her sincerity back then felt real.

Nothing like the woman I was hearing now.

Nathaniel and Sophia sat side by side at the head of the table, surrounded by relatives.

So everyone knew.

Everyone knew he had been faking a split personality.

And everyone had chosen to deceive me.

As I stepped back unconsciously, my eyes met Sophia’s.

The triumph in her gaze was impossible to hide.

This had never been my birthday dinner.

It was a carefully arranged stage for me to wake up and face reality.

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When I walked out of the restaurant, I realized I had rushed out wearing only a thin blouse.

Late December in Ashton, California was bitterly cold.

The warmth and laughter from that private room only made the wind feel sharper against my skin.

My phone lit up with a video call.

“Sweetheart, happy birthday!”

My parents appeared on screen. Almost instantly, their smiles faded.

“What’s wrong? That boy Nathaniel isn’t with you?”

I lowered my eyes.

“Mom. Dad. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have ignored what you warned me about.”

“I’m divorcing Nathaniel.”

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