Shadows Drift Beyond Memory by Xarin Vale novel Chapter 2

My head fucking exploded.

Everything went black. I almost collapsed right there.

Now I was sure. The person who made that post WAS Callum.

There’s no way there were that many coincidences!

I didn’t care about anything else anymore. I wanted to storm in there, shove the post in his face, drag him and our daughter to get a paternity test, and divorce him on the spot.

But then I saw another reply.

Comment: Yo, I saw you’re in LA too. I got a friend who works at a private lab–can get you results fast. DM me and I’ll hook you up. Don’t let

yourself raise another man’s kid.

OP’s reply: Nah, I’m in NY. Just DMed you.

We live in Buffalo.

So, this OP was only in the same state–not the same city.

I almost accused Callum for nothing.

Thank God I saw that reply in time.

If I’d confronted him without proof, the lack of trust would’ve destroyed everything between us.

When we were dating, Callum always said the most important thing between us was trust.

Back in college, he made plans with Sienna and the guys to go on a beach trip–didn’t tell me until right before they left.

I already hated how he and Sienna were always so close, always telling her things first, like I was the outsider instead of his girlfriend.

So yeah, I was pissed.

I went to the airport with him anyway–and found out Sienna never even booked me a ticket.

She cried and apologized:

“I’m so sorry. I’m just used to booking six tickets. I didn’t even realize I was one short.”

But I knew. She did it on purpose.

My face said everything. Callum’s friends started calling me petty and dramatic.

Even Callum tried to smooth it over. “She’s just careless. Don’t be mad. I’ll stay with you.”

His friends turned on him, calling him whipped. Callum stood there, stuck.

I laughed bitterly to myself but kept my face calm.

18:43

His Girl Bro Lied ‘Not His Baby‘–DNA Played Along, But Baby IS His!

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Chapter 2

“Go. I’m not mad.”

Callum kept asking if I was really okay, all the way up until boarding.

The second that plane took off, I blocked him. Blocked all of them.

Left him with one message: You and Sienna have fun.

That same night, Callum flew back on a red–eye, showed up at campus looking completely unhinged, begging me to forgive him.

I ignored him. So he threatened to jump off a bridge.

I finally went to see him at the hospital.

Lying on the bed, he swore the beach trip was supposed to be a surprise.

“Sienna said girls like surprises.”

He promised he’d keep his distance from her from now on. So I took him back.

That day, he held me and cried:

“No matter what happens, you have to trust me. If you don’t trust me, I’d rather be dead.”

After that, he really did keep his distance from Sienna.

That’s the only reason I agreed to marry him.

Relief flooded through me.

I’d almost destroyed the trust between us over nothing.

Out of guilt, I decided to let the nanny watch our daughter tonight and take Callum out on a date.

I texted him, then went to the closet to pick out outfits–one for me, one for him.

But when I opened his sock drawer, I found something I’d never seen before.

A second phone.

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Chapter 31

Chapter 3