Before I could answer, Maisie jumped off the piano bench.
“Mommy! You’re not supposed to be here yet! We haven’t finished your surprise!”
I froze.
My surprise?
“What surprise?” I demanded, looking from Nathan to Clara. “The part where you secretly meet at hotels? Or the thousands of dollars you’ve been sending her?”
“You know about that?”
Nathan went pale.
“You know about that?”
“Of course I do! I’ve seen the photographs, Nathan. I know you’ve been lying about working late. And you’ve been bringing the children here behind my back!”
My voice cracked.
Clara looked horrified.
“I thought you were planning to leave me and take the children!”
“Leave you? Honey, no!”
Clara looked equally horrified.
Owen sighed.
“Dad, I told you keeping secrets was a bad idea.”
“You’ve misunderstood why.”
Nathan rubbed his forehead.
“Clara, could you take the kids into the next room for a minute?”
Once they were gone, he took my hands. “Everything you’ve discovered is true. But you’ve misunderstood why.”
