People love to believe they can predict how a story will unfold—especially when it involves love, betrayal, or choices they think they’d never make. But life rarely stays inside the lines people draw for it. Rebecca learned that the hard way at 30, when she found herself pregnant by a man who swore he was trapped in a loveless marriage. She didn’t set out to be anyone’s scandal. She didn’t imagine her future would involve being known as “the mistress.” But real life doesn’t check with you before it derails the plan you thought you had.
She met Jack at work. He wasn’t flashy or dangerous; he was funny, steady, easy to talk to. It started with little things—lingering conversations, shared jokes, stories about childhood, disappointments, dreams. She’d been lonely for a long time, and he made her feel seen. According to him, his marriage had already collapsed. He spoke about his wife in past tense, as if they’d already emotionally separated. He told Rebecca he felt dead inside until he met her. And when someone tells you you’re the reason they feel alive again, it’s very easy to believe you’re doing something brave, not something reckless.
By their second date, he told her he loved her. By the time she was four months pregnant, she was convinced she was building a future with him. The breakup with his wife, he said, was coming any day. He just needed the right moment. He didn’t want to “hurt her more than necessary.” Rebecca wanted to believe him. She needed to.
Then came the phone call that bulldozed every illusion she had left.
She was folding laundry late one evening when her phone lit up with an unfamiliar number. She almost ignored it. Instead, she answered—and heard a calm, steady voice say, “Hi, Rebecca. This is Kate… Jack’s wife.”
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