After I came home early and found my husband in ou…

My first instinct was to think Jackson was just taking a shower, but something didn’t fit. Where was Caroline? Why was her car here if she wasn’t?

The questions multiplied in my mind as I climbed the stairs, unaware that every step was bringing me closer to the moment that would divide my life into a “before” and an “after.”

I walked upstairs with my heart racing, trying to find a logical explanation. Maybe Caroline had come over to borrow something and Jackson offered her our bathroom because hers was broken. Maybe there was an emergency, and she needed to shower for some reason I couldn’t comprehend.

My mind clung desperately to any explanation that would keep my happy world intact. I walked down the hall to our bedroom. The door was cracked open, and the sound of the water was louder.