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My Daughter Helped Cover Up My Husband’s Affair，So I Walked Away
Novelix
Completed
"After Daniel Mercer cheated on me with his coworker Rachel Collins, we spent three solid years tearing each other apart. I smashed up his car, shredded his shirts, did everything I could to keep him away from Rachel. He hated me right back. My fever spiked to a hundred and four, and he stood there cold-eyed while I crawled to the hospital on my own. I smashed his phone, so he locked me out of the house all night. Then came the day we fought at the top of the stairs. I lost my footing and went down, split my forehead open, blood all over my face. Our five-year-old, Chloe Mercer, threw herself down beside me, sobbing, and screamed at him for the first time in her life: ""Get out!"" ""I don't want you to be my dad anymore!"" Daniel froze where he stood. After that day, it was like something finally snapped him awake. He changed jobs. He told me he'd cut Rachel off completely. He came home on time, every night. Chloe wanted the amusement park, so he took a day off and stayed until they turned the lights out. Chloe wanted to learn to rollerblade, so he held her hands and practiced with her all afternoon. I honestly thought this family was going to be whole again. But little by little, Chloe stopped clinging to me. The kid who used to need her arms around my neck to fall asleep started finding me annoying. ""Mom, why do you always ask so many questions?"" ""Dad doesn't get on my case about everything."" Then even the weekend outings stopped including me. Until her birthday, when I left work early to surprise her at pickup. And saw Daniel's car parked across from the school. Chloe climbed out of the back seat and ran straight into Rachel's arms, lit up with joy. ""Rachel!"" ""I didn't tell Mom this time!"" Rachel laughed, bent down, and kissed her cheek. Daniel stood beside them holding a cake box, watching them with a tenderness I hadn't seen in his face for a long time. They were the ones who looked like a family of three. I stood on the other side of the street and didn't go over to confront him. I just turned around and went home. Maybe it was time to stop fighting to keep this family. And give myself a way out."
Chapters (3)
第1章
After Daniel Mercer cheated on me with his coworker Rachel Collins, we spent three solid years tearing each other apart.
I smashed up his car, shredded his shirts, did everything I could to keep him away from Rachel.
He hated me right back.
My fever spiked to a hundred and four, and he stood there cold-eyed while I crawled to the hospital on my own.
I smashed his phone, so he locked me out of the house all night.
Then came the day we fought at the top of the stairs. I lost my footing and went down, split my forehead open, blood all over my face.
Our five-year-old, Chloe Mercer, threw herself down beside me, sobbing, and screamed at him for the first time in her life:
"Get out!"
"I don't want you to be my dad anymore!"
Daniel froze where he stood.
After that day, it was like something finally snapped him awake.
He changed jobs. He told me he'd cut Rachel off completely. He came home on time, every night.
Chloe wanted the amusement park, so he took a day off and stayed until they turned the lights out.
Chloe wanted to learn to rollerblade, so he held her hands and practiced with her all afternoon.
I honestly thought this family was going to be whole again.
But little by little, Chloe stopped clinging to me.
The kid who used to need her arms around my neck to fall asleep started finding me annoying.
"Mom, why do you always ask so many questions?"
"Dad doesn't get on my case about everything."
Then even the weekend outings stopped including me.
Until her birthday, when I left work early to surprise her at pickup.
And saw Daniel's car parked across from the school.
Chloe climbed out of the back seat and ran straight into Rachel's arms, lit up with joy.
"Rachel!"
"I didn't tell Mom this time!"
Rachel laughed, bent down, and kissed her cheek.
Daniel stood beside them holding a cake box, watching them with a tenderness I hadn't seen in his face for a long time.
They were the ones who looked like a family of three.
I stood on the other side of the street and didn't go over to confront him.
I just turned around and went home.
Maybe it was time to stop fighting to keep this family.
And give myself a way out.
……
Back home, the first thing I did was turn off the burner.
Creamy pasta, Chloe's favorite, still steaming in the pot.
Pale purple balloons strung up in the dining room, just how she liked them. Her present sitting next to her chair.
The door opened.
Chloe ran in hugging a white stuffed rabbit, cheeks flushed with excitement.
Daniel came in behind her and glanced at the table I'd already set.
"Change of plans. I took her out to eat. Forgot to text you."
I didn't say a word. I just dumped the whole pot of pasta in the trash.
Chloe stared at me. When I didn't look at her, she hugged the rabbit tighter and ran to her room looking wounded.
Daniel followed me into the kitchen, already blaming me.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
I shut off the faucet and turned to face him.
"You took Chloe to see Rachel, and you had her keep it from me. Daniel, what exactly am I to you?"
His face went dark.
"I never told her to hide anything."
"Then why did she say, the second she saw Rachel, that she didn't tell Mom this time?"
His mouth moved. Nothing came out.
I looked at him and suddenly felt like a fool.
"You told me you weren't in contact with her anymore."
"Her and me, that ended a long time ago. Today was a coincidence."
"What a coincidence — on Chloe's birthday. You just happened to buy the toy, just happened to cut the cake, just happened to teach my daughter to keep things from me?"
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Claire, do you have to talk to me in that tone?"
That's when Chloe appeared in the kitchen doorway holding a cup of water.
"Are you guys gonna fight again?"
Daniel's voice went soft instantly.
"No, baby. We're just talking."
She didn't leave. She stood there watching us.
And I thought about the day I fell down those stairs.
Chloe sobbing into my side, screaming at Daniel:
"Get out!"
"I don't want you to be my dad anymore!"
That was the day Daniel became a different man.
Home on time. The amusement park. Teaching her to rollerblade.
I really believed we were going to be okay.
It took until tonight to understand: what he'd repaired was his relationship with his daughter.
And me — they were cutting me out, an inch at a time.
That night I went into Chloe's room for her laundry.
She was in the shower.
A sock had fallen by the bed. I crouched to grab it and noticed the edge of the carpet turned up along the bed frame, a photo peeking out.
I pulled it free, and my breath stopped.
In the photo, Daniel stood behind Chloe.
She was holding a small birthday cake, grinning so wide her eyes had scrunched shut.
Rachel was pressed right up against them, reaching over to straighten the party hat on Chloe's head.
The three of them so close. So natural about it.
Like they'd celebrated her birthday together many times before.
I turned the photo over.
On the back, in Chloe's crooked handwriting:
*The best day ever.*
The bathroom door opened.
Chloe saw the photo in my hand and her whole face changed.
She rushed me, grabbing for it.
"Why are you going through my stuff?"
Her voice was sharp and panicked, her eyes all defiance.
I lifted the photo a little higher. My throat closed up.
"Chloe, why couldn't you tell your mom you'd seen her?"
She bit her lip. Her eyes went red.
"Because you get mad! You're always mad!"
"She's better than you! Daddy likes her, he doesn't like you. I want Daddy to like me too!"
The tears spilled over.
"And you ruin everything, every single time! You're my mom — he's gonna stop liking me too!"
My mouth opened. Nothing came out.
Daniel heard and came in fast.
He looked at the photo in my hand, and his first instinct was to pull Chloe behind him.
Watching him do that, something clamped down on my chest so hard I could barely breathe.
"So this is what *it's over* looks like?"
He was quiet for a few seconds.
"Claire. It's her birthday. Do you have to ruin the whole night?"
I stared at him, and something in me went cold.
So he got to take our daughter to celebrate a birthday with Rachel.
Our daughter got to keep their secret.
And all I had to do was ask one question, and I was the one who ruined everything.
第2章
I went to Family Day at the school anyway.
I just wanted to know how much of Chloe's heart still had room for me.
That morning I packed her lunch like always, laid out her clothes by the bed, set her favorite barrette next to her backpack.
When she saw me dressed and picking up my purse, she visibly panicked.
"Mom, you're coming too?"
I bent down and tied my shoe.
"Of course. It's Family Day."
She didn't say anything else.
The whole drive she kept her head down, picking at her backpack strap.
At the classroom door, I finally understood what she'd been worried about.
Daniel was already there.
So was Rachel.
She was holding a container of cut fruit, laughing at something Daniel said.
The second I got close, he lowered his voice.
"Claire. This is a school. Don't start."
I looked at him.
"I came to my daughter's event, and you assume I'm here to fight?"
He reached out and drew Chloe in against him.
"You're here, fine. Just let her get through today."
"Her mother showing up ruins her day?"
Daniel didn't answer.
When the parent-child activity started, Chloe had already pulled Rachel over to a table.
Daniel sat on her other side.
All three chairs were taken.
The teacher was busy handing out supplies. I didn't flag her down to ask for a seat. I dragged a chair over from against the wall and sat down.
First activity of the day: frosting and decorating cupcakes.
Chloe sat between them, laughing.
Rachel kept praising her.
"That star looks gorgeous right there."
"You're doing amazing, sweetheart."
Daniel rolled up her sleeves, steadied the piping bag, patiently showed her how to pipe a ring of frosting.
I sat a few feet away and watched them.
I used to picture a scene exactly like this.
The three of us making something together. Taking pictures.
Now it all existed.
Except the person sitting next to him and Chloe wasn't me.
Next, the kids took turns presenting their family trees.
Chloe carried a big sheet of posterboard up to the front of the room, branches drawn across it in marker.
First she stuck on her own photo.
Then Daniel.
The third one was Rachel.
I wasn't on it.
The classroom went quiet for a moment.
The teacher glanced at the board, then at me, and asked gently:
"Chloe, would you like to tell us about the people who matter most to you?"
Chloe nodded and pointed at Rachel's photo.
"That's Rachel. She knows what kind of cake is my favorite, and she knows I'm scared of thunder. She takes me to the park too."
My nails dug deeper and deeper into my palm.
When she was two, a thunderclap woke her and she couldn't stop crying. I was the one who held her on the couch until the sun came up.
After that, every time it stormed, she'd haul her blanket over and burrow into me.
And now she was standing up there telling a room full of people that Rachel knew she was scared of thunder. That Rachel was the one who mattered most.
When it came time for photos, I walked over anyway.
All I wanted was to stand next to my daughter and be in one picture with her.
But the moment I got close, the smile dropped off Chloe's face.
She shifted toward Rachel and looked up at Daniel.
"Dad, can we stand like we did before?"
Rachel made a show of stepping aside.
"Here, let your mom stand next to you. I'll go on the end."
Daniel looked at me.
"She finally stopped being nervous today. Stand off to the side for now, we'll talk after."
I looked back at him and didn't move for a long moment.
In the end I went and stood on the far edge.
Like somebody they'd pulled in off the street to fill out the frame.
Afterward I saw a smear of frosting at the corner of Chloe's mouth and reached up to wipe it without thinking.
She jerked her head away.
"Mom, can you *stop* doing that?"
My hand froze in the air.
I knew she wasn't talking about the frosting.
She didn't want me around.
She turned her back and took the napkin Rachel handed her.
At the end, the teacher gave every kid a medal.
Chloe got hers and didn't come find me.
She ran into Rachel's arms and held it up for her to see.
"Look! Didn't I do so good?"
Rachel hugged her, beaming.
"Of course you did. You were amazing today."
Daniel stood next to them, smiling too.
I stood out in the hallway watching the three of them, and I suddenly felt like the one who didn't belong.
I turned to leave. And Chloe's voice came from behind me.
"Mom!"
I stopped.
And for just that second, hope flickered to life in me again.
She ran over, clutching the medal, tucking it against her chest, and said, all seriousness:
"Dad's teaching me to ride a bike this weekend. Don't come, okay?"
第3章
Saturday I went to see my lawyer, Andrew Bennett.
He already had the divorce papers drawn up.
Leaving his office, I walked down the sidewalk with no destination in mind.
By the time I came back to myself, I was standing at the park.
On the bike path next to the lawn, Chloe was riding her brand-new kid's bike, sweaty and laughing.
Daniel stood ahead of her with his arms open.
"Slow down, baby. Eyes on Dad. Come toward me."
Rachel trailed behind, one hand on the seat.
"Don't be scared. I've got you."
I stood there a moment, then went back to my car for the helmet and knee pads I'd had ready for Chloe for ages.
By the time I got back, she'd stopped for a water break.
I held out the helmet.
"There's loose gravel over there. Put this on before you ride."
Up close I saw she was already wearing a new one. I hadn't even lowered my arm before she frowned.
"I already have one. I don't want the one you got."
I pulled the helmet back and offered the knee pads instead.
"Then put these on."
She shook her head.
"Rachel says we're only riding on flat ground today. I won't fall."
I looked at Rachel.
She gave me a little smile.
"I just want her to relax. She's already nervous — do we have to keep reminding her she might fall?"
Daniel jumped in immediately.
"Claire, she's finally having fun. Can you not keep telling her she's going to crash?"
My hand closed hard around the knee pads.
I remembered the last time Chloe scraped her knee. That night she cried just from her pajama leg brushing the cut.
All I wanted was for her not to hurt like that again.
Halfway through, she fell anyway.
Her tire hit a patch of loose gravel, the bike tipped sideways, and Chloe went down on her backside.
I was already running.
But before I could touch her, Rachel had crouched down and pulled her into her arms.
"Where does it hurt, sweetheart? Let me see."
Chloe, eyes brimming, grabbed a fistful of her sleeve.
"My knee."
I got the little first-aid kit out of my bag and pulled out an antiseptic wipe.
"Let's get it cleaned out first."
Rachel loosened her hold a little.
"Let your mom do it. She's better at this than I am."
Chloe only clung tighter.
"No!"
Her voice cracked, and she buried her face in Rachel's shoulder.
"Mom's just gonna say I wasn't being careful."
My hand went still.
"Chloe, I didn't say it was your fault."
She wouldn't look at me.
Daniel glanced up at the wipe in my hand and took it from me.
"I'll do it. Let's just get her to stop crying."
I stepped back and watched him crouch beside Rachel and clean the dirt off Chloe's knee.
That afternoon, Chloe spotted other kids coasting down a slope on the path and started begging to try it.
I stopped her right away.
"You just started today. You haven't learned how to brake yet. Let's stay on the flat for now, okay?"
Rachel knelt in front of her and said, gently:
"If you want to try, I'll go with you. We'll take it slow."
"She already fell once," I said.
Daniel turned to me.
"She can't fall one time and then never be allowed to try anything again."
"I'm talking about today."
He sighed like he was already sick of this conversation.
"She needs some confidence, Claire. You can't decide every time that she can't do it."
Chloe was already pushing her bike toward the top of the slope.
Rachel walked at her side. Daniel turned and went after them.
Nobody asked me again.
And on the way down, it happened.
Rachel held the seat for a few steps, but the bike got away from her fast.
Chloe panicked, her feet slipped off the pedals, the handlebars started whipping side to side.
"Daddy!"
She forgot the brakes and went straight for the guardrail along the path.
I was at the bottom of the slope. I threw myself at the handlebars and hauled back with everything I had.
The bike snapped sideways.
I got my body around Chloe and went down with her, my knee slamming into the gravel, my other palm tearing open when I caught myself.
The bike stopped.
She didn't hit anything.
But once she got her breath back, the first thing she did was throw herself at Daniel.
"Daddy, I was so scared."
Rachel stood off to the side, eyes red.
"This is my fault. I thought I could keep up. I should've held on the whole way."
Daniel looked up and comforted her first.
"She's fine. Don't blame yourself."
Not one of them looked at me.
I pushed myself up off the ground, looked down at the blood on my palm, and suddenly didn't want to say anything at all.
That evening at home, I got out the first-aid kit and sat at the dining table working on my hand.
Chloe's tablet was at the other end of the table. The screen lit up.
A message on the lock screen.
From Rachel.
"You did SO good today! Remember to keep our secret — then there'll be another surprise next weekend "
I set the gauze down, opened the thread, and scrolled up.
The more I read, the colder my fingers got.
"Dad says we can all go to the park on Saturday. Let's not tell Mom yet, okay? We don't want her getting mad again."
"I'll bring you a present next time we see each other. Be a good girl and keep the secret."
"The better you behave, the more your dad will love you."
I was gripping the tablet so hard my hands shook.
So she hadn't just changed on her own.
Somebody had been teaching her, piece by piece, how to push me out.
Daniel came down from his shower, saw the tablet in my hands, and stopped mid-step.
I turned the screen toward him.
"Read it yourself."
He took it and scrolled a few screens.
Then he said nothing for a long time.
I watched him and waited for him to speak.
Just this once — to admit that this was wrong.
What he finally said was:
"She probably just wants Chloe to feel comfortable when she's with us."
I stared at him.
"A grown woman, getting an eight-year-old to keep things from her mother, bribing her with presents for picking a side, telling her that Daddy will only love her if she's good."
My voice was shaking.
"Daniel. You see nothing wrong with that?"
He took the tablet out of my hands. His tone went flat and cold.
"Keep pushing her like this and all you'll do is drive her further away."
I looked at him and slowly nodded.
"Okay."
"Then I'm done pushing."
"From now on, whoever you two want to hand her off to, go ahead."
I went upstairs, dragged out a suitcase, and started packing.
He still thought I was just making a point.
Halfway through the clothes, my phone lit up.
A text from a number I didn't know.
"We need to talk face to face. About the baby I'm carrying."
I stared at the screen with something pressing down on my chest.
Rachel was pregnant.