Trapped In Lies

When I returned from a five-year overseas assignment, I walked out of the airport expecting Dan Hill to finally keep his promise and propose to me.

Instead, he stood there with a distant expression.

“Stella, I’m sorry.”

Before I could even process the apology, he continued, “I was the one who arranged your transfer order. I deliberately had you reassigned to that remote project out in the desert because I needed space for Hayley and myself. She was pregnant back then, and I didn’t have any other choice.”

A long silence followed, and I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood.

Five years of scorching heat, endless dust storms, and sixteen-hour workdays in a place that felt forgotten by the rest of the world…

I finally learned it had all been a carefully constructed prison of his making.

“You’re overbearing and confrontational. I was afraid you’d go after her. I’m telling you the truth now not because I expect forgiveness, but because I hope you’ll stay calm and not make this uglier than it needs to be.”

His voice carried an air of weary resignation.

I took a step back to avoid him as he reached out toward me. I was smiling through my tears.

“Dan, this could’ve been a clean break, but you’ve ruined that.”

Dan’s car stayed behind my cab, and he flashed its headlights twice.

The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

“Miss, that car has been following us. A friend of yours?”

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth.

“No.”

“Want me to lose him?”

“It’s fine. He knows where I’m going.”

The apartment building looked exactly the same as I remembered, aside from the new advertisements plastered inside the elevator.

Dragging my suitcase behind me, I stopped at the door and pulled out my key.

The sound of the lock turning was wrong.

The door opened from the inside.

Hayley Hill stood there in a silk nightgown with a little boy of three or four in her arms.

“You’re back.”

The child wrapped his arms around her neck and looked at me curiously.

“Mom, who’s this lady?”

“She used to live here.”

Hayley gently patted his head before looking back at me.

“Would you like to come in? Dan told me you were coming back today. I just didn’t expect you this early.”

I looked past her into the living room.

Their wedding portrait hung on the wall, and the old couch had been replaced. There were children’s clothes hanging out to dry on the balcony.

“This place—”

“It’s my home.” Hayley cut me off with a soft and calm voice.

“It’s been so for five years. The moment Dan got the apartment, he moved me in.”

The wheels of my suitcase halted in the doorway.

“He told me that we’d get married once you had gone to the desert.”

The boy began squirming impatiently, eager to get down and play.

Hayley set him on the floor. He immediately ran toward a toy chest in the living room.

Leaning against the doorframe, she studied me for a moment.

“You’ve lost a lot of weight. Those years out there must have been rough.”

I tightened my grip on the handle of my suitcase.

“Is Dan coming back?”

“No idea.”

She arched an eyebrow, a hint of mockery in her eyes.

“What do you need him for? Money? An explanation?”

“I don’t want either.”

“Why have you come back then?”

I looked at her carefully maintained face and suddenly felt sick.

“I came back,” I said, forcing myself to stay calm, “to get my stuff back.”

Hayley sneered.

“What stuff could you possibly still have here? I threw out your clothes years ago. Dan said your books were taking up space, so he sold them. Oh, and those houseplants you kept? They all died.”

She paused, then added, “I stopped watering them on purpose.”

I turned and pressed the elevator button.

Her voice followed me from behind.

“Stella, don’t make this uglier than it has to be. You have nothing now. You can’t beat me.”

The elevator doors slid shut.

I leaned back against the cold metal wall and closed my eyes.

Five years.

I thought I had been climbing the ladder of my career. It turned out I had just been giving them their honeymoon.

The next day, I visited the office to complete the paperwork for my return.

When Linda Grazer from the human resources department saw me, a complicated expression crossed her face.

“Stella, about your position...”

“I know. Hayley took over while I was gone.”

I set my suitcase in the corner.

“It’s fine. Just assign me a regular post.”