Vanessa sat, then stood, then sat down again. ‘Mom, I’m guessing you’ve pieced together what happened with Mark, myself and Maggie over the years. I was seduced, allowing myself to betray my best friend. I’m still paying for it now, but it seemed that Maggie wanted to even the score. Mom, she said she and Dad slept together,’ she confessed hurriedly. There, she’d finally come clean. She felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and unfortunately placed on her mom’s. ‘I believe her, and Dad confirmed it. I gave him the opportunity to tell you or I told him I would, but he hasn’t done it, so I’m keeping my word. That’s why we grew apart. I couldn’t trust him until he confessed to you.’ She looked at her mom, who sat in silence, staring at the wall above Vanessa’s head. ‘Say something, Mom.’

‘How long have you known, Ness?’ she asked calmly, her eyes connecting with her daughter’s.

‘I was pregnant with Wren when I found out.’ She hung her head. How could she have let this stand for all these years? She was so caught up in her own dramas that she had forgotten to do what was right for her mom.

‘You’ve kept this from me for all these years? How could you?’

Vanessa let out a pent-up breath of frustration. ‘I didn’t know how to tell you and I kept thinking that Dad would tell you, but he never did. Then the longer it dragged on, the harder it became to find the right time. I felt that I’d missed my window or something.’

‘Why now?’

‘Why? Because I’ve decided that I need to be more honest with the people in my life; I need to improve myself, for me but mainly for Wren. He deserves the best mom he can possibly have. I hope you forgive me for keeping this from you.’

Vanessa stood and called to Wren that they were leaving. The boy received a wooden hug and kiss goodbye from his nannie. She was clearly in shock, but she needed to be alone to process this information. Vanessa had dropped the bombshell that she had come to deliver; it was up to her mom and dad now to work through what next.

Vanessa also needed to make things right with Maggie but had no idea how to approach that particular landmine. In the end, she decided to use the same approach as she had with her mom. Knock on the door and drop the truth. She left Wren with the next-door neighbors. They’d babysat Wren before when she’d been in a pinch. She knew that they’d heard the arguments but, like everyone else, hadn’t intervened. She didn’t blame them; they were elderly and Mark was batshit crazy. He’d probably kill them if they interfered.