“Tina?” Lauren called. “There’s someone here to see you.”

Tina walked to the front door to find a woman about her own age – tall, elegant, with perfectly styled auburn hair and expensive clothes. She looked nervous but determined.

“I’m Emily Ratliff,” the woman said. “I think we need to talk.”

Tina felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. “I… what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to apologize. And to help, if you’ll let me.”

Lauren stepped forward protectively. “I think you should leave.”

“Please,” Emily said. “I know how this looks, but I swear I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m here because I found out the truth about what Darren did, and I can’t live with myself if I don’t try to make it right.”

Tina stared at her for a long moment, then stepped aside. “Come in. But we’re not doing this in front of my son.”

They settled in the living room, Emily perched nervously on the edge of the couch while Tina sat across from her, Lauren hovering protectively nearby.

“I know you have no reason to believe me,” Emily began, “but I had no idea about you. About any of it.”

“You had no idea your husband was married to someone else?”

“I knew there was another woman. I knew he was involved with someone, but I thought it was just… an affair. I thought you were his mistress.”

Tina flinched at the word.

“I’m sorry. I know how that sounds. But I swear to you, I had no idea he’d actually married you. I had no idea he had a child with you. I thought you were just someone he was seeing on the side.”

“And you were okay with that?”

Emily’s face crumpled. “I was trying to save my marriage. I thought if I just… if I just ignored it, it would go away. I thought he’d get tired of you and come back to me.”

“But he didn’t.”

“No. He didn’t. And when I found out the truth – about the marriage, about Carson – I realized I’d been living a lie just as much as you had.”

“How did you find out?”

“The police came to my house. They were investigating the bigamy charges, and they needed to verify our marriage records. That’s when I learned about the wedding ceremony he’d had with you. That’s when I realized how deep his deception went.”