Chapter 3 The Mirror Cracks

The house buzzed with the sound of everyday chaos. Lily was in the kitchen, humming softly as she pulled out cereal boxes and milk, trying to get breakfast ready. Emma's son, Ethan, was still asleep in his room, a rarity in their home, where his energy usually fueled the morning rush. Emma, however, couldn't focus on the hum of routine. Her mind was elsewhere, wrestling with the heavy burden she carried.

She walked to the bathroom, needing a moment of solitude. The mirror reflected a woman she barely recognized-her eyes were dull, her hair unruly, and the cracks beneath her skin seemed more pronounced than ever. She stood there for a moment, as if trying to peel back the layers of herself, hoping to find the woman she had once been-strong, hopeful, confident. Instead, all she saw was a shell. A woman who had given too much of herself to the wrong things and had nothing left to show for it.

Her phone buzzed again, shattering the silence.

"Emma, we need to talk. I'm on my way."

It was Daniel.

Her stomach twisted. Every part of her knew she shouldn't see him. There was nothing left to salvage between them. But somehow, she felt the pull, like gravity drawing her back to a mistake she couldn't erase.

She clenched her jaw and took a deep breath. The truth was, she was terrified. Terrified of facing Daniel. Terrified of confronting the reality that the path she had taken had led her so far from where she wanted to be. But most of all, she was terrified that the truth had come to light. David, her husband, had already found out that his wife and his best friend were having an affair. What would happen if the lies unraveled completely to the rest of the family?

Emma closed her eyes for a moment, letting the breath she had been holding out slowly escape her. When she opened her eyes, she noticed something-a flicker of determination she hadn't seen in a long time. For once, she didn't want to cower. She didn't want to hide.

She had to fix this. She had to figure out how to take responsibility for what she had done, not just to Daniel or David, but to herself. To her children. The weight of her mistakes had become an anchor, and if she didn't let go of it, she might never be free.

She pulled herself together and walked out of the bathroom. The morning light was sharper now, spilling through the windows, casting a glow over the kitchen table. Lily looked up from her cereal, her small face a picture of innocence.

"Mom, when's Dad coming home?" she asked, her voice hopeful.

Emma hesitated, her throat tight. She wanted to say everything would be fine. That things would go back to normal. But the words stuck in her throat.

"I don't know, sweetheart," Emma finally replied. "But I promise, we're going to figure this out."

Lily smiled, but Emma could see the doubt in her eyes, the unspoken question hanging in the air. She wasn't fooling her daughter. She wasn't fooling herself either.

Ethan wandered into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes and yawning. He was a quiet child, unlike his sister, but his gaze held the same unspoken understanding. Emma's heart broke a little more at the thought of them-her two children, so young and full of potential, yet already starting to feel the cracks in the foundation of their family.

"Where's Dad?" Ethan asked, his voice soft but filled with a quiet worry.

"He's... away for work," Emma said, her voice unsteady. "But we'll be okay. It's just going to take some time."

Both children seemed to accept this, though Emma could feel the tension building between them, even if they couldn't put words to it yet.

The doorbell rang.

Her heart skipped a beat, and Emma quickly stood and asked the kids to take their breakfast up to their room. She could feel it now, the palpable shift in the air. This was the moment. The moment when everything could change, when all the walls she had built around herself could come crumbling down.

She opened the door to find Daniel standing there, his face a mixture of concern and anger. His jaw was clenched, his eyes hard with something Emma couldn't quite place.

"I wasn't sure if you'd let me in," Daniel said, his voice low but tinged with frustration.

Emma stepped aside, wordlessly letting him in. As he passed by her, she couldn't help but notice the tension in his body, the way his shoulders were stiff, like he was preparing for a battle.

He sat down at the kitchen table without waiting for an invitation. Emma took a seat opposite him, her hands trembling slightly as she folded them in her lap.

"I'm here because we need to talk," Daniel said, his gaze never leaving hers. "I can't keep pretending like nothing happened. Like we didn't make choices that we'll never be able to take back."

Emma swallowed hard, the weight of his words sinking in. She had hoped, _ no, she had lied to herself-that if she just stayed away from him long enough, this moment would somehow fade away. But it hadn't.

"Daniel, I know I made a mistake," Emma began, her voice thick with emotion. "And I'm sorry. I don't know how to fix what's broken. But I can't keep living like this, pretending that everything is fine. It's not. And I don't know what's going to happen, but I need to be honest with myself... with everyone."

Daniel didn't say anything for a moment. His eyes softened, but his voice remained firm.

"Emma, I've been carrying this too. But you can't keep running from it. You can't keep running from him-or from me." He paused, his gaze piercing through her. "You have to make a choice, Emma. Before it's too late."

A choice. That's what it all came down to.

The room seemed to close in around her. Emma realized that the path before her was no longer blurred. It was clear now, but it wasn't easy. She could no longer hide from the truth, not from Daniel, not from David, not from herself.

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but she held them back. It was time. She had to stop running.