They stopped at a house I had never seen before. Lucas jumped out of the car and ran straight toward the backyard pool—like he knew exactly where he was going.
Then a woman stepped outside. Blonde. Familiar.
Jenna.
Lucas’s teacher.
Travis kissed her without hesitation.
When I confronted them, the truth spilled out in pieces. Jenna had once had a child named Jamie. She had lost him years earlier. Travis had told Lucas to pretend—to answer to that name—because it made her feel better.
“Daddy said it was just for a little while,” Lucas explained softly. “He said it would make her happy.”
There was nothing harmless about it.
That night, I went straight to Travis’s mother and told her everything. The next day, I packed his things and ended the marriage.
Because while Travis was building a secret life rooted in deception, I made a different choice.
I chose honesty.
I chose boundaries.
I chose my son.
Lucas would never again be asked to disappear into someone else’s lie—especially not by the person meant to protect him most.
