I reached for my seat and slumped onto it, burying my face in my hands, unable to comprehend what was happening.
Or was it just the universe against me?
I glanced back at the screen, my name clearly plastered across it:
"Millie lied about her identity. She's not the orphan she claimed to be. Although her father died when she was eighteen, her mother is very much alive."
Another one reads "Millie Bobby Browne's real name is actually Emily Smith. When does the lies end? And how did the mayor and his family associate themselves with such a fraud."
I couldn't keep reading. My stomach twisted painfully.
Who's doing this to me?
That question kept hammering in my head.
I left all of this behind. I moved far away — to a remote island where no one knew who I was, where no one could possibly find me. Yet somehow, in some twisted, messed up way, the secrets I thought would stay buried had clawed their way back to the surface.
This wasn't an accident.
Someone was doing this deliberately.
But who?
Jenna just sat there quietly, offering silent support.
I shook my head.
I knew she had questions.
I knew she deserved answers.
And part of me wanted so badly to tell her everything — but that would mean reliving a shame so dark, so raw, I could barely speak it aloud.
My mother had an affair with my husband.
The thought alone made me sick. It was disgusting. Disturbing.
And as much as I hated her for it — hated them both — I didn't want the world to know.
I didn't want to completely destroy her.
I didn't want to expose everything and crumble the business she worked her whole life to build.
I wanted nothing to do with her anymore.
But I didn't want revenge either.
As for George? He could rot in hell.
"I know you probably have a lot of questions," I finally whispered, my voice trembling. "You probably think I'm some kind of witch… a liar… a bad person—"
"I don't think that," Jenna said, cutting me off gently.
"Please… just hear me out."
I took a deep breath, steadying myself against the rising storm inside me.
"I gave up my child because I couldn't be a mother to her. I was young, stupid, irresponsible… and I thought I was doing the right thing at the time."
I ran my hands through my hair, feeling like I was peeling my own skin off, layer by painful layer.
"I lied about my identity because the people I loved betrayed me. I couldn't stay there anymore. I wanted nothing to do with them. Nothing!"
I chuckled bitterly. "So I ran. I came here. I thought… maybe… I could start fresh. A clean slate."
Jenna listened closely, adjusting her glasses every now and then but never interrupting.
"But here I am," I continued, my voice cracking, "my past laid bare… one secret after another, stuck to my face like some cruel label.
And the life I thought I could rebuild here? It's already shattering."
Tears blurred my vision.
"And now Tudor…" I choked. "Tudor… all he's ever done is love me. And if he finds out…"
The thought alone broke me.
I collapsed into sobs, and Jenna rushed to hold me, her arms wrapping around me protectively.
"I should have told him everything," I cried. "That was my one mistake."
"You didn't think this would ever come out," Jenna said softly, rubbing my back. I nodded against her shoulder.
"There's no telling how Tudor will react," she said, "but if you love him, you owe it to him to tell him everything. No more secrets."
I nodded again, steeling myself.
When my car rolled into the garage, my heart immediately dropped.
Tudor's car was already parked there.
He was home.
I hadn't expected him so soon.
But deep down, I knew he must have heard.
I inhaled deeply.
It's now or never.
I opened the front door, stepping inside.
The house was heavy with silence.
Tudor sat on the couch, rigid, distant.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and stepped closer.
"I know what you're thinking, but you're wrong, okay?" I said quickly.
"I'm not a gold-digger, or whatever the blogs are calling me. I didn't lie for money, or status, or anything like that.
I was doing fine in my old life."
He stood abruptly, cutting me off.
"I'm gonna stop you right there," he said, voice low and tight.
I hurried to him, desperate. "Baby, just hear me out. I'll tell you everything. Right now."
"What exactly are you going to tell me?" he asked, his voice eerily calm.
"That you were married?"
My heart slammed against my chest.
My lips parted in shock.
"That your husband and your mother had an affair?"
The words sliced through me like a knife.
I staggered back a little, breathless, confused.
How did he know that?
He paced the room, shaking his head in disbelief.
Meanwhile, my mind raced.
Tami?
George?
My mother?
Who leaked this?
"It's all over the internet," he said bitterly.
"I thought… maybe we could work through the whole identity thing. I figured, okay, you changed your name, you lied about being an orphan — it hurt, but we could deal with it."
He stopped pacing, staring straight at me.
"But this?"
"You were married. For three years. Your husband slept with your mother."
"And I had to find out about it online?"
Tudor's voice rose, raw and furious.
"When does it end, Emily?"
"How many more secrets am I supposed to find out from strangers instead of from your lips?"
"Who the fuck are you, Emily?"
"Who the fuck did I marry?"
His fists were clenched, the veins in his neck pulsing violently.
Guilt and shame crushed me from every angle.
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"Tudor…" I whimpered.
"I don't want to hear it," he barked, grabbing his phone and car keys off the table.
He didn't even glance at me as he stormed out the door.
The moment it slammed shut, I collapsed onto the couch.
I buried my face in my hands and sobbed like my heart was being ripped straight from my chest.