Chapter 6

David’s house in Richmond, a small suburb near downtown Melbourne, was a narrow terrace house conveniently located only a few blocks from the train station. David greeted me with a bear hug that nearly knocked the wind out of me, his laughter boomed as it usually does. After leaving me to get settled and take a shower, I collapsed onto the mattress in the spare bedroom and I felt myself relax.

That evening, the dining table was covered with grilled prawns, Tasmanian salmon, and a warmth that felt almost alien after the wreckage of my home life. Emma, David’s wife, was perceptive, and she caught the tremor in my hand when I reached for my water glass. Conversation drifted to the “reason” for my sudden move, and before long the truth spilled out. I told them about years of deception—not a single lapse, but a parallel life that had run beside our marriage since my postdoc days, a long-running pattern of infidelity that had lasted two decades.

David’s fork clattered against his plate, and Emma’s expression shifted from curiosity to horror. “How on earth...” David began softly. “How did you even find out? Claire’s so controlled. She never says a loose word.”

“I found some evidence,” I said, keeping the details to myself. Some things were better left unsaid. “I confronted her, and for the first time in twenty years, she lost control. She admitted everything.”

There was a long silence while David absorbed it all. Then Emma reached over and squeezed my hand, her eyes bright with tears. “What happens now, Jack? You can’t just hide in Melbourne. You have a career that people would kill for.”

“That’s the thing,” I replied, leaning back and feeling a sense of relief. “I’m doing a hard reset on my life. I’m divorcing Claire, and I’ve already quit, well, I think I’m about to quit my job. I’m just going to spend some time discovering who I am when I’m not Claire’s husband or someone’s employee.”

David frowned, genuinely puzzled. He knew how much my research meant to me, how the lab was the only place where I ever felt fully in command. “Quit your job? Jack, your work is brilliant. Why would you walk away from the best run of your career because of a marriage problem?”