I married my high school sweetheart – but on our first anniversary, I overheard a phone call that left me gasping.

felt in years: calm.

“You know what’s funny?” I said. “I fell in love with a boy on a porch swing when I was a teenager. But that boy never existed.”

Aaron’s mouth opened, but he couldn’t find the right words to say.

“I won’t waste another tear on a stranger wearing his face,” I added.

My stepmother straightened, gripping her folder as if it could still continue reading …