"She once had a child?" I thought to myself, my body stiffening slightly. I had certainly never expected that revelation.

When could this have happened? Was it during those three interminable years when she had vanished without a trace? Despite the flood of questions in my mind, I tried to stay composed, schooling my expression into one of indifference.

I focused on the almost invisible ripples forming on the surface of my coffee as I slowly stirred the steaming liquid.

"I don't want to hear it," I said flatly, feigning nonchalance.

To be honest, I was mostly uninterested in hearing any stories about her murky past, even though I had...