"You came early."
Michael forced a smile.
"Yeah."
"Mom said you weren't coming until next week."
Michael looked at Emma.
Slowly.
"She did?"
Lily nodded.
"She said your mission changed."
Michael stared at his wife.
Another lie.
Small.
Simple.
But another lie.
Emma stepped closer.
"Lily, sweetheart, go upstairs."
"Why?"
"Please."
The girl looked confused.
Then she walked away.
Michael watched until she disappeared.
Then he turned back.
"Why didn't you tell her?"
Emma looked hurt.
"Tell her what?"
"That I was coming home."
"Because..."
She stopped.
Michael waited.
"Because I didn't know how to explain everything."
Everything.
The word stayed there.
He looked at Daniel.
"What is everything?"
Daniel looked at Emma.
That bothered Michael.
The way they communicated without words.
The way they had a whole world he knew nothing about.
Michael stepped closer.
"What are you not telling me?"
Emma whispered:
"Michael..."
"No."
His voice hardened.
"Not again."
She looked down.
And that was when he knew.
The kiss was not the whole story.
It was only the first door.
Something bigger was behind it.
Michael picked up his duffel bag.
"I'm staying at a hotel."
Emma immediately shook her head.
"No."
He looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because this is your home."
He looked around.
At Daniel.
At the room.
At the life that had continued without him.
"I don't know if it is."
Then he walked out.
And for the first time in twenty-six months...
Michael Hayes left his own house because he no longer knew if he belonged there.