Girlfriend: “Who were you texting?” Daniel: “Nobody.” Girlfriend: “Nobody doesn't usually make you smile like that.” Daniel: “It was just a message.” Girlfriend: “From who?” Daniel: “Why does it matter?” I looked at him. That was the first time he'd ever answered me like that. We had been together for almost three years. I knew his habits. I knew when he was hiding something. And lately, he had been hiding his phone. He never left it unattended anymore. He took it into the bathroom. He slept with it under his pillow. And whenever I walked toward him while he was texting, he immediately locked the screen. One evening, I finally asked him. Girlfriend: “Are you seeing someone else?” Daniel: “What kind of question is that?” Girlfriend: “A simple one.” Daniel: “No.” Girlfriend: “Then why are you acting differently?” Daniel: “You're imagining things.” I wanted to believe him. So I stopped asking. Until one night, he fell asleep on the couch. His phone was beside him. A notification appeared. “I miss you. We need to talk.” My heart dropped. I picked up the phone. There was a password. I knew it. He had never changed it. I opened the messages. The contact was saved as Mum. I froze. His mother had died three years earlier. I stared at the screen. Then another message came through. “Daniel, you promised you wouldn't tell her yet.” I read it again. Her. Who was “her”? I woke him up. Girlfriend: “Daniel.” Daniel: “What?” Girlfriend: “Who's Mum?” He went completely silent. Girlfriend: “Your mother has been dead for three years.” Daniel sat up. Daniel: “Give me the phone.” Girlfriend: “Answer me first.” Daniel: “You shouldn't have gone through my phone.” Girlfriend: “Who is she?” He looked at me for several seconds. Then he said something I wasn't prepared for. Daniel: “That's not my mother.” Girlfriend: “Then why is her name saved as Mum?” Daniel: “Because that's what she asked me to call her.” Girlfriend: “Who is she?” He looked away. Daniel: “Someone I thought I'd never see again.” I felt my stomach turn. Girlfriend: “Is she your ex?” Daniel: “No.” Girlfriend: “Then who?” He finally looked at me. Daniel: “She's the woman who raised me.” I was confused. His parents had raised him. At least, that's what he'd always told me. Girlfriend: “What are you talking about?” He didn't answer. Instead, he opened the chat and showed me the first message. It was from six months earlier. “Daniel, I know what happened to your real mother.” I looked at him. Girlfriend: “Real mother?” He took the phone back. Daniel: “There's something about my family I've never told you.” Then the woman sent another message. “If you don't tell your girlfriend the truth, I will.”