Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

I was currently on my way home from work, heading first to pick up my baby girl. Elizabeth had just turned five and would be starting Kindergarten in a few months. I couldn't believe how fast time had gone by.

Elizabeth was still small for her age, having been born prematurely. But the doctors were extremely impressed with how strong she was growing up to be. She was still my little miracle and I couldn't be more blessed to have her in my life.

I still worked at the doctor's office where I had begun working six years ago. I loved my job and loved the hours that I had working there because it still provided me with lots of time to spend with Elizabeth, especially after she would start school.

Elizabeth was still an only child. I had been afraid to have any more after her, and the doctors were concerned about my health, as well, in the case I should decide to have another child. So Troy and I had prevented that as much as we could.

I continued thinking about the people in my life, blessed for each one of them. Kelsi and Ryan had finally gotten married after a series of breaking up and reuniting several times. They had finally decided that being together was the only thing that didn't make them miserable all the time, much like Troy and I. They were miserable when they were apart and Ryan had finally proposed about a year ago. It didn't take long before they were married and Kelsi was pregnant.

Chad and Taylor's family had expanded by one as well. Moira was now 20 years old and was in college, working towards being a teacher. Kiera was now 14, and one of the moodiest teenagers I had ever seen. Aidan was 7 now and had just finished the first grade. And the newest addition to the family, Sophie, was only 3, but much adored by her father. Taylor had been hoping for another boy, but Chad couldn't have been happier to have been given another girl.

Sharpay had finally settled down as well. Not long after Troy and I were married, Sharpay married a man named Craig. Craig was a lawyer and the two of them couldn't be happier with their lives. They still didn't have any children, but Sharpay hoped to have some someday.

Lisa and Mark had finally reconciled. Mark had learned to loosen up and have a little fun like he used to, without all the drugs and alcohol. He had even let Lisa come out and stay with me for a few days. Lisa and I were still close, talking every couple of days on the phone. It was nice to be close to family once again.

Troy's parents moved to New York the year after Elizabeth was born. They wanted to be close to their granddaughter, so they found a house that was about an hour's drive away from us. It was nice to have family so close again, but I missed my family dearly. Troy couldn't have been happier either. When they were in Florida, he hardly ever saw them since he stayed so busy with his music. But now, he could easily go see them on the weekends or they could travel to see him.

I put my mind back onto my driving as I neared my destination. I was happy to be seeing Elizabeth after a long day at work. She always managed to brighten my day. As I pulled up in front of the large house, a wave of familiarity washed over me as I thought about having done this same thing just three short months ago. It was three months ago that the man who was currently opening the door broke my heart.

I had left Albuquerque, glad to have had the time to visit with the girls and their families, but even more glad to be going back home. I had gone there to be with Kelsi for a few days when she had her baby. Troy should be coming back soon and I was ready for some quality time with him.

Troy had been away for almost four months on tour and I was missing him something terrible. At first he had kept telling me to fly out to see him, but I was already using part of my vacation time to see Kelsi and I was trying to save the rest for some time after he was done with the tour so the two of us could escape to somewhere. We had never taken a honeymoon, so I felt we deserved one. As the weeks wore on, though, Troy's persistence at me joining him finally wore off until he was no longer asking. Our conversations had become shorter and fewer. I knew he was busy, so I didn't think anything of it.

But now I was back in New York after being in Albuquerque for a week. I took the week to go see Kelsi and help her and Ryan out. I felt slightly guilty, thinking I probably should have used that time to go see Troy, but he was finishing up his tour and he said he'd be spending a lot of time in Los Angeles doing some work on his next record. So I figured he was probably pretty busy at this point. He had encouraged me to go ahead to Albuquerque and he would see me when we both got back.

When I got back, however, I was expecting to still have about a week alone at home with Elizabeth before he would get back. What I didn't expect, though, was to find a woman walking out our front door as I pulled up in the driveway. Troy was standing at the door with a smile on his face…that was until he saw me. His expression changed the moment our eyes met. I was trying to read the expression, so many emotions mixed in his eyes. He broke contact with me, though, when he caught sight of Elizabeth as we made our way to the door. He grabbed her and had a huge grin on his face as he picked her up and twirled her around.

"I missed you so much, Baby Girl!"

Elizabeth kept giggling. I gave him an uncertain look as I wasn't really sure what to think about a woman leaving our house, trying to figure out who she was.

"Elizabeth, why don't you go on up to your room so your mommy and I can talk," he said as he put her back down. She ran into the house and I heard her stomping up the stairs.

I kept my distance for a moment, unsure of how to approach him. I had missed him so much while he had been away. But things seemed strained between us. We hadn't talked in a while, which wasn't normal for us. But now, I came home to find a woman leaving our house when he wasn't even supposed to be here? What happened to being in Los Angeles recording for the next week? Why did he lie? Was he cheating?

Troy took a step towards me. I was still standing on our sidewalk about six feet from the door. "Hey baby, I'm so glad you're home."

"Who was she?" I asked, even though I really didn't want the answer. Troy just stood there and looked at me, not saying a word. "Who was she, Troy?" I asked, a little louder this time. "Are you cheating on me?"

"Baby, calm down. I'm not cheating on you. I would never do that. Don't you have any more trust in me than that?"

"Well I'm not sure I should, Troy. You definitely lied to me. You told me you would still be in Los Angeles. What should I think?"

"Baby, believe me, it's not what you think. I thought you would be happy that I was home early…" He kept walking closer to me until he was standing in front of me, reaching out to touch my face.

I stepped back from him and noticed the pain flash in his eyes. "Don't touch me. I can't believe you, Troy. I loved you. And then you betray me like this. What? You thought you could have her out of OUR house by the time I got back?"

"Gabi, please. You have to believe me."

"Why don't you start by explaining to me who she was? Did you meet her while you were on tour?"

"No…a friend introduced me to her. But she doesn't mean anything to me. You gotta believe me."

"You keep saying that, but I'm sorry. I'm not buying it. Why won't you just tell me who she is?"

"She's just a woman. I was talking to her. She's helping me out with something." His eyes pleaded with me to believe him, but he wasn't coming clean. He was hiding something, and it didn't make me feel any better about the situation. Why wouldn't he just tell me the truth?

"What is she helping you with?"

There was something about the look in Troy's eyes that was pleading with me not to make him answer that question. "She...she's just helping me with something I can't do myself."

I shook my head at him, disappointed. He was definitely hiding something, and his answers weren't making me feel any better about the situation. "I'm sorry, Troy. I can't believe you."

Over the next couple of days, I had asked Troy once again who she was, but he still was very vague with details. I knew he was hiding something, but I just couldn't get it out of him. By the end of the week, I couldn't take it any more. I couldn't live with him knowing that he felt okay hiding things from me and lying to me. I couldn't live with someone who didn't feel I was enough for him anymore.

I had packed my bags while he was at work one day, along with Elizabeth's. Before he had gotten home that day, Elizabeth and I were out of the house, the only thing left was a note.

That day was three months ago, and he had yet to fess up to that situation. Elizabeth and I had moved out into a small apartment that I could easily afford on my salary along with the money that Troy had sent to me for Elizabeth.

As I stood there looking at Troy now, I saw a lot of pain in his eyes as he looked at me and wondered if I was doing the right thing by still planning on keeping the appointment I had with my lawyer tomorrow. I still loved him…but was love really enough?