My Husband’s Brothers Called Me ‘The Second Wife’ for 20 Years – I Was His Only Wife, so I Finally Asked About the First

I thought I knew every important chapter of my husband’s life. Then one family dinner ended with a locked safe open, an old photograph in my hand, and questions no one wanted to answer.

For 20 years, my husband’s brothers had the same stupid joke.

Whenever Daniel did something romantic for me, one of them would grin.

Everyone laughed.

Including Daniel.

I’d roll my eyes.

I’d been his only wife.

At first, I barely noticed the joke.

Daniel had three brothers, and they had the kind of relationship where nothing stayed sincere for more than 30 seconds.

A compliment became a punch line.

If Daniel brought me flowers, somebody had something to say about it.

I assumed “second wife” was just another one of those jokes.

Maybe they thought Daniel treated me too well.

Maybe it was their way of teasing him for being sentimental.

We met at 31, married at 33, and had two children together.

There was no mysterious ex-wife.

Or so I thought.

Daniel had always been private about the years before we met.

Not secretive, exactly.