My husband started tracking expenses on his phone. One day, I curiously opened his annual spending report from a popular finance app. The first few pages were lighthearted and fun, and I was smiling as I scrolled. Until I saw two lines of text: [Your most frequently used note is: "Extra cilantro, extra green onions."] [Your longest note is: "Boss, please make sure this bouquet is perfect. Confirm the address. Do not mess this up."] I don't eat cilantro. I don't eat green onions. And I have never received a bouquet from him. Not once. I scrolled down further. [February 14th, Valentine's Day. Total spending: $540. Largest single transaction: $299 at the Hyatt Regency, King Suite.] I remembered Valentine's Day clearly. I was out of town on a business trip. Before bed, we had a quick FaceTime. We even lamented that it was our first Valentine's Day apart. He was lying in our bed at home when we spoke. I opened his order history. I couldn't find any of these transactions. I checked his messages, calls, contacts. Nothing suspicious. He walked by just as the screen returned to the spending report page. He laughed. "Find anything interesting? Did you confirm your husband is indeed the perfect man?" I nodded and played along. "Truly perfect." I turned away and used his phone to send a message to his "Bros" group chat: "Guess who I'm with tonight?" Chapter 1 I sent the message right in front of Mark. He gave me a teasing look but didn't say much. Replies came in fast: "Who else would you be with? You whipped simp!" "Bro, showing off again? You're blinding us single dogs. Can we still hang out later?" "I swear, man! Only you let your wife control you like this." "Kick him out of the chat. I can't take it anymore. Add him back when I get married so he can send a red packet." Mark smiled, a look of indulgent resignation on his face. "Happy now? They're going to roast me again. They already call me a 'wife slave' every day." He didn't notice my hands were shaking. The realization that "Mark cheated" hit me like a physical blow. I was completely unprepared. We never had secrets. We shared passwords for everything. I never thought this day would come. I always believed that when feelings fade, there's a process. It shouldn't be a sudden, bludgeoning strike like this. The fact that he handed me his phone so confidently meant he was extremely confident in his cover-up. If I kept digging now, I'd expose myself. So I handed the phone back, pretending to be relaxed. "Congratulations, you passed the organization's test. You're clear for now." He looked a little smug. "Yes, ma'am! I'll keep up the good work. Mission: Happy Family Life is a go!" His expression was too natural. His performance was flawless. If I hadn't seen that annual report with my own eyes, I wouldn't have suspected him at all. Chapter 2 The next day, Mark left the house at his usual time. Six months ago, he lost a promotion opportunity because of a minor fender bender that made him late for a crucial meeting. Since then, he started leaving thirty minutes early to account for any unexpected traffic. It seemed like a logical, responsible change. But now, I sensed something off. Mark loved to sleep in. Would he really sacrifice thirty minutes of sleep every single day just because of one incident? Other people might. But Mark, with his ego, probably wouldn't. He had quickly regained that lost promotion opportunity anyway. Within six months, he climbed even higher than he had originally planned. I called out to him just as he reached the garage. I smiled. "I forgot to get gas yesterday. Can you drop me off at my office today?" His expression went blank for a split second, but he recovered quickly. "Sure." Before getting in, I held out my hand. "Give me your phone to order coffee. Mine is buried in my bag. We can pick it up on the way." This time, he hesitated visibly. I blinked. "What's wrong? You don't want coffee today? Then I'll just order for myself." He finally spoke. "No, I actually just ordered. There was a BOGO deal, so I got two. Check if there's anything else you want." His "Pick Up" order showed two Americanos already ready. I quickly scrolled through his order history. He had deleted even this order from the history log. When a man wants to cheat, his attention to detail is terrifying. I never do anything without a reason. This order proved that either in the car or near his office, these two people were going to meet. Otherwise, the thirty-minute time gap and the extra coffee didn't make sense. Halfway there, I asked him to stop so I could buy a bagel. I spent the whole ride scrolling through Twitter on his phone. Mark was visibly anxious. And I was waiting for the phone call that was destined to come. Chapter 3 Sure enough, three minutes before 8:30 AM, Mark's phone rang. I felt his body give a slight tremor. The moment he picked up, he spoke quickly: "Hey Joe, what's up this early? I'm driving your sister-in-law to work." I looked at him with a half-smile. Then I heard the voice on the other end: "Oh, nothing, Mr. Miller. Sorry to disturb you and your wife. I'll ask you about it when you get to the office." I spoke up directly. "No bother. If it's important, just say it. Don't let me hold up your work." The person on the other end clearly hadn't prepared an excuse. He stammered for a while before saying, "It's better if we look at the data together, Mr. Miller. It's hard to explain over the phone." After hanging up, Mark complained, "These young kids are so reckless. Knowing it's hard to explain over the phone, they still call so early. It's exhausting working with people like this." As we approached the next intersection, I reminded him, "Turn left. Go to your office first. You're going to be late. I'll take an Uber from there." Mark seemed reluctant. "I rarely get to drive you. It's not that far. Let me drop you off. It's hard to get an Uber during rush hour." "It's fine. If being late affects your promotion again, I don't want to be the stumbling block on your road to success." Seeing my expression wasn't great, he didn't push it. He turned the wheel and headed toward his office. When we arrived at the parking garage, I was getting ready to get out when a lipstick rolled out from under the seat. I bent down to pick it up but couldn't reach it. Just then, the passenger door was suddenly pulled open. A crisp voice rang out: "Mr. Miller! You definitely didn't have time to get me coffee today, right? I brought my own! You didn't tell me you weren't picking me up, I waited forever!" Chapter 4 As soon as she finished speaking, she saw me squatting on the ground picking up the lipstick. She froze. Mark, sitting in the driver's seat, also froze. I straightened up, put the lipstick in my bag, and held up an earring I had found under the seat. I said to Mark, "Someone lost an earring in your car. Remember to give it back." It was a moon-shaped stud. Nothing special. But coincidently, the girl who opened the door was wearing a similar one—a star. Clearly from the same set. I smiled at the girl, signaling her to move so I could get out. She stepped back two paces. Mark had already walked over from the driver's side. The girl looked at Mark cautiously. But Mark didn't even glance at her. He walked straight toward me. She started to say, "Mr.—" Mark cut her off without looking back. "Go to the office. We'll talk later." The girl walked away, looking back every few steps. Even at the elevator, she craned her neck to watch us. Mark tried to take my hand. I dodged him. He sighed. "Are you misunderstanding something?" I laughed. "BOGO deal for two coffees?" "Not picking her up and not calling to tell her?" "Not meeting up, but she runs anxiously to the parking garage to wait for you?" "Mark, I trust you, but do you think I'm an idiot?" Mark didn't speak. He just stubbornly tried to hold my hand again. Just like every time we argued before. As if holding hands brought us closer, letting us draw strength from each other to solve conflicts calmly. This was the way we had dealt with things for eight years. We relied on it to solve countless conflicts and calm countless angers. But we both knew, this time was different.
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