Katherine was drunk when she got home, pushing me down on the bed and kissing me with an urgency I hadn’t felt from her in years. Anything resembling a sex life between us had died a long time ago. Ever since the company went public, she was barely ever home. So this sudden heat caught me off guard, and I let myself get lost in it. But just as I was about to lose control, she pulled me in tight, her voice a desperate whisper against my ear, "Oh, Caleb…" A bomb went off in my head. For her, the fire was instantly out. She rolled off me, her back to me as she sat on the edge of the bed. The bedroom was dark, the only light a pale wash from the streetlamp outside. Katherine smoked a whole cigarette in silence. When she finally stubbed it out, her voice was flat and hollow in the dark. "Leo, let's get a divorce." "Caleb doesn't care about my money," she said, her voice devoid of emotion. "He just wants to make it official. I owe him that." 1 We had been together for eleven years, from college to this cold, dark bedroom. To the outside world, Katherine was the perfect wife: a brilliant CEO, a loving partner, a dedicated mother. Before tonight, the thought of her cheating had never even crossed my mind. A heavy stone settled in my chest, making it hard to breathe. "When was the first time?" I asked, my voice a dry rasp. Moonlight, as cold as frost, sliced through the blinds and fell across her bare shoulders. She flinched, almost imperceptibly. "Two years ago. That business trip to Chicago." I remembered that trip. She was there to save a massive contract, the one that would make or break the company. The pressure on her had been immense. "I was at my lowest point," she continued, her voice still a monotone. "And Caleb just... showed up at my hotel room door. He was soaked from the rain, like this lost, pathetic puppy. He just collapsed into my arms." I stared at the black ceiling, silent tears tracing paths down my temples and into my hair. What was I doing that night? Her mother had slipped in the shower and broken her leg. I'd gotten the call from the ER, dropped our daughter Lily at my dad's place, and rushed to the hospital to be with her. I didn't tell Katherine. I didn't want to add to her stress. I even found a moment between talking to doctors to send her a text. Don't lose hope, babe. You've got this. I believe in you. No matter what happens, Lily and I are always here for you. We can sell the house and use the money for the company if we have to. As long as the three of us are together, that's all that matters. It was the first time she never replied. I was naive. I told myself she was exhausted, that she’d fallen asleep. But she was in another man's bed. Tangled in his sheets. That was two years ago. Two years. Katherine had hidden it so well. Just last month, we celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary. In front of our entire family, she handed me a bouquet of roses and a gold watch. "Honey, thank you for taking care of everything at home all these years," she’d said, her voice warm. "Happy anniversary." She had pulled Lily and me into a hug. My dad insisted on taking a picture of the three of us. That photo is still pinned to the top of my social media profile. The silence in the room was crushing, a tide of pressure building around me. "Katherine," I said, the words tasting like ash. "If you weren't a CEO with a nine-figure net worth, would that boy still be with you?" She didn't answer right away. Outside, the wind picked up, and a flash of lightning briefly illuminated the room. In that stark, momentary light, her face was a mask. "Leo, I know you love me," she finally said, her tone unnervingly calm. "But Caleb isn't like that. He’s not after money. He's been with me for two years with no titles, no promises. He's been through so much shame for me. I can't betray his trust." So you’ll betray mine instead? Back when we started in San Francisco, we were so broke we crammed ourselves into a basement studio apartment, less than two hundred square feet. We lived there for three years. No heat in the winter, no AC in the suffocating summer. I’d wake up some nights with cockroaches crawling on my arm. I thought our love could conquer anything. Turns out, it just fizzles out. "Did you forget, Katherine?" My voice cracked. "When we got married, you cried and swore you'd love me for the rest of your life." She paused, considering my words as if they were a line item in a budget. "We were young, Leo," she said, a weary sigh in her voice. "We mistook the thrill of being young and struggling together for love." "We're thirty now." "And after meeting Caleb, I finally understand what real love feels like." I thought I would scream. I thought I would lunge across the bed, grab her by the collar, and shake the lies out of her. Instead, a strange, horrifying calm washed over me. Tears burned in my eyes, but I let out a choked, bitter laugh. On the nightstand, Katherine's phone lit up, the screen a harsh glare in the darkness. The silence was so absolute that I could hear the tinny, cloying voice from the speaker. "I know I'm not supposed to call when you're home, Kat... but there's a thunderstorm, and I'm really, really scared..." The pressure in my chest was suffocating me. Katherine’s voice, however, softened into a gentle coo. "It's okay, baby. I just told him." "You just pull the covers up tight and wait for me. I'm on my way." 2 It was two in the morning. I was sitting in Katherine's home office. She always backed up her chat histories, terrified of losing a single message from an important client. Luckily, her laptop password hadn't changed. It was still Lily's birthday. I scrolled through her messages with Caleb. 26,893 of them. Last week: Caleb: Babe, I made dinner tonight! It's my first time ever cooking, I learned just for you. You have to tell me I'm a good boy. Katherine: You don't have to do things like that to please me, Caleb. You're perfect just the way you are. Katherine: I love you for your innocence, for that beautiful soul. Caleb sent a string of crying emojis. Caleb: omg Kat you're going to spoil me. Katherine: My man, my rules. I'll spoil you all I want. My hand trembled as I scrolled further back. Last month. The day of our seventh wedding anniversary. She had slept with him that afternoon. She was texting him on the drive home to our family dinner. Katherine: It still looks a little red. Make sure you put some more cream on it tonight, okay? Be good. Caleb sent the blushing emoji. Caleb: I know, you worry too much. Caleb: It's your fault anyway. I'm never letting you do that again. Caleb: But Kat... can you promise me you won't let him touch you? The thought of you kissing him... it literally feels like my heart is breaking. Katherine: Little fool. After eight rounds with you this afternoon? I'm not made of steel. I kept scrolling, my stomach churning. Finally, I found it. The first messages after they slept together, two years ago. He wasn’t calling her Kat back then. Caleb: Ms. Reyes, you don't have to feel responsible for last night. I wanted it to happen. Caleb: I know you were just drunk and upset. I get it. Just having that one night with you was more than enough for me. Caleb: But I wanted you to know. You were my first. I could see Katherine's conflict in the timestamps. She didn’t reply until the dead of night. Katherine: The wine had nothing to do with it. Katherine: I kissed you because I couldn't stop myself. I felt sick. I couldn't read anymore. I backed up their entire chat history to a thumb drive. Then I hugged myself, curling into a ball in her expensive leather office chair, a strangled sob caught in my throat. I wanted to howl, but I forced it down, terrified of waking Lily in the next room. My heart felt like it was being shredded by a million tiny blades. For so many years, Katherine had been the center of my universe. The thought of cutting her out, just like that... it was an agony I couldn't have imagined. Once the initial wave of grief passed, a cold calm took its place. I called my mother in London. It was evening there, eight hours behind us. "Mom," I said, my voice steady. "Katherine is cheating on me. We're getting a divorce." "I need you to pull your investment from her company."
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