The thought hit me so suddenly I gasped.
One memory became two.
Two became ten.
Tiny moments I’d always dismissed as luck.
Little coincidences.
Doors opening exactly when I’d been ready to quit.
Or… Had someone else?
The pattern was impossible to ignore once I started looking.
And suddenly, I couldn’t stop looking.
***
For the next three days, I became a stranger in my own life.
I smiled through dinner.
I answered Matthew’s questions.
I kissed him goodnight.
Every lie tasted like ash.
Meanwhile, I searched.
Storage boxes.
Desk drawers.
Nothing.
Every lie tasted like ash.
I began wondering if I’d imagined everything.
Then, on the fourth afternoon, I found the first crack.
Matthew had left his laptop open while taking a call outside.
I wasn’t proud of what I did.
