He treats me differently, not the same way he treats her.
Whos that?
David Harts phone lay faceup on the kitchen counter, and Emily Clarke skimmed the popup message before she even realised what she was doing. Missing you, love, it read, followed by a heart emoji, a kiss, and an unfamiliar nameOlivia.
David snapped upright from the espresso machine, a flash of irritation flickering across his eyesnot surprise, but annoyance, quickly hidden behind his usual mask of mild annoyance.
Youre snooping through my phone?
It lit up on its own, Emily lifted the device, swiped to unlock with the familiar motion. They knew each others passwords. Whos Olivia?
David turned away and pressed a button on the machine.
A colleague.
A colleague sends you missing you, love?
Emily scrolled through the chat, her fingers growing cold with each swipe. Photos, voice notes, weekend plans David supposedly spent at a conference in Manchester, jokes only the two of them understood, and datesthe first message dated back to March. It was now September. Six months, 180 days of Emily cooking breakfast, waiting after work, planning holidays, believing they were happy.
David, thats half a year of messages.
The espresso machine fell silent. David took a sip from his mug, and Emily, with a detached clarity, observed that her husband seemed perfectly calm.
Emily, dont start.
Not start? She stared at David, searching his familiar face for any hint of remorse or embarrassment. Nothing. Just the fatigue of a man who had been pulled from his morning coffee.
Youve been cheating on me for six months, and Im supposed to stay quiet?
David set his mug down, ran a hand over his face.
Listen, its complicated. Lets talk tonight, Im running late.
He walked out, grabbed his briefcase, gave her a quick kiss on the cheeka habitual gestureand left. The door closed with a soft click, and Emily was left standing in the middle of the kitchen.
She replayed the messages over and over, hunting for an explanation. Could it be a joke? A misunderstanding? The photos didnt lieDavid and an unknown blonde in a restaurant, on a pier, in someones flat. Selfies with matching smiles and intertwined fingers.
Emily tried to pinpoint when things went wrong. Their morning chats, shared dinners, plans to buy a bigger flat, maybe get a dog. Nothing had hinted at trouble. Absolutely nothing.
Or perhaps she simply didnt want to see it?
Grace burst in forty minutes after the call, flinging a bag of croissants into Emilys hands and plopping down on the sofa.
Spill it.
Emily told the story, stumbling between details and emotions. Grace listened in silence, her expression growing ever more serious.
I dont get it, Emily ran her fingers through her hair for the tenth time. Everything was fine. We were happy. How did this happen?
Grace paused, then asked gently:
Emily, did you notice anything at all? Anything?
What was I supposed to notice? He came home, we ate dinner together, we went away for the weekend. A normal family!
Right. Grace took a breath, and Emily saw the impending pain on her friends face. Do you remember how you met?
Emily blinked.
What does that have to do with anything?
Everything. You met three years ago at his companys Christmas party. You were working in their outsourced accounts department.
And?
And David was married to Megan. Two years, Emily. You were seeing him while he was still married. Then he divorced and married you.
Emilys mouth opened and closed. The room seemed to spin, the croissants suddenly smelling overly sweet.
Thats different, she managed to say. We loved each other. He told me his marriage to Megan was over long ago. They were just dragging out the divorce.
Grace fixed her gaze on Emily.
He was cheating on his wife for two years. With you. Why did you think hed be faithful to you?
Because its different with me! Emily leapt up, wrapping her arms around herself. Because he chose me. David changed, Grace. When we married, he really changed.
Grace shook her head.
He didnt change, Emily. Hes the kind of man who loves only himself. Everything elsewife, lover, jobis just scenery. He takes what he wants when he wants it. Loyalty is boring to him; limits are for other people.
You dont know him.
I know men like him. Grace reached for Emilys hand. Remember how you dreamed hed leave Megan? How you waited for his call, convincing yourself that soon youd finally be together?
Emily fell silent. Of course she rememberedevery sleepless night, every lastminute cancelled dinner, every lie she used to cover their meetings from friends. Two years as a mistress was humiliating and painful, but she endured, hoping, believing.
You got what you wanted, Grace continued, softly but without mercy. He divorced, married you. And do you know what happened? The role of mistress became vacant. David cant live without that secret thrill. Now youre a legal wife, and he finds it dull.
Im not dull!
Emily sank back onto the sofa. Graces words were harsh, yet somewhere deep inside, Emily felt a cold truth.
Business trips. Since April, David had been away on assignments every two weeks, sometimes more. She chalked it up to work, latenight meetings, corporate events where wives werent invited.
And the bedroom. Emily painfully recalled recent monthsDavid coming home exhausted, kissing her forehead, turning away from her, blaming stress or age.
I need to see it with my own eyes, Emily exhaled. I have to watch them.
Spying on her husband felt degrading, but it wasnt technically difficult. Emily took a sick day and stalked David after work for three days. On the second day, luck turned.
He left the office at seven, got into his car, but didnt drive home. Emily followed in a taxi, feeling like a hapless detective. David parked outside a café in the city centre, and five minutes later a young woman slipped into the passenger seat. Blonde, about twentyfive, stylish haircut, confident smileOlivia, just as the chat pictures had shown.
David took Olivias hand, brought it to his lips, said something that made her laugh, throwing her head back. The gesture was the one Emily herself had used three years earlier. The same restaurant, the same window table. David ordered the duck breast and the pavlova, talked about his childhood in Leeds and his dream of travelling the world, gazed at Olivia with that hungry, promising look. The scene replayed precisely. He didnt bother inventing a new script; why change a story that works?
Emily returned home and waited. He arrived at eleven, smelling of a foreign, sweet floral cologne.
We need to talk.
David sighed, shrugged his jacket over the back of a chair.
What now, Emily? Im tired
I saw you today.
David froze for a heartbeat, then shrugged.
So you were watching?
Answer me.
Yes, I was with Olivia. He sank into the armchair, crossed his legs. It means nothing, Emily. Listen. He leaned forward, his face taking on that sincere, convincing expression shed believed in for three years. I love you. Youre my wife. Olivia is just an adventure. It doesnt affect us.
Did you tell Megan the same fairy tale?
David flinched.
Thats different.
Really? Emily sat opposite him. You cheated on her with me. Now you cheat on me with her. Whats the difference?
I changed, Emily. After we married, I really wanted to be faithful. But He shrugged helplessly. It just happened. Ill end things with Olivia. I promise. From today on, its only you.
The promise sounded rehearsed, smooth. Emily stared at the man she had watched for years, seeing the emptiness behind the pretty words. A habit of lying had become his second nature, selfishness cloaked in charm. David didnt know how to love anyone but himself, and he didnt want to learn.
No.
What? No?
I dont need your promises.
David frowned.
Emily, dont dramatise. All couples go through this. Well get through it.
Emily shook her head. Her chest felt hollow, yet for the first time in a long while, clear.
You wont change. Never. Because it isnt a problem for youits normal. Wife at home, lover on the side. Convenient.
Youre talking rubbish.
Im speaking the truth. Emily stood. Three years ago I thought I was special. That with me youd be different. I was just another placeholder for Megan!
She left for Grace that evening.
The divorce took three months.
David didnt resist. By November he had officially moved in with OliviaEmily learned this from mutual acquaintances. The new couple looked happy. Olivia posted photos with hashtags about love and destiny, planning a wedding.
Grace showed Emily one of those posts.
Look. He says Im the only one hes ever truly loved.
Emily turned the phone away.
I dont want to see it.
Are you angry?
No. And that was the truth. I feel sorry for her. In a couple of years shell be sitting with a friend, crying just like I did.
Grace hugged her.
Does it feel better now?
Emily thought. Lighter? No. But something inside finally stopped clinging to an illusion, to the man she had invented and adored.
You know whats the saddest part? Emily managed a weak smile. I knew it from the start. I knew he was that kind of man. I was his mistress, I heard his lies, I convinced myself that with me it would be different.
You fell in love.
I was foolish and blind. Those arent the same.
Grace was quiet.
So what now?
Emily looked out the window.
Now Ill look for someone I wont have to reshape. A man whos honest from the beginning. Do they even exist?
Rain began to patter against the glass. Emily watched the drops racing down the pane and, for the first time in months, didnt think of David, their wedding, their plans.
She didnt know that a year later she would marry a man who never looked elsewhere, a man who never needed to be taken away from anyone. Two years after that, they would have a daughter, then a son. Emilys family would grow stronger each day, and she would finally understand what a marriage built on genuine love feels like.
The lesson she carried forward was simple: a relationship built on honesty and respect is worth waiting for, while chasing chameleons only leaves you chasing shadows.
