“Whats wrong with you? Weve been married ten years! What mistress? Youre more than enough for me!”
Emily couldnt shake the gnawing feeling that her husband was cheating. She sensed it in her bones, a restless unease that left her sleepless. One evening, she finally mustered the courage to confront him outright.
“Is it true or not?” she demanded.
He only laughed. “Whats got into you? Weve been married ten years! What mistress? Youre all I need!”
James spoke so earnestly, so convincingly. His smile never faltered, his eyes held no guiltyet something still felt off.
Emily wasnt one to leave things to chance. She resolved to uncover the truth, no matter what. After scouring the internet for advice, she decided to check his phone first. Nothing stood outjust harmless chatter with a few old schoolmates. Hardly alarming.
James never even bothered with a passcode. “Nothing to hide,” he always said. No secret conversations, no deleted messages. A saint in human form.
Still, doubt festered. Every time he came home late from work, her stomach twisted.
Her best friend, Sophie, rolled her eyes. “Youre imagining things! James adores youhed never stray. Youre sabotaging your own happiness!”
But Emily couldnt shake the feeling. She refused to share her husbandnot now, not ever.
One evening, she followed him to his office, determined to catch him in a lie. When he spotted her, he erupted. “Youre humiliating me in front of my colleagues!” She apologized profusely, and he forgave her quickly. But the knot in her chest remained.
By all appearances, their life was perfect. A lovely home in Surrey, two growing children. Yet Emily couldnt let go of her suspicions.
No lipstick on his collar, no strange perfumes, no sudden changes in routinebut her gut screamed otherwise.
If not for sheer luck, she might never have learned the truth. Real or imagined? Only time would tell.
When their youngest started primary school, Emily decided to learn to drive. She took evening lessons, passed her test in three months, and earned her license. James, proud, bought her a small carperfect for her petite frame.
(Though hed never admit it, he bought it so she wouldnt ask to drive his Audi. “You need more experience first,” he insisted.)
One weekend, Emily woke early, determined to bake a chicken and aubergine piea family favourite. But she was out of flour.
The frost outside was biting, but shed grown confident driving in winter. She hurried to her caronly for the engine to sputter and die. Not wanting to wake the household, she tiptoed back inside, stole James keys, and slipped out again.
As the Audi warmed up, she wiped the foggy windows. Reaching for tissues in the glovebox, her fingers brushed something cold. A phonebut not James.
Her stomach dropped. She turned it on.
The first message glared up at her:
*”My love, I miss you so much! Come to me quicklyI cant wait!”*
Emilys breath caught. No passcode. She scrolled through months of messages.
James left work at fivebut never came home before seven. Every day, he spent an hour with this Natasha. The words he wrote her were ones Emily had never heard.
Photos revealed a woman in her forties. What did she have that Emily didnt?
Rage burned through her. She flung open the car doorjust as James stepped out of their house.
Shed left a note saying shed gone shopping. He mustve seized the chance to message Natasha again.
Now it all made sense: his nightly “errands” to the car, the forgotten wallet, the quick returns.
James spotted her behind the wheel and stormed over. “Who said you could drive this?”
Emily buckled up, reversed sharplyand rammed the Audi into the fence. The crunch of metal was oddly satisfying.
She leapt out, keys in hand. “Go to her, then! Lets see how much she wants you without your house or car!”
With that, she hurled the keys into a snowdrift and marched inside.
The children, half-awake, blinked in confusion. Moments later, James pounded on the door. Emily locked it.
“Go to her! Dont ever come back!” she shouted.
James trudged away in slippers and a coat. Surely Natasha would take him in.
But when she opened her door, a mans voice called from inside: “Hurry up, darling!”
Natasha had two suitors. Weekends were for the other one. She gave James an apologetic shrug and shut the door.
Defeated, he stumbled to his mothers house two streets over.
Margaret took one look at him and sighed. She fed him, listened to his tale of a cruel wife whod thrown him out over nothing, and patted his hand.
“Dont fret, love. Who knew Emily would turn out like this? Your luck will changeyoure only thirty-five! Youll find real love, mark my words.”
So James stayed with his mother, determined to start anew. He even felt a flicker of freedomuntil Emily filed for child support.
Then he realized: fresh starts arent so easy. At least his mother hadnt abandoned him. Without her, hed have been truly lost.
**Lesson:** Trust your instinctsbut remember, the truth often cuts both ways.
