Chapter 2 · 72 Hours To Destroy His Plans

I called David again.

This time, he picked up right away. "I'm still working late. Don't wait up for me. Go to bed."

The background was very quiet.

It didn't sound like an office at all, more like he was in some closed-off room.

"Where are you working late?" I asked.

"At the office, where else would I be?" he replied.

"It doesn't sound like you're at the office."

"Rebecca, what do you want from me?" He suddenly raised his voice. "I work my ass off every day to support this family, and have to be interrogated by you. Are you my wife or my boss?"

I was stunned by his outburst.

And then, I caught a sound. It was faint and quick, but I caught every bit of it.

It was a woman's laughter. She was right there with David.

My hands started to shake. "David, there's someone with you."

"Are you out of your mind? I'm hanging up," he snapped.

I sat on the couch in the living room, gripping my phone and hearing the dead line. The only light was the red standby glow from the TV, blinking in the darkness.

That woman's laughter felt like a needle, stabbing straight into my eardrum and echoing in my head.

I didn't sleep that night. I did something I'd never dared to do before, snooping through his things.

David had this habit. He'd only ever take one phone with him when he went out, tossing his old phone and some random junk into the drawer in his study.

I opened the drawer and found his old phone. It was an iPhone 12, with a crack running across the screen.

I remembered this phone. After he got a new one last year, he said he'd keep this as a backup.

I pressed the power button, and to my surprise, it still had some juice left.

There was no lock screen password.

I tapped on WhatsApp.

He hadn't logged out.

My fingers slid across the screen, my heart pounding so hard that it felt like it was about to leap out of my throat.

In his contacts, I came across a name: [Olivia.]

I tapped on it.

The chat history started three months ago.

The first message was from David. [The moon is beautiful tonight, but it's nothing compared to you.]

I almost threw the phone across the room.

Was this the David who never said more than three sentences to me, and thought that buying flowers for Valentine's Day was throwing money away?

Did he really say, "The moon is beautiful, but it's nothing compared to you?"

I kept going through the messages. With every new text, my heart grew colder and colder.

David: [Baby, I missed you today.]

Olivia: [Honey, I missed you too. When are you coming to see me?]

David: [This weekend. I'll tell her I'm going on a business trip.]

He referred to me as "her." He didn't even bother to use my name.

I kept scrolling.

David: [Baby, if you like that bag, go ahead and buy it. I'll send you the money.]

Olivia: [Really, honey? You're the best. Love you so much.]

There was a screenshot of the money transfer right after.

9,300 dollars.

A bag worth 9,300 dollars.

I remembered last month, when Daphne's kindergarten charged 400 dollars for her after-school classes.

When I told David about it, he frowned and said, "Another fee? Why does kindergarten have so many fees to pay?"

He thought 400 dollars was too much, but he didn't bat an eye when he spent 9,300 dollars for a bag.

My tears finally started to fall.

It wasn't sadness.

It was pure rage. The kind of rage that seared me from the soles of my feet all the way up to the top of my head.

I wiped away my tears and kept digging through his phone.

I knew I should pull myself together.

I had to keep it together.

The more I dug, the more shocking details came to light.

From three months of chat history, I pieced together the facts.

Olivia, twenty-six, worked at the coffee shop right downstairs from David's office.

They'd known each other for about half a year, but they only actually got together three months ago.

David helped her rent an apartment for 2,000 dollars a month.

He bought her bags, jewelry, and sent her cash. I added it all up, and it was easily over 50,000 dollars.

I'd been a stay-at-home mom for five years, with no income of my own, stretching every dollar to make ends meet each month.

And he'd spent 50,000 dollars on another woman.

Chapter 2

I called David again.

This time, he picked up right away. "I'm still working late. Don't wait up for me. Go to bed."

The background was very quiet.

It didn't sound like an office at all, more like he was in some closed-off room.

"Where are you working late?" I asked.

"At the office, where else would I be?" he replied.

"It doesn't sound like you're at the office."

"Rebecca, what do you want from me?" He suddenly raised his voice. "I work my ass off every day to support this family, and have to be interrogated by you. Are you my wife or my boss?"

I was stunned by his outburst.

And then, I caught a sound. It was faint and quick, but I caught every bit of it.

It was a woman's laughter. She was right there with David.

My hands started to shake. "David, there's someone with you."

"Are you out of your mind? I'm hanging up," he snapped.

I sat on the couch in the living room, gripping my phone and hearing the dead line. The only light was the red standby glow from the TV, blinking in the darkness.

That woman's laughter felt like a needle, stabbing straight into my eardrum and echoing in my head.

I didn't sleep that night. I did something I'd never dared to do before, snooping through his things.

David had this habit. He'd only ever take one phone with him when he went out, tossing his old phone and some random junk into the drawer in his study.

I opened the drawer and found his old phone. It was an iPhone 12, with a crack running across the screen.

I remembered this phone. After he got a new one last year, he said he'd keep this as a backup.

I pressed the power button, and to my surprise, it still had some juice left.

There was no lock screen password.

I tapped on WhatsApp.

He hadn't logged out.

My fingers slid across the screen, my heart pounding so hard that it felt like it was about to leap out of my throat.

In his contacts, I came across a name: [Olivia.]

I tapped on it.

The chat history started three months ago.

The first message was from David. [The moon is beautiful tonight, but it's nothing compared to you.]

I almost threw the phone across the room.

Was this the David who never said more than three sentences to me, and thought that buying flowers for Valentine's Day was throwing money away?

Did he really say, "The moon is beautiful, but it's nothing compared to you?"

I kept going through the messages. With every new text, my heart grew colder and colder.

David: [Baby, I missed you today.]

Olivia: [Honey, I missed you too. When are you coming to see me?]

David: [This weekend. I'll tell her I'm going on a business trip.]

He referred to me as "her." He didn't even bother to use my name.

I kept scrolling.

David: [Baby, if you like that bag, go ahead and buy it. I'll send you the money.]

Olivia: [Really, honey? You're the best. Love you so much.]

There was a screenshot of the money transfer right after.

9,300 dollars.

A bag worth 9,300 dollars.

I remembered last month, when Daphne's kindergarten charged 400 dollars for her after-school classes.

When I told David about it, he frowned and said, "Another fee? Why does kindergarten have so many fees to pay?"

He thought 400 dollars was too much, but he didn't bat an eye when he spent 9,300 dollars for a bag.

My tears finally started to fall.

It wasn't sadness.

It was pure rage. The kind of rage that seared me from the soles of my feet all the way up to the top of my head.

I wiped away my tears and kept digging through his phone.

I knew I should pull myself together.

I had to keep it together.

The more I dug, the more shocking details came to light.

From three months of chat history, I pieced together the facts.

Olivia, twenty-six, worked at the coffee shop right downstairs from David's office.

They'd known each other for about half a year, but they only actually got together three months ago.

David helped her rent an apartment for 2,000 dollars a month.

He bought her bags, jewelry, and sent her cash. I added it all up, and it was easily over 50,000 dollars.

I'd been a stay-at-home mom for five years, with no income of my own, stretching every dollar to make ends meet each month.

And he'd spent 50,000 dollars on another woman.