Chapter 2

The recording had been going for nearly twenty minutes.

The sounds from the couch finally died down.

Then came the rustling of clothes and the relaxed, contented breaths of two people.

Sophie snuggled into Edward's arms, her voice dripping with sweetness.

Sophie said, "Edward, can you spend the weekend with me so we can properly celebrate our anniversary? Our special day."

Edward paused for a couple of seconds.

He said, "But I already promised Emily I'd take the kids to the aquarium." His voice was a little hesitant.

He added, "We missed it last time, and the kids have been asking about it ever since."

Sophie cut him off.

She said, "I don't care. Make up some excuse and cancel on her. Tell her something came up at work. It's not your first time doing that, anyway."

It wasn't the first time.

At countless weekends and countless holidays, Edward would say, "Something came up at work."

Then he'd hurry out the door, that scene playing over and over in my mind like a movie stuck on repeat.

I used to think he was working himself to the bone for our family, and I felt sorry for him, thinking he was too tired.

Turns out, all those times, he was sneaking off to be with Sophie.

Edward let out a sigh.

There was hardly any guilt in that sigh.

It sounded more like he was giving in, resigned.

He said, "Alright, you are a handful."

Sophie let out a triumphant laugh.

There was a smug satisfaction in her laughter, like she'd won.

She rolled over, moving in close to Edward's face.

She teased, "Shouldn't you be thanking me properly? If it weren't for me, how else would you be living the dream with two women?"

Those words slapped me hard across the face.

This was all part of Sophie's carefully laid trap.

She wanted to shove me into the flames and stand there, watching me burn to nothing.

Edward's voice was laced with a smile.

He said, "Alright, I'll sort it out tomorrow. Make sure you don't get caught, okay?"

Sophie sounded a bit annoyed.

She asked, "What are you so afraid of?"

Edward ruffled her hair. He said, "Get some sleep. We've got to keep up the act tomorrow."

Sophie chuckled. "We've been doing this for eight years. I'm a pro by now. Don't mess up and call her by my name again."

Edward laughed, too.

He said, "Come on, when have I ever slipped up?"

Their voices faded into the distance, and then I heard the sound of the bedroom doors on the second floor closing one after the other.

I curled up inside the box, feeling like a gift that had never been opened, left there, forgotten before anyone bothered to open it.

My black lace nightgown clung to my skin, soaked through.

I couldn't tell if it was sweat or tears.

I got dressed, pulled myself together, and walked out the door, leaving everything behind.

I had gotten into a cab.

Suddenly, my phone started ringing.

When the screen lit up, I saw [Hubby] as the caller ID.

For the first time, that name felt so glaringly absurd that it almost made me laugh.

I answered the call, but didn't say a word.

Edward's voice drifted through, sounding half-asleep and a little whiny.

He mumbled, "Emily, when are you coming home? I'm about to pass out over here."

His voice was still as smooth as ever.

Back in college, it was that voice that first swept me off my feet.

He used to recite poetry to me, sing songs to me, and whisper sweet nothings to me under the stars on the college field.

He called out, "Emily? Hello? Can you hear me? Is the signal bad or something?"

His voice on the phone snapped me back to reality.

I closed my eyes, then opened them again.

I said, "Don't wait up for me. I'm not coming back."

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Then he put on that fake annoyed tone, like he was scolding me and trying to make me feel guilty.

He said, "It's our eighth anniversary today, and you're seriously not coming home?"

There was a bit of hurt in his voice.

On the night of our eighth anniversary, he'd finished fooling around with another woman.

And now he was calling to demand why I wasn't coming home.

I suddenly felt like laughing.

I said, "The kids are staying at my mom's tonight, so I'm going to crash there. No need to come get me. I'll be staying here for a few days, so don't bother checking on me."

His voice relaxed a bit, that lazy tone creeping back in.

He asked, "What about the weekend? Are we still going to the aquarium?"

He'd promised Sophie he'd blow me off.

Now he was acting as if nothing had happened, asking if we were still going.

Like, he actually gives a damn about any of it.

I said, "We'll see about that."

His voice softened again, that gentle tone slipping back in.

He said, "Alright, get some rest. I'll come get you tomorrow. Goodnight, Emily. Happy anniversary."

I hung up.

The phone screen went dark, and the cab plunged back into darkness.

The streetlights outside kept sliding past, like an endless river stretching on forever.

And I was drifting in that river, lost in the current, with no idea where I'd end up.