Chapter 2

At one in the morning, Daniel came back anyway.

When the door lock turned, I was sitting in the unlit living room.

The cake on the table had already been thrown away by me, with only that wedding ring remaining in its original spot.

Daniel turned on the lights and was startled by me.

"Why are you sitting here?"

"Waiting for your explanation."

He glanced at the dining table, the awkwardness on his face vanishing in an instant.

"I thought when you told me not to come back, you were just throwing a tantrum."

"How long have you and Madison been together?"

Daniel's motion of taking off his coat halted.

"Who told you what?"

"Eleven months, right?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he walked over to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass of whiskey.

That calm demeanor made me suddenly feel that the man before me was terrifyingly unfamiliar.

"Claire, you're very emotional right now. We'll talk tomorrow."

"I am very calm." I placed my phone on the table and tapped open the kissing photo. "So, you just need to answer me."

Daniel stared at the photo, his complexion finally changing.

"Where did you get this?"

"Is that more important than you kissing her?"

"Someone is intentionally ruining our marriage." He picked up my phone, trying to check that unknown number. "You can't just believe an anonymous message—"

I snatched my phone back.

"Is the person in the photo you?"

His lips moved, unable to deny it.

Over eighteen years, I had seen Daniel happy, angry, exhausted, and even breaking down in tears when his father passed away.

Yet I had never seen what he looked like after being exposed.

No guilt, only the impatience of being offended.

"I had too much to drink that night," he said. "It's not what you think."

"Which night?"

Daniel froze.

I let out a smile, but tears suddenly welled up in my eyes. "It turns out there were so many that you don't even know which one I'm asking about."

"Don't do this." He irritably set down his glass. "We haven't been doing well these past few years. You put all your attention on the kids and the house, you don't care about what I need at all."

I looked at him, hardly able to believe it.

"So, it was me who made you betray me?"

"I didn't say that."

"But that's what you mean."

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "Madison makes me feel needed.When I'm with her, I don't have to play the husband and father forever, nor do I have to face an unhappy face as soon as I get home."

I subconsciously touched my own face.

When did I start being unhappy?

Maybe it was when he missed three family dinners in a row, or maybe it was when my mother was hospitalized while he was out of town attending a celebration party.

Or perhaps even earlier, when I gave up on opening a bakery and he told everyone it was just a passing impulse of mine.

"Was that necklace also because she needed you?"

Daniel avoided my gaze.

"It was just a gift."

"Did you touch her?"

"Claire—"

"In our bed?"

His silence gave me the answer.

My stomach violently churned, and I braced myself against the sofa so I wouldn't collapse.

Daniel reached out to touch me, but I stepped back immediately.

"Don't touch me."

"I will handle this matter," he said softly. "I can end this relationship. We don't need to ruin an eighteen-year marriage over a single mistake."

A single mistake.

Eleven months of lies reduced to five light words in his mouth.

Right then, his phone on the table lit up.

Madison's name popped up on the screen.

Daniel reached out immediately, but I was closer and tapped open the message first.

"Did you tell her? I don't want to wait anymore."

Immediately after, a second message appeared.

"Our baby can't wait anymore either."

I raised my head and looked at Daniel.

All color drained from his face in a single second.

"Baby?" I heard my own voice sound eerily calm. "She's pregnant?"