Her Hidden Affair

Synopsis

It was 1:47 AM. I had just finished running the code scheduled for testing the next day and was about to shut down my computer and go to bed when my phone suddenly lit up. A message had arrived from an account saved as "Aidan, Emily's Intern" I had added him last month after Emily told me she had taken on a new intern and asked me to keep his contact information "in case anything came up." I hadn't thought much of it. After all, she was the marketing department lead, and having an intern was perfectly normal. I opened the message. It was a photo of my Italian imported cashmere blanket spread across an unfamiliar bed. Beneath it was a partially exposed arm, with nails painted in the exact dusty rose shade Emily always wore. A voice message followed. I tapped it, and Aidan Lawson's voice came through, deliberately lowered and carrying a hint of intimacy. "Bro, Emily isn't coming home tonight. She said your place is too boring. She's more comfortable here. Get some sleep." I stared at the screen for five seconds. There was no racing heartbeat, no burst of anger, and no desperate attempts to convince myself that it couldn't be true or that there had to be some misunderstanding. My first thought was surprisingly simple. That blanket cost 2,500 dollars. And she actually took it to another man's place. I set my phone down, walked to the kitchen, and poured myself a glass of water. It was warm. I drank it, washed the glass, dried my hands, and then picked up my phone again. I opened the company-wide group chat. There were three hundred and forty-two members. I uploaded the screenshot, but after looking at it for a moment, I decided a picture alone wasn't enough to make things clear. So I typed a message underneath: [Notice to all colleagues: Emily from the Marketing Department will be staying overnight at intern Aidan's residence tonight. If she is late to work tomorrow, please be understanding.] Then I pressed Send.