Husband's Betrayal Costs Her All

Synopsis

I needed to check tomorrow's court schedule, and my phone was dead. Nothing unusual about borrowing my husband's phone on a Tuesday night after ten years of marriage. "Stet, can I use your phone? Mine's charging," I called out from our home office, already reaching for his device on the desk. "Sure, go ahead," Stetson's voice floated in from the living room, casual and unconcerned. That should have been my first clue. My husband, the man who once password-protected his fantasy football accounts, had left his phone unlocked. As I opened his calendar app, a notification slid down from the top of the screen. Cleo: *Can't wait to see you tomorrow. Wearing that thing you like...* My finger hovered over the message. I should have closed it. Should have respected his privacy. But something cold and certain settled in my stomach. I tapped the notification. The chat history opened to reveal months of exchanges between my husband and Cleo Sanders, the bright-eyed intern we'd hired last quarter. Photos. Explicit messages. Plans made during times he'd told me he was working late. My hands trembled as I scrolled, each message another nail in the coffin of my marriage. *Meet me in the file room in 5* *Last night was amazing* *My wife's in court all day tomorrow* I set the phone down carefully, as if it might explode. The hardwood floor seemed to tilt beneath my feet. Ten years of marriage. A son. A law firm built with our names intertwined on the letterhead. All of it suddenly felt like an elaborate lie. I heard Stetson laugh at something on TV, the sound jarring against the silent collapse of my world. I picked up the phone again and methodically