Chapter 3
I came home as if I had not spent the day learning that my husband had driven another woman home 227 times.
The house smelled like warm chamomile tea.Daniel was standing in the kitchen.
He looked up and gave me his perfect, familiar smile.
"You were down there for a while," he said. "Is the car okay?"I looked at him.
Ten minutes ago, I was sitting in his driver's seat. I was staring at 227 trips to another woman's apartment.
Now, he was just my caring husband again.
"It's fine," I said. My voice was completely steady. "I just had to reply to a work email."
He poured a cup of tea and pushed it across the counter toward me.
"Drink this," he said gently. "And don't forget to get ready. We have the hospital charity dinner at seven."
My navy dress was already hanging outside the closet. A glass of water waited beside it.
He could lie to me and still remember which dress I liked.
Before we left, I straightened his tie and put two antacid tablets in his pocket. Daniel smiled and kissed my temple.
"What would I do without you?"
At the hospital ballroom, Claire answered that question.
She sat beside Daniel. When he reached for the chili-glazed shrimp, her arm crossed in front of him and her fingers closed around the plate.
She pulled it away before his fork touched it.
Claire placed it beside her elbow and pushed the roasted chicken toward him.
"No. You complained about your stomach all day yesterday."
Daniel smiled. ""You're worse than Maya."
A doctor across from them whistled.
"Work-wife privileges."
Claire raised one eyebrow. "Privileges? This is unpaid labor."
The table broke into laughter.
Someone lifted his glass. "Maya gets him at home. Claire gets custody during night shifts."
Claire looked at me. Her smile softened, but her hand remained beside Daniel's plate.
"Don't be dramatic. I always return him."
They laughed again.
At home, I carried his antacids and kept his dinner warm. Here, Claire ordered his drinks, watched his food while everyone treated it as charming.
"Don't mind them," she told me. "They've made that joke forever."
"How long is forever?"
Before she answered, a doctor laughed. "Long enough for Claire to own his passenger seat."
"And get free rides," someone added. "How many now?"
I put down my fork.
"Two hundred and twenty-seven."
The table quieted.
Daniel's smile disappeared. His eyebrows drew together.
"You went through my navigation history?"
That was his first question.
Not why the number was so high. Not how many nights I had waited for him.
How had I found out?
"you said you hated giving people rides." I said.
"Maya, please be reasonable," he said. "She works late shifts. It gets dark. It is not safe for a woman to go home alone. I am just helping a colleague."
I stared at him. He was using his "kindness" as a weapon against me.
Claire surveyed the silent table.
She pushed the shrimp back to the center and gave me the careful smile of someone stepping between two unreasonable people.
"Please don't blame Daniel. At first, I asked because I didn't feel safe. After that, it became a habit.I'm truly sorry. I didn't know you cared this much."
She had not apologized for hiding 227 rides. She had apologized for failing to predict how insecure I would be.
She was trying to make me look like a jealous, insecure wife making a scene over a small favor.
But I did not fight with her about who was insecure.
"Yes," I said. "I care."
Her smile paused.
"Can you get home by yourself from now on?"
"Of course." She forced a stiff smile."If that makes you more comfortable."
Daniel looked unhappy. He wanted to say something to defend her.
But he looked at my calm face and stopped.
"You've made the whole table uncomfortable."
He exhaled and looked away.
"Fine. If this matters that much to you, Claire won't ride with me anymore."
"Starting tonight."
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Starting tonight."
No one mentioned his work wife again. The laughter did not return.
When the dinner ended, rain hammered against the ballroom windows.
Claire stood near the exit, refreshing the ride app. A cancellation appeared. Then another.
She looked at Daniel before slipping her phone into her bag.
"It's okay. We said no more rides."
Then, she put on a brave, understanding smile.
"Maya deserves to feel secure in her marriage. I can walk."
She opened the glass door. Wind pushed rain across the floor, and Claire stepped toward it as if she expected someone to stop her.
I did not look at her. I did not care about her performance.
I looked at my husband.
Daniel's hand had already moved to the car keys in his pocket.