Chapter 2

James glared at me and said, "Are you out of your mind?"

Saturday morning, I laid the printed transaction records right on the dining table.

James' first reaction was to clench his fists. He said, "You are digging through my spending? Rachel, do you seriously have nothing better to do?"

I pointed at each item on the list and said, "Velorium bracelet, couple's health check, floral studio, steak place. You said the Velorium was a gift for a client, so what about all these?"

James glanced at the list, and his face darkened for a moment before he quickly masked it with impatience.

He said, "The steak place was for client dinners, the flowers were for the front desk, and the health check was a team-building perk. They just had an extra package."

I shot back, "A couple's package is not part of the team-building perks."

"How would you know? You do not work at my company," James snapped.

I fixed James with a cold stare and said, "I have done tax consulting for your company before. Team-building expenses are filed under travel, not medical."

James froze for a second and then slammed his fork down on the table. He glared at me and said, "Rachel, what are you getting at? Just spit it out."

I stared at James and demanded, "Who is Susan?"

The living room fell silent for three seconds.

James snatched the transaction records off the table, crumpled them up, and tossed them in the trash. He shot me a glare and said, "Did you go through my phone too?"

I kept my cool and said, "No. The message popped up. You forgot to turn off notifications."

James glared at me, his voice rising. He said, "You really do not trust me? After six years of marriage, you cannot even give me that much?"

He jabbed his finger at me, almost poking me right in the nose, and added, "What, is your menopause starting early or something?"

The doorbell rang.

It was Linda Howard, my mother-in-law. She showed up every Saturday, like clockwork.

Linda walked in, set her grocery bag down, and frowned as soon as she saw the standoff between James and me. She shook her head and said, "What are you two yelling about so early in the morning? What if the neighbors hear it?"

"Ask her," James grumbled, flopping onto the sofa and scrolling through his phone. "She is digging through my spending records, acting all paranoid."

Linda turned to look at me and said, "Rachel, James has to spend a lot for business. You do not really get how these things work."

I said, "He bought a Velorium bracelet for another woman."

Linda waved her hand dismissively and said, "Oh, please. That is not a big deal. Giving gifts in business is totally normal. You just haven't seen enough of the world. Don't go twisting things in your head."

I stared at her in silence. Linda looked at me with total confidence, as if she genuinely thought I was blowing things way out of proportion.

I said, "It's not just about the gift. There is someone named 'Susan' saved in his phone, and the contact has a heart emoji."

Linda scoffed and said, "Come on, a heart emoji? That's just how young people text these days. It doesn't mean anything."

She grabbed her grocery basket and headed into the kitchen, tossing out one last comment as she went. "If you've got so much time to snoop on your husband, maybe you should focus on getting pregnant for once. Six years of marriage and still no kids? Seriously."

James did not say a word. He just sat there on the sofa, not even bothering to look up.

I stood by the dining table, staring at the crumpled ball of paper in the trash can. My breath caught in my throat.

It was not because of Linda's words. What really got to me was that James never even tried to deny Susan's existence.

That afternoon, I headed to the office. It was Saturday. No one was working overtime, and the whole floor was deserted.

I logged into the internal database from my workstation and pulled up the corporate account information for James' company. It was a routine check. Compliance had access.

A line of notes popped up on the screen. It said, "Linked account: Harbor Holdings Ltd. Account holder: James Howard."

I just sat there, staring at those words, unable to look away.

Six years together, and he had never breathed a word about this company.