Chapter 3

After that post, Samantha started calling Andrew hubby in all her posts.

I stared at that bouquet of roses, my mind drifting off.

Andrew had never once given me flowers.

He always said flowers were just pretty to look at, not useful, so buying them was throwing money away.

In our fourth year of marriage, Andrew's company threw its big year-end party.

Samantha posted: [After the party, I secretly slipped away in my lace slip dress to see my hubby. He said he was obsessed with it.]

The post had a mirror selfie of her in that lacy dress, looking all flirty.

And in the reflection, one could see it was a hotel bathroom.

That night, Andrew went to the company party and told me he'd be back late, so I should go ahead and sleep.

I did.

Turned out, he never went to bed.

Not only was he awake, but he was also busy admiring someone else in a lace slip dress.

In our fifth year of marriage—this year.

Last month, Samantha posted tons of photos from all sorts of restaurants.

The caption read: [Checked in at our ninth beautiful restaurant this year with my hubby. Feeling blessed.]

The pictures showed all kinds of fancy dishes, gorgeous plating, and stunning ambiance.

There were all kinds of cuisines.

Every photo had two place settings and two glasses of wine.

Andrew hardly ever took me out to eat. He always said eating out wasn't worth it.

So we always ended up eating at home.

Looking at all this, I didn't even notice when the tears started falling down my face.

The screen was streaked with tears, and no matter how many times I wiped it, the smudges wouldn't go away.

It had been five years.

For five years, I believed Andrew and I were sharing every hardship and tenderness.

But in reality, he was quietly building a hidden romance with someone else.

*****

My phone buzzed; it was Mom calling.

"Sweetie, what time will you arrive tomorrow? I'll come get you," she said.

I tried to speak, but nothing came out.

"Hello? Are you there? Can you hear me?" Mom's voice came through.

"Mom," I finally managed to say.

"What's wrong with your voice? Did you catch a cold?" Mom asked.

"No," I replied.

"Good. Be careful on your way, don't talk to strangers, and keep an eye on your things," Mom continued rambling, like she always did.

As I listened, tears started to fall once more.

"Mom," I said softly.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

I held my phone, silent for a long moment.

"Mom, Andrew cheated on me," I finally said.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end.

Then Mom's voice shot up an octave. "What?"

I told her what happened.

By the time I finished, Mom was so furious her voice was shaking. "That son of a bitch! He made all those promises when he was chasing you, and now, it's only been a few years, and he has the nerve to cheat? Really?"

"Mom, please don't get so upset," I tried to calm her down.

"Don't get upset? How could I not? My daughter's been hurt like this; how am I supposed to stay calm?" She was breathing hard, cursing nonstop on the other end.

After mom finished ranting, she said, "Wait here. I'm calling Linda. She's a lawyer; she'll know what to do."

Then she hung up.

Mom texted me Linda Bell's number.

Five minutes later, Linda called.

Linda was my cousin, and she had her own law firm in our hometown.

Linda's voice was calm. "Emily, walk me through what happened."

"Okay," I replied.

After I finished, Linda paused for a moment.

"Alright, here's what you need to do. Start a screen recording of her Instagram—get every post, every photo, every chat. Don't leave anything out," she said.

"Okay," I replied. I was already on it as she spoke.

Linda added, "Emily, cancel your plane ticket and text me your address. I'll drive over and pick you up."

"Pick me up?" I blurted out.

"Yeah. Once I have you, we'll go straight to Andrew's place," Linda replied.

"So, why are we heading to his house?" I asked, still confused.

"To gather evidence," Linda said. "Didn't you mention that woman always spends Christmas at his place? If we go now, she should be there. If we can snap some photos, perfect. If not, at least we'll get a look at the situation."

I gripped my phone, my heart suddenly racing. "Linda, if we get the right evidence, can we make him pay for this?"

"Yes. If we can prove they're living together as a married couple, we can charge him with bigamy!" Linda replied.