Chapter 3
At eight in the evening, Michael came back. A smile on his face. "Honey, have you eaten?"
"I did," I said.
He changed clothes and sat down on the couch, turning on the TV. Relaxed. As if nothing was wrong. I came out of the kitchen, holding a glass of water. "Busy day."
"Not too bad." He answered casually. "Meetings all day."
I sat down next to him. "What about David? Did you two meet up today?"
He paused for a second. "David. No. He's not in my department."
"What?" I pulled out my phone and opened that group photo. I handed it to him. "Then when was this taken?"
His expression shifted. A clear, distinct change. From relaxed to rigid in one second. "Where did you get this?"
"From Moments," I said. "David posted it on the 12th. You were by her side every day, even lost weight."
His mouth opened, but no words came out.
"Who is Emily?"
"She—"
"Emily Frost." I continued. "You transferred 4,600 dollars to her this month."
His face went completely pale. "You checked up on me."
"It's your salary account." My voice was calm. "Marital property. I have the right to check."
He stood up and paced around the living room twice. "Let me explain."
"I'm listening."
"She's a college classmate of mine. An ordinary friend."
"A friend."
"She was in the hospital this time; I went to check on her."
"To check in." I laughed. "You took seven days of caregiver leave. You didn't come see me once."
"Because..."
"What?"
"The system shows caregiver leave, but I didn't actually take that many days—"
"Michael." I cut him off. "Before you lie to me, could you at least think it through first? The leave system is something I can check."
He fell silent.
"Seven days. You took seven days." I looked at him. "December 10th through the 16th. Every day I was in the hospital. You didn't come once. Because you were with her."
"I..."
"You said the company couldn't spare you. You said my surgery was minor and I didn't need anyone with me." I stood up. "Then you took seven days off and stayed by her bedside every single day."
"Sophia, I can explain—"
"And the 4,600 dollars. What was that for?"
"She didn't have enough for the hospital bills. I covered it for her."
"When your wife was in the hospital, you said you were tight on cash."
He shut his mouth.
"My hospital bill was paid by my parents," I said. "4,000 dollars. You didn't pay a cent."
"Because you have insurance."
”Didn't she have insurance?“
"She didn't have insurance."
"Her situation is different."
He didn't speak. I looked at him. "Michael, what is your relationship with her?"
"A friend."
"This is your last chance."
He looked up at me. I wasn't crying. I wasn't making a scene. My eyes were calm. He dropped his head. A long silence. "She's my ex-girlfriend."
I nodded.
"It was during college." He lowered his head. "Broke up years ago."
"Why did you reconnect?"
"She reached out to me. Three months ago." He said. "She told me she wasn't feeling well, got some tests done, and they found something. She needed surgery."
"And so you went to be with her."
"She's alone. No family around here. I felt sorry for her."
Soft-hearted.
"And 4,600 dollars."
"Lent it to her. She said she'd pay it back."
"Lent." I let out a cold laugh. "Is there an IOU in the transfer records?"
He remained silent.
"Every amount was a round number. 1500. 1,000. 500. Does that look like a loan?"
He said nothing.
"More like an arrangement."
"Sophia." He looked up. "How can you say that?"
"Did I get anything wrong?"
I walked up to him. "You reconnected with your ex. Three months. Two hundred thirty-eight calls. 4,600 dollars transferred. She was in the hospital, and you took seven days off to be with her."
I said each word slowly. "Your wife was in the hospital. You didn't come once. You said work was busy."
"I..."
"You said she was alone with no family. What about me, then?"
"Don't you have your parents?"
"My parents took a four-hour train ride from their hometown to see me," I said. "They're both over sixty. You're my husband. You live in the same city. It's a twenty-minute drive to the hospital."
He was speechless.
"You chose to be with her. For seven days." I turned and walked toward the bedroom.
"Sophia."
"Let's pretend today never happened." I looked back at him. "But you'd better figure out what the word friend actually means."
The door closed. I leaned against it and took several deep breaths. Calm. I had to stay calm. I couldn't blow up now. I still didn't have enough evidence.
I had the chat logs, the transfer history, the leave records. All of it showed something was going on. But it wasn't enough to prove an affair. I needed more.
My phone buzzed. A message from my best friend: [How's it going?]
I replied: [Didn't confront him. Not enough evidence yet.]
[What else do you need?]
[I need to know exactly how far things have gone between them.]
[You suspect he's cheating.]
[You don't think so?]
She paused for a moment. [Want me to help you find out?]
[How.]
[I have a friend who works at his company.]
[What can you find out?]
[At the very least, I can find out how many times he's taken leave over the past six months.]
I thought for a moment. [Do it.]