Chapter 4

In the following days, the atmosphere at home grew strange. Michael was being much more polite to me.

He brought breakfast home and laid it out. He did the dishes without being asked. He even surprised me with a bouquet. "Honey, I was wrong before. I'll make it up to you from now on."

I looked at the bouquet. Roses. Red. Not cheap. "Thanks." I took them and found a vase to put them in.

He let out a breath of relief. He thought the storm had passed. These past few days, he kept his phone glued to his side and switched his message notifications to silent. But I didn't press him on it.

I was waiting. Waiting for my best friend's message. Waiting for more evidence. Wednesday afternoon, she called. "Sophia, I found something."

I walked out to the balcony. "Go ahead."

"Over the past six months, he's taken a total of twelve days off."

"What kind of leave?"

"Six days of sick leave. Six days of caregiver leave."

My heart sank. "When was the sick leave taken?"

"Spread across three times. Two days in September, two in October, two in November."

"And the caregiver leave."

"Twice. Once in September, two days. And once in December, seven days."

I already knew about December. But September. "When exactly was the caregiver leave in September?"

"September 15th to 16th."

I thought back. September 15th. That was a weekend. I remembered that weekend well. Michael said he had to work overtime. He didn't come home Saturday or Sunday. I even brought him food.

Dropped it off at the company entrance. He said he was in a meeting; leave it at the front desk.

That day, I left the food at the front desk. Did he even eat it? "Anything else?"

"I had my friend check his attendance logs too." She said. "Over the past six months, he's been leaving early at least once or twice a week. Listed as client meetings, but there are no corresponding visit records on file."

Once or twice a week. Client meetings.

"Does anyone at the company know about Emily?"

"I asked around." She said. "Someone's seen her. She comes by sometimes to have lunch with him. They said she's pretty. He introduced her as a college classmate."

College classmate. "Anything else?"

"That's all for now. Sophia, is this enough?"

"Not yet."

"Then what are you going to do?"

I thought for a moment. "Can you help me set up a meeting with David?"

"David. The one who posted it on Moments."

"Yeah."

"Why are you meeting him?"

"I need to ask him something."

"What about?"

"About what happened back then."

That night, Michael Clark came home late from work again, like he always did. I was lying in bed, pretending to be asleep, my mind racing as I listened for his footsteps.

He tiptoed around, quietly changed his clothes, and slipped into bed beside me.

Soon enough, I could hear his soft snoring, filling the room with a familiar sense of routine.

I opened my eyes. In the darkness, I stared up at the ceiling. Back then, Eleanor knew. David knew. Michael knew. I was the only one who didn't.

I had to know.

On Saturday, my best friend invited David out for dinner. She said it was a class reunion. David brought his girlfriend along.

During the meal, I found a chance to talk to him alone for a bit. "David, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, what do you want to know?" he said.

"What was Michael's relationship with Emily back in college?"

He paused for a moment. Hey, why are you bringing this up?"

"I want to know."

He was silent for a moment. "She was his ex-girlfriend."

"I know," I said. "I want to know why they broke up."

"Well." David hesitated, looking awkward. "Didn't Michael ever tell you about this?"

"That's exactly why I'm asking you."

David let out a sigh. "Back then, Emily got pregnant."

My heart skipped a beat. "Pregnant?"

"Yeah, back in their junior year," he said. "They were both so young and didn't know what to do. In the end, Emily ended up getting an abortion."

"She had an abortion?"

"Yeah, an abortion," David said, lowering his voice. "There were complications during the surgery, and it hurt her body. After that, she couldn't have kids anymore."

My mind was buzzing. "Did Michael know about this?"