I thought the only problem with our washing machine was a small leak my husband kept promising to fix. But when I finally opened it myself, I pulled out something I never expected: a bright red lipstick that wasn’t mine, and with it, the unraveling of everything I believed about us.
Sometimes I think that two years of marriage and twenty years of marriage feel like two entirely different worlds.
Back then, Michael and I went on Sunday dates, sat in that little Italian café, laughed at silly things, and felt like nothing could ever come between us.
Now, our outings only happen on holidays, and even then, not always. We raised two children in a loving home, but lately, it feels like we live more like roommates than husband and wife.
I could not even tell when exactly we lost the closeness that once bound us so tightly.
Maybe it slipped away slowly with the daily routines, or maybe it vanished in a single moment when we stopped truly seeing each other.
Our twentieth wedding anniversary was just around the corner, but I was sure Michael would forget.
I had no intention of reminding him.
Nothing felt sadder than a celebration that had to be forced.
That evening, I walked into the bathroom and saw the familiar dark patch of water on the floor beneath the washing machine.
It had been leaking for months, and I had lost count of how many times I had asked Michael to fix it.
I called for him, my voice echoing through the house, and when he finally came in, I pointed to the puddle.
“You still haven’t fixed it,” I said.
“I’ll do it, but not tonight,” he muttered. “I’m exhausted.”
“You always say that,” I snapped.
“You keep promising and never follow through.”
Michael lifted his hands as if to defend himself.
“I’ve got so much work right now. I can barely keep up.”
“And this machine has been broken for months.
Don’t you even care?”
He opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment, his phone rang. I froze when I heard a woman’s voice on the other end, smooth and confident.
Michael nodded and quietly said, “I’ll be right there.”
When he returned, I was waiting.
“Who was that?” I asked.
“Work,” he answered too quickly.
“But I heard a woman’s voice,” I pressed.
“My secretary, Vanessa,” he said flatly.
“At this hour?
Why would your secretary be working this late?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied.
“What are you hiding from me, Michael?”
“It’s just work. Why are you making this into something it’s not?” he shot back.
“Because sometimes it feels like you don’t love me anymore,” I whispered.
He didn’t answer.
He just stood there for a moment, silent and unreadable, then turned and walked away.
I stayed behind, staring at the leaking washing machine, my chest tight with unease.
I thought about his secretary, the way she lingered around him, the bright notes she left on his desk with her unmistakable red lipstick marks.
That color had always seemed too loud, too bold, and now it burned in my memory like a warning I’d ignored for too long.
Several days passed since Michael once again promised to fix the washing machine and did nothing.
On the morning of our twentieth anniversary, he left for work without a word, without a glance that suggested he remembered.
I stood in the kitchen with my coffee, staring at the empty doorway, and felt something inside me harden.
By the afternoon, I had made up my mind.
If Michael would not fix the washing machine, I would.
I pulled my hair into a loose bun, rolled up my sleeves, and sat down in front of the machine with a determination that was equal parts anger and exhaustion.
I unscrewed the small panel, expecting nothing more than lint and coins. My hands worked clumsily, but I pushed through.
The compartment was filled with the usual debris: quarters, dimes, strands of our cat’s fur.
But then I froze.
Nestled between the coins was something so out of place.
A bright red lipstick, its casing still glossy, the color deep and unmistakable.
It wasn’t mine. I never wore red, and certainly not this shade.
I held it up in the light, and my chest tightened as a single name filled my mind: Vanessa.
Vanessa, with her endless smiles at Michael, her too-close laughter, her habit of leaving notes on his desk sealed with that same vivid lipstick.
The image hit me like a slap.
There was no other explanation for how it had ended up in our washing machine.
He was cheating on me.
I grabbed my phone, ready to call Michael and demand an answer. But before I could dial, a message lit up the screen from an unknown number, followed by the address of a hotel downtown.
After that, I tried calling Michael, but he didn’t pick up.
The decision was sudden, almost reckless.
I grabbed my keys and walked out, the lipstick still clutched in my hand.
As I drove, thoughts collided in my head: betrayal, fury, disbelief, and a sick curiosity about what I would find.
When I pulled up to the hotel, my stomach was in knots, but I forced myself inside.
At the front desk, a young man smiled politely.
“Room 303. They’re expecting you,” he said, as if everything was perfectly ordinary.
My legs felt like lead as I stepped into the elevator, the walls closing in as the numbers ticked upward.
The doors slid open on the third floor, and I stepped out.
That was when I saw them.
Michael and Vanessa, just a few feet away in the corridor.
She had her hand on his tie, tugging him toward the door, her lips painted with the exact red I held in my purse.
He didn’t resist. They disappeared into the room together, and neither of them noticed me standing there.
Tears blurred my vision as I leaned against the cold wall.
It wasn’t just that he had betrayed me.
It was that he had chosen this day, our anniversary, to do it.
And Vanessa—she had set this trap, sent that message, wanting me to see.
Everything I had feared was now standing in front of me in the cruelest possible way.
I wiped my tears with the back of my hand and forced myself to walk down to the reception desk.
My voice trembled, but I managed to ask for a spare key to room 303. I could not bring myself to knock and give them time to compose themselves.
I needed to see it as it was, raw and undeniable.
The clerk handed me the key without hesitation, and with every step back toward the elevator, my anger grew heavier, pressing down on me like lead.
The moment I pushed the door open, the truth spilled out in front of me.
Vanessa was standing in her lingerie, her red lips parted in a smirk as she pressed herself against Michael.
He looked cornered, half-heartedly trying to push her away.
My voice cut through the room, sharp and shaking.
“So what’s this, Michael?!”
“Claire, it’s not what you think—”
“Not what I think?” I screamed, pointing at them.
“You’re in a hotel room with your secretary, she’s half-naked, and your lips are smeared with her lipstick. What else am I supposed to think?”
Michael wiped his mouth quickly. “I didn’t plan this.
I didn’t even know Vanessa was going to be here.”
My gaze swept the room.
Rose petals scattered on the bed, a large bouquet of flowers, a chilled bottle of champagne with two glasses. I laughed bitterly.
“So what is this then? A business meeting?”
“This was meant for us,” he said.
“Don’t lie to me!” I shouted, my whole body trembling.
“I found her lipstick in our washing machine.
Tell me, Michael, did you bring her into our home?
Did you sleep with her in our bed?”
His face darkened as if a memory had just surfaced. He turned toward Vanessa. “That day you brought me those documents… you spilled coffee on yourself and asked if you could wash your clothes.
You left this on purpose, didn’t you?”
Vanessa straightened, her smirk faltering.
“I only wanted you to see who really deserves your attention,” she snapped. “Someone who actually values you.”
“Enough!” I shouted.
“Michael, you’re only making excuses. She’s here, dressed like this, and I got that message about a surprise.
Do you expect me to believe this isn’t exactly what it looks like?”
Michael’s voice rose now.
“That message was from me, Claire! I wanted tonight to be about us. I thought you had forgotten our anniversary.
I thought—”
“I didn’t forget,” I cut him off. “I just assumed you had.” I glared at Vanessa. “So tell me, what’s she doing here if this was supposed to be about us?”
“She was supposed to deliver the flowers, nothing more,” he said quickly.
“But when we stepped out into the hallway, she dragged me back in here.
She’s been saying things, trying to twist everything.”
I stared at him, my chest burning, doubt tearing at me from both sides. His words sounded desperate, but so did mine.
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