I looked up at Donald, trying to compose myself. Then I showed him Chloe’s response. “You want to try that again?” I asked quietly.
My husband shook his head. “It’s not what you think.”
“That’s convenient. Because I don’t even know what to think yet.”
I laughed once, sharply.
“Six months of searching for a woman almost half my age isn’t bad?”
“El, listen to me.”
“No,” I cut in. “You listen. You don’t get to sit there and decide what I’m allowed to understand.”
“I can’t explain everything yet,” Donald said.
That stopped me. “Can’t?”
He hesitated. That made it worse.
“I need a little more time. Everything will make sense soon enough, babe.”
I flinched. Hearing that endearment just didn’t sit right.
“Don’t,” I said. “Don’t do that right now.”
“Elena,” Donald said, getting up and reaching for me. “No,” I stepped back.
“You don’t get to stall me. Not on this.”
“I’m not stalling you.”
We just stood there, staring at each other. Suddenly, I felt like I didn’t know the man in front of me at all.
“Fine,” I said finally. His shoulders eased just slightly. That night, I didn’t sleep.
Donald lay beside me, breathing steadily as if nothing had changed. I stared at the ceiling. Every possible explanation ran through my head, but none of them made sense.
At 2:13 a.m., I gave up. I slipped out of bed quietly, careful not to wake him, and made my way down the hall. His study door was half-open.
The laptop sat on the desk, closed now. I went in. My husband’s desk drawers were never locked.
It took me less than a minute to find what I needed: a small notebook where he’d scribbled passwords so he wouldn’t forget them. My hands shook as I opened the laptop and logged in. Then I started digging.
Emails first. Then messages. Then files.
I was searching, pulling threads, trying to connect something that made sense. And then I saw her name again. Chloe.
But this time, it wasn’t a social profile.
It was a contract. My breath caught. Chloe was a private investigator.
Donald had hired her months ago to find someone. I scrolled faster now, opening attachments and reading exchanges. Careful.
Professional. Detailed. But nowhere did it clearly state who she was looking for.
“Elena?”
Donald’s voice cut through the hallway. I snapped the laptop shut. “Yeah!” I called back.
“Getting water!”
I quickly exited the room and snuck my way to the kitchen. There, I grabbed a glass, filled it halfway, and walked back toward the bedroom as if I hadn’t just turned my world upside down. Donald was sitting up when I walked in.
“You okay?” he asked. “Just thirsty,” I said, setting the glass down. He watched me for a second longer.
Then he nodded and lay back down. I slid into bed beside him. But this time, I stared at him, wondering who he’d been looking for all this time.
I didn’t go to work the next morning. I called in sick before Donald even got out of the shower. My manager didn’t question it.
Donald dressed, had coffee and toast, running through his routine as if nothing were hanging between us. “I’ll be back around six,” he said, grabbing his keys. I nodded.
My husband hesitated for half a second, as if he wanted to say something else. Then he left. And just like that, I was alone.
I sat at the kitchen table for a long time, staring at nothing. Private investigator.
Find someone.
The words kept circling in my head, but they didn’t land anywhere solid. Who?
Why wouldn’t Donald tell me?
I went back to my phone and opened social media.
I tried to open the interaction I’d had with Chloe, but it looked like she’d blocked me. I couldn’t access anything about her anymore, so I had no last name or direct contact information. Why did she block me if there’s nothing suspicious between her and Donald?
That thought haunted me the whole day.
By noon, I’d gone through everything I could to try to find her, but without Donald’s laptop, which he took to work, I had nothing. All I knew was that something real was happening, but I didn’t know enough to understand it. That was the worst part.
Not knowing. By the time the clock struck four, I’d made up my mind. I wasn’t waiting anymore.
Donald came home right on time. He walked in smiling, as he had yesterday. “Hey,” he said.
I didn’t answer. I was already standing in the living room, arms crossed. “We need to talk.”
His smile faded.
“Elena.”
“No,” I said. “You had your chance yesterday.”
He closed the door slowly behind him. “I know about Chloe,” I said.
“Not just the searches. The contract.”
