Chapter One
Stephanie
Ring... Ring... Ring...
After drying my hands on the kitchen towel, I dive for my phone near the coffee machine, which is positioned conveniently close to the kitchen entrance.
"Hello?" I let out a huff.
"Hi. May I speak to Mrs Jones, please?"
"Speaking."
"This is Richard Christopher from The Blue Mahogany Hotel in Hillcrest."
"Uh, how can I help you, Richard?" I’m puzzled. I don’t remember being at The Blue Mahogany Hotel recently. I mean, yeah, I know of it. It’s only the most lavish hotel in the entire country. That’s also where Thomas proposed.
Hmmm. That was a good day.
"Mrs Jones?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry. You were saying?"
"We have your husband’s watch. He left it during his last visit with us. We tried him twice, but we couldn’t reach him. Yours is the alternative number he put in the booking form."
"Uh, sir, I think you have the wrong number."
"I’m speaking to Stephanie Jones, right? Your husband’s name is—" There’s some rustling in the background before he comes back on the line. "Thomas Jones."
I feel as if I’m underwater. There’s water rushing in my ears. I sweat.
"Sir, when was my husband there?"
Thomas mentioned nothing about going to the hotel to me. I just can’t fathom what he’d be doing at a hotel.
"It seems he’s been here three times in the last month. Twice last week, on Tuesday and on Thursday afternoon. Then again on the third."
Maybe he was there for business or something.
I guess I’m silent for a beat too long because Richard continues, "Oh my. I’m so sorry, Miss. I just assumed that you were the lady with him when I saw him last Thursday. I apologise."
Click.
He was there with a woman?!
I need to breathe.
I head to the patio for some fresh air.
This can’t be happening.
The fresh air doesn’t seem to help, as I feel bile rising, and I dash to the downstairs toilet. I lose all my breakfast.
I puke until there’s nothing left inside of me.
I feel hollow.
Thomas was there with another woman.
There’s no mistaking what I hear from that man.
I make quick work of cleaning myself up. All on autopilot.
I pick up my phone to call my sister and dissect this with her. No, I need to talk to Thomas first. I owe him that. This could all be a misunderstanding.
Please God, let it be a misunderstanding.
I was going to cook beef stroganoff with egg noodles and a garden salad. It’s one of his favourite meals that I make. I don’t have the energy for such a large and time-consuming cook anymore. So I opt for a simple beef curry with white rice. I think we have leftover salads that we can scrounge up in the fridge.
Before I know it, I hear the door shut and check the time. 5:30 p.m. Where did the time go?
"Hey, Baby." He leaves his bag on the bar stool and ambles over to me.
He hugs me from behind, kissing my neck and breathing me in. On any normal day, I’d be naked and ready for him, but not today. I turn in his arms, and when I get a good look at his face, I see that he looks more tired than normal. Concern for him takes over.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just tired, Baby." He smiles tiredly.
"Thomas. You need to take a rest. You’re working yourself too hard."
"I’m trying to stay ahead in the game, baby. You know there are many up-and-coming IT specialists, and I want my customers to remember that I’m the best."
"At the expense of your health?" I run my hands up and down his arms. His arms move from my waist to cup my cheeks.
"I love how much you care for me." His thumbs caress my cheeks.
I sigh.
I love this man.
When I open my eyes, his watch-less hand stares back at me. All the warm and fuzzy feelings stop immediately when I think about the conversation that we need to have. I decide to have it after dinner.
"Come on, go change. I’ll set up the table."
We always eat at the table with no phones in hand and no TV playing in the background. That’s one thing we agreed on early on in our marriage.
I set up the table and plate up for him.
He comes in freshly showered, wearing shorts and a T-shirt and barefoot.
"Thanks, baby." He kisses my forehead as he sits down.
"How was your day?" he asks me.
Oh boy, you don’t want to know.
"It was okay. What about you? Whatever happened to that virus your client had on his computer? Is that what you were working on?"
I quickly divert to him for fear of spilling my guts.
"Yeah, that’s what we were working on so tirelessly. We’re almost there. We’ve cleaned seventy-eight per cent of the servers..." He goes on to explain, but my head and heart are not into it. I smile where needed and give a noncommittal uh-huh to keep up pretences.
I keep glancing at his plate to check if he’s finished and I can broach the subject that’s been weighing heavily on my mind all day.
"Are you not hungry today? Are you feeling well?" He reaches out to touch my forehead with the back of his palm.
I shrug him off.
"I’m fine."
"You’re fine?"
"Where were you last week, Tuesday and Thursday?" I can’t keep it in anymore. I need to know the truth.
"What?" He chuckles and then darts his eyes away from me.
"Answer the question. Please."
"I was at work, baby, you know this. I think I stopped to run some errands after work, but I can’t be sure. It’s been a whole week. What’s going on?" He scratches the back of his head but still won’t meet my eyes.
Is he going to flat-out lie to me?
