I didn’t recognize the name, but I answered anyway.
“Hey, baby…”
The woman’s voice was warm, syrupy, and far too intimate to be accidental.
“You’re not answering. Did she leave already? I’ve been waiting for you all night…”
My stomach twisted. My throat tightened.
I ended the call so quickly my hands were shaking.
What was that?..
I looked down at the phone. The familiar cracked corner. The worn protective case…
It wasn’t my phone.
“Damn it…”
I dumped everything out of my purse.
Of course.
Jake and I had accidentally switched phones before leaving the house.
I was holding HIS phone.
Alex.
Her voice echoed through my mind.
I stood frozen.
The bank could wait.
My eyes drifted to the messages Jake hadn’t even bothered deleting.
“See you in thirty minutes.” / “Miss you already.”
Then it clicked.
What if…
Ten minutes later, I quietly slipped back into the house and placed the phone on the kitchen table exactly where it belonged.
Right on cue, Jake came inside and flashed me a grin.
“Hey! Did you see my phone?”
“On the table. Right where you left it.”
“You’re my lifesaver.”
Not today, Jake. Not anymore.
I watched him send a quick message before walking out again. He didn’t even bother kissing me goodbye.
“I’ll be late! Meetings. Don’t wait up!”
Sure.
Meetings.
The second he drove away, I slipped outside, flagged the first taxi I saw, and followed him.
A short while later, the cab stopped outside a cozy house with green shutters.
An open window carried HER voice into the street—bright, sugary, impossible to ignore.
From the backseat, I watched Jake wrap his arms around a beautiful blonde woman.
“Okay, hubby. Let’s play your game together…”
I wanted to look her in the eye.
So I waited until Jake drove away before stepping out of the cab and walking straight to the little green-shuttered house.
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