I managed a thin smile, my chest tightening. "Nothing... I just miss..."
He cut me off with a playful wink. "I know, love. You miss me that much, huh?" He got up, casting a quick glance at the kitchen. "Let me check on the food. It’s your favorite tonight." He gave me one last smile before strolling to the kitchen, so casual, so... clueless.
The moment he disappeared, I exhaled sharply. My heart pounded, and I felt a sudden fullness—not from the food but from the weight of his charade.
That’s when I noticed his phone, abandoned on the table, its screen lighting up briefly. Curiosity took hold, and I reached for it, hands steady but my heart racing.
I tried to unlock it. I started with his birthday. Nothing. Then mine. Still nothing. I attempted our anniversary, even the date we lost our first child. Each time, the screen rejected me, and with each failed attempt, the knot in my stomach tightened.
Just as I was about to give up, I remembered the email—the one with that embedded date. My heart dropped. It was the date of his mistress’s first ultrasound.
I hesitated, then typed it in, "09022024."
The phone unlocked.
My breath caught, and suddenly everything felt like a room caging me.