I forced myself to stay calm for Lucas’s sake. My mind was spinning, but I didn’t ask more questions right then.
Instead, I buckled him into the back seat and started the car with shaking hands.
But I didn’t drive home.
I drove to the corner of our street.
“Stay quiet,” I told him gently. “We’re just going to watch for a minute.”
We parked behind a cluster of trees where our house was still visible.
Less than ten minutes later, my worst fear unfolded in front of my eyes.
The front door opened.
Michael stepped out.
But he wasn’t wearing his work suit.
He was dressed casually.
Behind him came a woman in her thirties.
She was wrapped in my bathrobe, her hair damp like she had just showered.
She laughed softly, touched Michael’s arm, and kissed him before stepping toward the walkway.
Then something even worse happened.
Michael bent down and picked something up from the porch.
Lucas’s little blue teddy bear.
The same one he had searched for the night before before going to bed.
Michael held it for a moment, smiling.
Then he handed it to the woman.
She waved it playfully and laughed.
Michael laughed too.
The air seemed to leave my lungs.
It wasn’t just betrayal.
It felt like something sacred had been violated.