The office building had this weird vibe as I walked up. I'd been through the glass doors a zillion times, but today it all felt off, like I was seeing a different place.

My heels echoed on the floor.

*Click. Click. Click.*

Each step felt like a huge effort, like I was trying to wade through mud.

The security guard, Mr. Peterson, grinned from his desk.

“Hey, Mrs. Matthews! You're here today, it's been a while ma”

I managed a smile, and nodded my head as I couldn't speak clearly. My face felt like it was ready to crack if I moved any muscles.

“Your husband came in about an hour ago,”

Mr. Peterson said, flipping through his logbook. A Saturday is strange, but I guess he's always working, right?

An hour ago. Jake told me he was going to the gym.

Another lie.

“Sure,”

I croaked. My voice was thin, like it was coming from someone else far away.

I shuffled to the elevator, hands trembling like crazy. I hit the button for the fifth floor—our floor. The place I built with my parents' money. The place Jake always called ours but treated like his.

The elevator whirred as it started up. I watched the numbers light up.

*One. Two. Three.*

My pulse was pounding faster with each floor.

*Four. Five.*

The doors opened with a soft ding.

The floor was silent. Empty. Almost nobody works here on Saturdays. Only the die-hard staffs and the ones trying to hide stuff.

My office was at the end of the hall, right next to Jake's. We set it up that way when we started the business. So we’re always close, Jake said. Then he would kiss my forehead.

I walked slowly, not wanting to make a sound. Past the empty cubicles and desks. Past the meeting room where we had closed our big deal before I started staying home. Past the kitchen where Jake always made my coffee.

Everything looked ordinary. Everything felt amiss.

Jake’s office door was shut. A sliver of light peeked in from underneath.

I paused. My hand reached for the handle, then froze. What if I was wrong? What if I was losing it? What if Emma had it all wrong? What if there was an easy explanation for that condom wrapper?

But I knew. I had known since I saw that video. Maybe even before. Maybe I had known for months and was just trying to ignore it.

My hand touched the cold doorknob again.

I heard something. A sound came through the door.

Laughter, a female laugh. Easy, light, bubbly. The kind of laugh you have when you’re carefree.

Then Jake’s voice, murmuring and warm. The same voice he used at home with me early in the morning.

“You’re so pretty, you know that?”

More laughter.

“You really know how to charm a girl.”

My hand stuck to the doorknob like glue. My body was frozen.

“Seriously,” Jake added. “I've never felt this way before.”

Never felt this way before. His words sliced into my gut.

What about our wedding? What about when Lily was born? What about all the times he whispered I love you in the middle of the night?

Was it all fake?

My hand gave the door knob a twist. Not locked. Why would it be? Jake assumed I was at home with Lily. He assumed that he was safe.

The door swung open.

The first thing I registered was the desk. Jake’s clunky wooden desk, the one I picked out for him a couple of years ago. The one with our family photo in the silver frame sitting on top.

Jake was sitting on top of that desk. His shirt was partially unbuttoned. His hair was tousled.

A woman was standing right between Jake’s legs. Her back was facing me, but I could already see her long red hair, her skin-tight black dress, her hands resting on Jake’s shoulders.

They didn’t hear me come in. They were too busy kissing.

I felt like I was submerged in diesel. Everything was moving like a bad dream. I could see Jake’s hands touching the woman’s waist. I could see the way he pulled her in. I saw the family photo get knocked over, facing downward on the desk.

“Jake,” I said.

I barely whispered, but in the quiet office it felt deafening.

Jake’s head shot up. His eyes stretched wide. All the color seeped out of his tan skin.

The woman twirled around.

My knees almost gave way.

It was Rebecca. Rebecca from accounting. Sweet, shy Rebecca who always liked my dress. Rebecca who had come to our house for Lily’s b-day a few months ago and she even brought her a stuffed animal.

Rebecca turned beet red. Her hands shot to her mouth like she had seen a ghost.

“Chloe—”

Jake jumped off the desk and frantically started buttoning his shirt with his shaking fingers. “This is not what it looks like, I can explain—”

“Explain?”

The word felt like venom in my mouth. I stared at Rebecca.

“You were at my daughter’s birthday.”

Rebecca’s eyes glazed over with tears.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I never wanted—”

“Get out.” My voice sounded even. Calm. Sharp.

Rebecca grabbed her purse and bolted past me, not able to meet my eyes. Her footsteps thudded down the hallway. The elevator bell rang. Then stillness.

Jake and I were in the office, staring at each other. The office we created. The office where we decided about our future.

“How long?” I asked.

“Chloe, listen—”

“How. Long.”

Jake dragged his hand through his hair. He always did that when he was worried or nervous. I knew all his habits. I thought I knew him.

“Six months,” he whispered.

Six months. Half a year. While I was taking care of Lily. While I was taking care of the house. While I was supporting his family. While I was trying to be the perfect wife.

“The business trip to Seattle?” My voice sounded frail.

Jake stared at his feet. “I was still here. In the city. With Rebecca the whole time.”

I barely nodded. It was starting to make sense now. Emma seeing him. The Instagram video. The text “Does she know yet?”

“Does everyone know?” I asked.

His silence said enough.

I felt something shrivel inside me. Not my heart—that was a wreck this morning after the condom wrapper. This was worse. Something that had tied my whole world together.

But I didn’t break down and cry. I didn’t yell. I just stared at the man I married seven years back. The one I had blindly trusted. The man who was a wolf in sheep clothing.

“I’m going home,” I said. My voice was calm. Too calm. “We’ll talk about it later.”

“Chloe, please wait—”

But I was already turning away. I padded back down the hallway. Already hitting the elevator button.

As the doors started closing, I saw Jake in his office, all alone and looking lost.

The elevator lowered. I stared at my reflection in the glossy walls. I looked the same as before. Same everything.

But inside, it was all different.

When I hit the lobby, Mr. Peterson greeted me with a kind smile. “Have a good one, Mrs. Matthews!”

I brushed past him without answering and headed through the glass doors. In the sunlight.

I sat in my car for a long time. My hands tight on the wheel. I couldn’t get anywhere. I couldn’t drive home—Jake would tail me. Couldn’t involve my parent… too many questions.

My phone buzzed. A text.

From Emma: “You okay? Can we talk?”

I glared at the message. Emma knew everything. Emma tried telling me.

Another text. This one from an unknown number:

“We need to talk about Jake. Meet me at Riverside Cafe at noon. Come alone. - A Friend”

My hands started to tremble again.

Who was this? Information? What else do I not know?

I looked up at the office building one more time. Up at the window on the fifth floor. Jake’s office.

What else was he hiding?