Chapter 4
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I still loved my husband.
Thinking of Jeffery snapped me back to reality, finally pulling me out of that whirlpool of confusion.
Since the car would take some time to repair, I left the keys with Stanley at the shop and took a cab home.
When I got back, Jeffery wasn’t there yet.
As I was about to start dinner, I glanced out the floor-to-ceiling window and saw something that made my heart race.
Whether it was for the thrill or just carelessness, the woman across the street, with long hair cascading down her back, was lying naked on a lounge chair, arching her hips seductively toward someone.
By the time I finished washing the vegetables and looked out again, the two of them were wrapped in each other’s arms.
The scene was so explicit that I blushed.
But what shocked me even more was that, from my angle, I could see the woman’s belly slightly swollen. She must have been at least five months pregnant.
I couldn’t believe how bold they were being.
Suddenly, Jeffery’s words echoed in my mind:
“Adria, if only you were pregnant. I’ve always wanted to try it with a pregnant woman. I wonder if it feels tighter…”
What terrified me even more was that the man across the street was wearing SpongeBob boxers—exactly the same pair I’d bought for Jeffery.
Panic welled up inside me.
I quickly called Jeffery.
No answer the first time, so I tried again. He finally picked up on the second call.
“What’s up, honey? I have a meeting tonight and won’t be home until after eight. Go ahead and start dinner without me.”
My heart felt like it had been drenched in ice water.
Because just a moment ago, I saw the man across the street answer a call too.
I called Jeffery a third and fourth time. I watched as the man across the street glanced down at his phone, tapped on the screen a few times, and then tossed it onto the sofa.
Meanwhile, Jeffery’s phone went straight to voicemail.
At that moment, my heart sank.
What should I do? Should I march over there and confront him, or should I swallow my pride and keep up the appearance of the perfect wife everyone expects me to be?
I sat in the living room, lost in thought, until dusk fell.
With a click, the door opened. Jeffery was home.
Seeing me sitting silently on the couch, Jeffery didn’t notice anything was wrong. Instead, he started questioning me:
“You didn’t make dinner?”
When I didn’t respond, he got even more aggressive.
“What’s your problem, Adria?”
“You sit at home all day doing nothing but spending my money, and now you can’t even bother to cook? Are you trying to starve me?”
I let out a cold laugh.
“Starve? How could you be hungry?”
“Didn’t you just have your fill sneaking around with the neighbor?”
“What are you talking about? Now you’re talking in riddles?”
As he continued to play dumb, I pulled up the photos I had taken from the window and shoved them in his face.
“Even a thief won’t steal from their own backyard, but you couldn’t resist going after a pregnant woman right across the street?
“Jeffery, you must be really desperate to go for anything that comes your way. Doesn’t it make you sick?”
Seeing the evidence, Jeffery dropped the act.
“Is this too much for you, Adria? Let me tell you, Dona and I have been together for a while now.”
I finally understood why he never had the energy for me.
It’s just like they say: when someone isn’t hungry at home, it’s because they’ve been eating elsewhere.
I felt a wave of self-pity wash over me.
“And by the way, the baby she’s carrying is mine!”
What? Dona’s baby is Jeffery’s?
“She’s not like you, Adria. We’ve been married for years, and you haven’t even been able to give me a child.”
