5| Sweet Valerie

Sarah's POV

Slowly, carefully, I blinked, pretending to wake. I let my gaze stay unfocused, as if the world were still soft and blurred around the edges. “What box?” I asked quietly, forcing a sleepy softness into my voice.

He just stared, not answering. Instead, he squatted on the floor and began flipping through the files again. His fingers moved slowly, and deliberately. He was counting the papers without letting me see, checking to make sure everything was still there, maybe.

I swallowed hard, my throat painfully dry.

The photograph lay flat against my stomach beneath my nightclothes, hot and sharp against my skin. With every breath, fear flickered—terrified he’d notice the photograph shift.

“Sarah,” he said quietly, without looking up from the box. “You were on the floor last night. Right here.”

I nodded, careful to keep my expression neutral. “I told you, Sean. I couldn’t sleep. I felt dizzy from thinking a lot and needed to sit down.”

He looked up then, his gaze settling on me. It felt like he was searching my mind. I dropped my eyes deliberately, afraid he’d see the fear and anger burning in my them.

“You know I get confused when I think too much,” I added, forcing a small, tired breath. “You know that, don't you?”

A heavy silence settled over the room, long and frightening. Sean stood up slowly, the box still open at his feet.

“You worry too much,” he said again. But this time, it didn’t sound like his usual reassurance. To me, it sounded like a warning, stop looking for things.

My fingers curled beneath the blanket as I pressed the photograph tighter against my skin. One thing struck me with terrifying clarity: if he found it on me, there would be no second chance. He would know I’d discovered his double life—Valerie, the Apex Group, all of it.

He would never let me leave this house with the kids. He might even kill me without hesitation, coldly, as if I were nothing more than a loose end.

Suddenly, he reached down, pulled a few documents from the box and closed the lid with a sharp snap. The sound made me flinch. Then he carried the box back to the wardrobe and shoved it into a dark corner.

“Listen, Sarah, it's fine... I gotta go now, gotta catch my bus for the business trip. Just take care of the kids.” He said, forcing a husbandly tone.

He stood up and shoved the documents he'd pulled from the box into his expensive suitcase, zipping it shut with a sharp pull. He didn’t touch me. No kiss. No whispered ‘I love you.’ Nothing. Just his bag in his hand, and he was gone.

I froze, listening to the heavy thud of his boots on the floor, the front door swinging open… and then slamming shut.

I let out a long sigh of relief. My whole body went soft, and I lay there for a moment, just breathing. The fear was gone—but in its place was a hot burning anger.

Sean didn’t even notice I wasn’t getting ready for work. He didn’t care about me, nor the kids. He only cared about meeting Valerie in the lavish world he’d built on my signature, a world that should've been mine.

I pulled out the photo, my fingers crushing it as I glared at their smiling faces. Sean's arm around her, then I felt it—the chill spreading in my chest like ice water. My love for him hadn't just faded, it had frozen solid.

What a wicked man! my mind screamed. What a monster!

The sound of the bedroom door opening pulled me back to reality. I quickly pushed the photo deeper under my pillow. Ethan and Lily walked in, looking small and confused.

“Good morning, Mom. I…” Ethan started.

“Why didn’t Dad answer us, Mom?” Lily interrupted, her little lip trembling. “We said goodbye to him in the hallway, but he just kept walking.”

Hearing it worsened my anger. It felt like a knife in my heart. My own children were being ignored by their father because he was too busy living a double life with another woman. I carried Lily up, holding her close to my chest.

“Dad’s rushing to catch a bus, baby,” I said, the words tasting like ash in my mouth. I forced a smile, avoiding their eyes. “He probably didn’t hear you properly. He has a lot on his mind.”

She nodded, then Ethan asked, “Mom, are you staying home with us today?” Looking up at me with his big, thoughtful eyes. “Did the shop let you stay home for the weekend?”

His question shattered me. My little boy noticed I was home, he noticed I wasn’t getting ready for work. But the man I’d given seven years of my life to didn’t. Sean didn’t even look at me long enough to notice I wasn’t preparing for work, something I did every weekday without fail, always out the door by seven.

I felt my eyes begin to sting with tears. I tried to hold them back, but they spilled anyway, hot and salty.

Ethan and Lily exchanged a look, fear flickering across their faces as they realized I was crying. Lily lifted her small, soft hand and gently wiped at my tears. I turned my face away, not wanting them to see how broken I felt.

“Why are you crying, Mommy?” Lily asked, her voice trembling, as if she were about to cry too. Ethan looked at me, his eyes shining with tears now. “Mom,” he said softly, “tell us… what’s happening? Did anyone hurt you?”

I was shaking, but I forced a smile that pulled painfully at my face. “Mommy’s just shedding tears of joy,” I said, my voice cracking. I hated lying to them, but they were too young for the truth. “My boss gave me two days off to stay home with you guys. I’m just so happy I don’t have to go to the boutique.”

The children paused and glanced at each other.

“Mom, it’s good news! You’re supposed to be smiling, not crying,” Ethan said. A small smile crept onto his face.

"Yeah!" Lily laughed. "Good news means happy faces, right?"

I nodded sharply. “I am smiling inside, babies,” I said, pulling them both into a hug. “I’m just so happy to be with you. We can play games. We can sit together. I won’t leave you today.”

Lily’s eyes lit up. “Can we make pancakes with the little bit of sugar we have left?”

“Yes,” I promised. “We’ll do everything together.”

We sat together on the bed for a moment, wrapped in a small pocket of peace. Their little bodies were warm against mine, and I held them close, feeling the weight of my need to protect them from the storm I knew was coming.

Then a sound cut through the air.

Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.

It was the sound of a phone vibrating—too loud in the stillness of the room. My gaze went to the small table beside the bed, and my heart skipped a beat. My phone was there on the chair not ringing.

But there was another phone on the table, and it was Sean’s.

“Damn,” I muttered, jumping to my feet.

"What is it, Mom?" Ethan asked, looking surprised.

“Dad forgot his phone,” I said, reaching out to pick it up.

I stared at the screen, my breath catching as the world seemed to stop.

‘Sweet Valerie.’ A wink emoji flashed beside her name. My hand shook violently as the phone buzzed relentlessly like a heartbeat, scorching against my skin. My chest tightened, and for a second, I thought I might drop it or scream.

The phone stopped buzzing for a second, then it started again. She was not giving up. She was waiting for her 'Sean.'

I looked at Ethan and Lily. They were watching me, unaware that the name on the screen was the woman living in our shoes, flaunting everything that was supposed to be ours.

My eyes fixed on the green button. One press and Valerie would know I was alive. One press, and Sean might find out I’d seen everything.

My fingers hovered, trembling. Could I risk it?