Chapter 2 -Let’s Do the Same to Them

By the time I reached home, evening had already settled over the house. God knows how I managed the drive. The entire way back had been nothing but painful screams and raw, breathless crying. My lungs felt heavy, my thoughts tangled and sharp, and I barely remembered the roads I took. One truth, however, stood out with brutal clarity: Nova had been cheating with my husband for years .

I remembered how she had always given me advice about my marriage, especially on how to spice up our sex life. Once she had even suggested role-play. When I tried it, Silas claimed he had a phobia for it and refused to touch me for days afterward. Now I was certain she had known exactly what she was doing. She simply hadn’t wanted him touching me. I also remembered how she comforted me every time a pregnancy test came back negative, telling me God would bless me just as He had blessed her. I was pretty by that time she had known Silas was switching my pills, and she had known the child she carried belonged to my husband. Behind our backs they had been planning a new family of their own.

Jeez, what was going on? How had they even started?

My eyes still blurry and my hands unsteady , I stepped out of the car and walked into our bedroom. I poured cold water over myself without bothering to undress, soaking my clothes in the desperate hope that this was only a dream. It wasn’t. I had seen everything. And every time I tried to convince myself it couldn’t be real, another missing clue surfaced. No wonder our sex life had always been so unsatisfying. He could never fully satisfy two women at once.

Still, one thing remained certain: I was not going to confront him yet. I needed to understand the man behind this perfect-husband mask and see just how far he was willing to carry the lie.

I had only managed to place the pillows weakly beside me and steady myself on the bed when I heard him enter. Without warning he came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face against my neck with familiar affection. I flinched, my hands tensing. He kissed my neck and began touching my waist the same way he always did when he wanted something intimate, his hands searching and caressing while his body gradually covered mine.

“God, I missed you, honey,” he murmured softly.

The same endearment he had used with Nova. The same gestures. The same performance.

I turned toward him, lowering my angry gaze.

“I’m sorry I was delayed,” he said gently. “Work was heavy. I know I said I’d be back early, but it was so tight. I was thinking about you the whole time. That’s why I rushed back.”

“Work?” I repeated slowly, fighting the urge to slap him hard.

“Yes, honey. There were so many files I needed to—” He stopped mid-sentence, as if he had finally noticed something unusual in my demeanor. He cupped my face. I turned away.

“God, Jesus… Are you okay? You look so pale. Is everything all right?” The concern in his voice sounded so genuine that my stomach twisted.

I steadied my voice until it sounded almost normal. “I’m a bit sick.”

“Did you take your medicine?” He touched my forehead anxiously, the same way he always had.

My heart sank again. Was this entire performance an act that had lasted four years? There had never been a day he didn’t seem genuinely worried about me, and now I knew it had all been a façade.

“Yes, I did. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry. I just need to rest a bit,” I said slowly, reality hitting me once more.

“Okay, honey.”

He pulled out a small box and handed it to me. “Let me freshen up while you check what’s inside.” He kissed me briefly on the lips and disappeared into the bathroom.

I wiped the kiss away with the back of my hand. The gesture felt useless. He had done it every day for years, but now I couldn’t stand even the residual feel of it. When I opened the box, a necklace lay inside. I scoffed under my breath and opened the drawer. It was already full of similar pieces: gold earrings, bracelets, another necklace. Once Nova had worn a brand identical to one of mine and claimed her husband had bought it for her. I sighed. So every time he went to see Nova, he came home with a gift as some kind of apology? Did he really believe I was “strong enough,” the way he had described me earlier in the park?

I shoved the necklace into the drawer with the others, anger burning through me. I had heard enough.

The next day I sat in a chair, tapping my foot nervously and angrily. Across from me sat Tristan, Nova’s husband. I had only met him briefly before, usually at night when he came to pick Nova up from my house, and I had never really looked at him properly. He was slightly older, calm, and composed.

He finished a call, hung up, and turned to me. “I’m sorry for keeping you waiting, Mrs. Valarie. It was urgent.”

I sighed and looked straight at him. “Nova is cheating on you. She has been cheating with my husband for years.” Before he could respond I continued, my voice tightening as I fought back tears raising my hands slightly in helpless frustration. “And worst of all… yesterday I heard your son call him Daddy. Even the child… they’ve been keeping this—”

“I know,” he cut in quietly.

I stared at him, stunned. “Ho—”

He cut me off again, his voice low and steady.

“Then let’s do the same to them.”