The Other Woman

Chapter 4: The Other Woman

The lipstick stain wasn't there when Ethan left that morning.

Amelia knew because she had been the one who helped him put on that suit.

Now, a deep red mark sat on the collar of his black jacket.

Her fingers froze.

For several seconds, she simply stared at it.

  Her mind refused to make sense of what she was seeing.

Maybe it was nothing.

Maybe someone had accidentally brushed against him.

Maybe…

Then she heard the front door open.

Ethan was home.

Amelia quickly set down the book she had been reading and walked toward the entrance.

"You're back."

Ethan removed his watch as he stepped inside.

"Mm."

His eyes briefly met hers before moving away.

Amelia smiled faintly.

"How was your day?"

"Busy."

The usual answer.

She reached for his jacket.

"I'll take that."

He handed it to her without question.

Amelia turned toward the coat stand.

Then she saw it again.. ,The lipstick.

Her smile disappeared.

"Ethan..."

He turned.

"What?"

Amelia lifted the jacket slightly.

"There is something on this."

His eyes dropped to the stain.

For a moment, his expression changed.

Only slightly,But Amelia noticed.

Then his face became unreadable again.

"It's nothing."

"Nothing?"

Amelia stared at him.

"It looks like lipstick."

"It is."

Her heart sank.

She swallowed.

"Whose?"

Silence.Ethan looked away.

Amelia's grip tightened around the jacket.

She hated how quickly her mind began creating possibilities.

She hated the sudden heat behind her eyes.

Most of all, she hated that a tiny red stain had managed to make her feel like a stranger in her own marriage.

"Ethan," she repeated quietly. 

"Whose lipstick is that?”

Ethan didn't answer.

Before Amelia could ask again, the doorbell rang.

Ethan looked toward the entrance.

A moment later, the maid appeared.

"Mr. Blackwood, Miss Reynolds is here."

Amelia's stomach tightened.

Sophia.

She hadn't expected her.

Sophia entered wearing an elegant cream-colored dress, her long black hair falling perfectly over her shoulders.

She smiled when she saw Ethan.

"There you are."

Then her eyes moved toward Amelia.

The smile became smaller.

"Mrs. Blackwood."

Amelia nodded politely.

"Sophia."

Sophia walked closer to Ethan.

"I brought the documents from the meeting."

She handed him a folder.

Their fingers touched.

It was brief.

But Amelia noticed.

Sophia noticed that she noticed.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"You are," Amelia said quietly.

Sophia's eyebrows lifted.

Ethan looked at his wife.

Amelia immediately regretted the sharpness in her voice.

"I mean... it's late."

Sophia smiled.

"I understand."

But there was something about that smile Amelia didn't like.

She turned toward Ethan.

"We should probably discuss the remaining details."

Amelia watched them.

There was something about the way Sophia looked at Ethan.

Something familiar.

Something possessive.

And suddenly, the rumors she'd heard years ago didn't feel like rumors anymore.

Sophia had once been the woman Ethan was supposed to marry.

Everyone knew it.

Amelia had simply chosen not to think about it.

Until now.

"I'll leave you two to your business."

She turned away.

Sophia's voice stopped her.

"Oh, Amelia?"

Amelia looked back.

"Yes?"

Sophia glanced at Ethan before smiling.

"Don't worry. Ethan and I have always worked very well together."

The words sounded innocent.

But Amelia heard the message underneath.

You don't belong here.

She forced a smile.

"Goodnight."

She walked upstairs.

But she didn't go to the bedroom.

Instead, she stopped halfway down the hallway.

She could hear their voices from below.

Too quiet to understand.

Then Sophia laughed.

Amelia closed her eyes.

She hated herself for listening.

She hated the jealousy tightening inside her chest.

Most of all...

She hated that she was afraid.

Afraid that maybe everything she had spent three years refusing to believe was true.

She slowly walked toward the bedroom.

Nearly thirty minutes later, the front door opened again.

Sophia stepped outside.

Ethan followed her.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said.

He nodded.

She moved closer.

"Goodnight, Ethan."

Before getting into her car, Sophia reached up and straightened his collar.

Her red lipstick left another faint mark near his neck.

Ethan didn't stop her.

The car disappeared through the gates.

Amelia watched from the upstairs window.

Her heart felt strangely numb.

A few minutes later, Ethan entered the bedroom.

Amelia was sitting on the edge of the bed.

He stopped when he saw her.

"You haven't slept."

"No."

She looked at him.

Then at his jacket.

"Ethan..."

He remained silent.

"Were you with Sophia?"

The question hung between them.

For the first time that night,Ethan looked directly into her eyes.

His expression was impossible to read.

Amelia waited.

A Second, Two…..,Three……..,

She needed only one word.

Yes Or no…..Instead...

Ethan said nothing.

He simply turned away.

And that silence hurt more than any answer could have.

Amelia's fingers tightened around the bedsheet.

"Ethan..."

He walked toward the bathroom without looking back.

The door closed.

Amelia remained frozen on the bed.

She had spent three years convincing herself there was nothing between Ethan and Sophia.

But tonight...

She wasn't so sure anymore.

Then her phone suddenly vibrated.

An unknown number.

She stared at the screen.

A message appeared.

“You deserve to know what your husband has been hiding from you”.

Amelia's heart stopped.

Another message arrived.

One attachment.

A photograph.

Her breathing stopped.

She stared at the screen.

Who had sent this?

And why?

Her thumb hovered over the picture.

She didn't want to open it.

Something deep inside her warned her not to.

But curiosity was stronger than fear.

She tapped the screen.

The photograph loaded.

Amelia's face slowly lost its color.

Her lips parted.

"No..."

She zoomed in.

Her hands began to tremble.

Whatever she was looking at...

It wasn't something she had expected to see.

And suddenly, the woman who had spent three years believing she understood her marriage realized something terrifying.

She didn't know her husband nearly as well as she thought.

Amelia stared at the photograph again.

Then her phone slipped from her fingers.

It landed softly on the bed.

But the image remained glowing on the screen.

And for the first time since she became Mrs. Blackwood...

Amelia wondered if the man she loved had been lying to her from the very beginning.