Tailgated Shadows

Clover’s POV

My Uber glides to a stop in front of my home in Sherman Oaks, a place I’ve lived in for the last two years but have never truly seen visually until today. The elegant curve of the circle driveway, the tall white pillars, the glass panel doors… everything is slowly becoming clearer. Still fuzzy, but vivid enough to stir something painful and hopeful in my chest.

I thank the driver, send a generous tip, and step out, using my walking stick because I refuse to give up my disguise yet. Not until I know the truth about what I saw, or think I saw.

As soon as I step inside, Jeff my house man, is crossing the foyer, his hands full of folded towels.

“Hi, ma’am. How are you? How was your doctor's appointments today?”

I smile, holding my stick lightly. “Hey, Jeff. I’m good, like really good, actually.” I take a small breath. “Have you talked to Zade today? Is he here?”

Jeff pauses, blinking. “Oh, no, ma’am. Mr. Smith hasn’t been home since he left for work this morning.”

I exhale. A slow, heavy release.

“What time is it again, Jeff?”

He checks his watch. “Around three-thirty. Almost four.”

“Okay. I’m going to go change and come back down.”

“Would you like help going upstairs miss?”

I shake my head. “No. I had a light procedure today, and I’m actually doing pretty well.”

He nods, stepping aside. As I walk toward the staircase, my stick tapping quietly, my other hand trailing along the smooth railing, I keep replaying the moment outside the hospital.

Was that really Zade?

With a pregnant woman?

Did I imagine it? Did my brain make patterns out of shadows?

“No,” I whisper to myself. “It couldn’t have been him. Zade is my entire world, and he would never betray me.”

He’s never given me a reason to doubt him. Never been cold, distant, or cruel to me. When he married me, he promised that he would always protect me, love me, stand by me. And I believed him because he always showed up for me emotionally, physically, and financially. He’s been attentive, patient, and devoted.

But that scent…

That same cologne and aftershave from the hospital. The one I could recognize in a crowd of a thousand, was there.

I push the doubt out of my mind as I reach my bedroom. My walk-in closet is a long rectangle lined with perfectly organized clothes, each labeled with small embroidered braille tags. Black. Blue. Green. Purple. My comfort colors.

I touch fabric after fabric until my fingers land on a long-sleeve button-up cotton dress in black, which was simple and soft. I slip it on and sigh.

“So bland,” I mutter as I look in the mirror. “I need to start dressing like a real person again.”

After changing and sliding into comfortable shoes, I look around my room. The color palette is… masculine. Cool grays, charcoal, and navy. No softness. No warmth. No hint that a woman even lives here. Zade decorated most of the house while I have been becoming more accustomed to my blindness. I never questioned it, but seeing it now?

“That’s going to change too,” I whisper.

My vision is far from perfect, but compared to the last five years, this is a miracle.

The front door opens downstairs then closes.

My breath catches.

That’s him.

I perk up, excitement fluttering for a moment, because I have two huge surprises waiting for him.

Using the walking stick, I head downstairs, counting the steps automatically, just like always. When I reach the landing, he’s already coming toward me.

“Honey,” he says warmly.

And that scent hits me again.

Strong. Familiar.

Too familiar.

My stomach twists.

He’s carrying a bouquet of soft white lilies, my favorite. He presses them gently into my hands.

“These are for you,” he says. “The flowers you love.”

I force a smile. “Thank you.”

He leans in to kiss my cheek, and beneath the cologne, beneath the aftershave....

There it is.

A sweet fragrance I recognize, for a few years now. The kind worn at family barbecues. A scent Daisy always wore.

My body stiffens before I can stop it.

He pulls back. “Are you okay?”

I smile faintly. “Yeah. Just tired.”

He kisses me again, lingering slightly. “Didn’t you have appointments today?”

“Yeah. A few. Still waiting on test results.”

His shoulders relax. “It’ll be okay, honey. Don’t worry about your vision. I still love you anyway.”

The words stab unexpectedly.

Why would he say that now?

He hugs me close, then steps back.

“I’m going to go take a shower.”

I watch him walk up the stairs, his gait relaxed, unbothered, almost too normal. Like nothing is wrong. Like he hasn’t been possibly hiding something massive from me.

I can't ignore it anymore. Was it him at the hospital? And was the woman with him… pregnant?

He disappears into the bedroom, the shower turning on a few seconds later. I decided to follow him up stairs.

His phone buzzes on the dresser.

Before the accident, I never snooped. After losing my vision, I couldn’t. But now? Now the phone is right there, glowing. Drawing me in like a beacon.

Should I take just one quick look? Maybe.... man fuck it.

I pick it up.

There are three new messages.

From: Daisy.

My stomach drops.

I open them.

Baby is great. Hopefully once the baby is born, we can go ahead with our future plans. XOXO. See you soon. Then the last was a photo of a very pregnant Daisy, smiling from ear to ear.

I nearly choke on my own breath.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Future plans?

Future plans with my husband?

Cold creeps across my spine.

I put the phone down fast and sit on the edge of the bed. My mind spins, my heart starts pounding, my hands are trembling.

Zade comes out of the bathroom, his hair damp, body still warm from the steam, looking as devastatingly gorgeous as ever. It hurts. His beauty hurts.

He dresses quickly, then looks over at me.

“You okay, babe? You’re just sitting there.”

I manage a soft smile. “Just thinking about dinner.”

He chuckles. “We can go anywhere you want. Maybe get chicken? Or head to the village? Or maybe somewhere in the valley?”

“Sure,” I say.

But his phone rings.

“Excuse me, hon, it's work.”

He walks into the hallway.

“Yeah… yeah, I’ll meet you there… okay.”

He comes back in, guilt barely masked.

“I’m sorry about dinner. There's an emergency meeting at work. I’ll talk to you later, okay? Find something good to eat babe.”

A quick kiss on the cheek as he grabbed his wallet, keys, watch, and then he was gone.

I wait five seconds. Then I rush for my walking stick and follow him down the stairs.

“Babe, you’re really leaving? You didn’t even give me a chance to...”

“I’m sorry, Clover. I really have to go.”

He quickly leaves.

The door shuts.

Behind him, the truth cracks open inside me.

Jeff is in the living room, dusting.

“Jeff,” I call softly. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Of course, ma’am.”

“Can you drive me somewhere?”

His brows rise slightly, but he nods. “Yes, ma’am.”

We head to the garage. I slip into the back seat of the black Lexus, and Jeff starts the engine.

“Where are we going?”

“Please follow Mr. Smith.”

He hesitates, but obeys.

Zade’s SUV leads us across town. He parks at the Palisades Mall. Jeff hangs back.

I watch with painfully clearer eyesight as Zade steps out of the SUV. A pregnant woman approaches.

Not just any woman.

Daisy. His best friend.

He smiles softly at her, leans down, kisses her on the lips, and takes her hand.

And they walk into the mall together,

like a couple.

My chest splits open.

“Jeff,” I whisper, my voice shaking, “did you see something?”

Jeff swallows hard. “Yes, ma’am.”

“What… exactly did you see?”

“I saw Mr. Smith greet Miss Daisy. He… kissed her. Then they walked in together.”

I nod slowly. “Thank you. Please find a parking spot, because we are going in. ”

He pulls around and finds a handicapped parking spot opposite of Zade's truck.

I sit in the back seat, gripping my walking stick so tightly my knuckles ache.

My husband. My protector. My partner.

Was cheating on me publicly. Fucking brazenly.

And I’m pregnant with his child.

My heartbreak turns sharp. Cold. Controlled.

Don’t worry, Zade.

I will find out everything.

Every lie.

Every secret.

Because you may be my husband…

But I deserve more than this bullshit.

And this time?

You definitely won't see me coming.