Chapter 1

I left work early to go home, only to walk in on my wife and her friend chatting away in the kitchen, deep in conversation.

Ashley spooned some soup and offered it to Mark, her friend, to taste.

Their expressions were completely normal, though, not a hint of anything out of place.

At dinner, Mark even joked with me.

“Leo, you’re not mad that I was just chatting with your wife, are you?”

I smiled and shook my head.

But then, something strange hit me. The bedsheets, which I’d changed that very morning, had been replaced with an identical set.

A prickling sensation of unease began to creep over me.

While Ashley was in the shower, I meticulously checked the bedsheets.

That morning, I'd accidentally flicked a marker pen, leaving a faint black line on the bottom edge of the sheet.

It was pretty light, barely noticeable, so I hadn't bothered with it.

I flipped the sheet inside out, top to bottom, but couldn't find that black line anywhere.

Just then, Ashley walked in, wrapped in a towel.

“Honey, what are you doing?”

“And why are you all sweaty?”

I fanned myself with my hand, trying to act casual. “Just really hot, that’s all.”

“Ashley, these sheets… weren’t they changed this morning?”

She paused for a second, then furrowed her brow.

“Yes, honey, you saw me change them, didn’t you?”

My heart sank. The sheets really had been changed twice in one day.

I rubbed my temples, forcing a smile.

“Guess I’m just overheating and losing my mind.”

Suddenly, Ashley’s phone buzzed with a text message.

She quickly swiped her phone, staring at the screen, and let out a soft laugh.

I tilted my head, trying to glimpse her phone, but realized she’d put on a privacy screen protector.

“Ashley, what’s so funny?”

At my question, she quickly put her phone away.

“Just some funny internet memes, they’re hilarious.”

I nodded, wrapping an arm around her slender waist.

“Honey, tonight…”

Before I could finish, she gently pushed me away.

“Honey, you’re all sweaty. Go take a shower.”

“Then you’ll wait for me, right?”

I rushed through a shower, no more than 10 minutes from start to finish.

But by the time I returned to the bedroom, Ashley was already in bed, eyes closed.

“Honey, I’m really tired today. Maybe another time.”

“Alright, you sleep. I’m going to have a smoke.”

I stood on the balcony, angrily puffing on a cigarette.

From all the signs today, Ashley and Mark’s relationship was clearly more than just platonic.

I decided I needed to test them, to see if my suspicions were true.