Wait, What? We’ve Been Married Ten Years! What Mistress? You’re More Than Enough for Me!

“What do you mean? We’ve been married ten years! What mistress? Youre more than enough for me!”

Emma couldnt help herself. She could feel in her bones that her husband was cheating. The uncertainty gnawed at her. One evening, she finally mustered the courage to confront him outright.

She askedstraight outwas it true or not? But he only replied:

“What do you mean? Weve been married ten years! What mistress? Youre more than enough for me!”

James spoke earnestly, his smile steady, his eyes clear. She couldnt spot a single flaw in his words or his expression. And yetsomething still unsettled her.

Emma wasnt one to leave things to fate. She was determined to uncover the truth, but how?

After scouring advice online, she decided to check his phone first. Nothing stood outjust idle chatter with a couple of old schoolmates, which didnt bother her. So what?

James never bothered with a passcode. “Nothing to hide,” he always said. No secret chats, no deleted messages. A perfect saint.

Sometimes, Emma convinced herself she was imagining things. But every time he came home late from work, that same uneasy feeling crept back.

Her best friend, Sophie, always told her:

“Youre overthinking it! James adores youhed never look at another woman! Youre ruining things with your suspicions!”

But Emma wouldnt listen. Her gut told her otherwise, and she refused to share her husband with anyone.

Once, she even followed himshowed up at his office to see if he was really working or sneaking about. He was furious when he spotted her. “Embarrassing me in front of my colleagues!” She spent days apologising, but he forgave quickly.

By all accounts, their life was perfect. A lovely home in Surrey. Two growing children. Everything to be happy about. And yetEmma couldnt shake the feeling something was off.

As they saylook hard enough, and youll find trouble. But so far, shed found nothing.

Still, she worried. Like many women in their thirties, she dreaded the thought of being left alone with two children. Outwardly, she remained composed, but inside, she was a storm.

No evidence ever pointed to James. No lipstick on his shirts, no foreign perfume, no sudden changes in appearance or habits. And yetshe *knew*.

If not for one fluke, she might never have uncovered the truth. Real or imagined? Time would tell.

When their youngest started Year One, Emma decided to learn to drive. She took evening lessons after work. Three months later, she passed her test and got her licence.

James was so proud he bought her a cara little Fiat, nothing fancy, but perfect for her slim frame and easy to park.

Though hed never admit it, he bought it partly so she wouldnt ask to drive his Audi. “You need more experience first,” hed say.

One weekend, Emma woke early and decided to surprise the family with their favouritechicken and mushroom pie. She grabbed the ingredientsonly to realise they were out of flour.

A frost clung to the morning, the roads icy, but shed grown confident driving in winter. Shed just nip to the shops. But her Fiat wouldnt start.

She tiptoed back insideeveryone still asleepthen, rather than walk in the cold, made a reckless choice: shed take Jamess car without asking. Only a couple of mileshed never know.

Emma snatched his keys and headed back out. While the Audi warmed up, she wiped the windscreen, reaching into the glovebox for tissues. Her hand brushed somethinga phone clattered to the floor.

She picked it up. Not his. Shed recognise his phone anywhere. This one was unfamiliar. At first, she thought hed accidentally taken someone elses. But curiosity wonshe pressed the button.

The first thing she saw was a text from a woman named Rebecca.

“My love, I miss you so much! Come to me quicklyI cant wait!”

Emma blinked. No password. She scrolled through the messages. The cars engine hummed as she read.

The texts spanned months. A lifetime of deceit.

She learned James finished work at fivebut never came home before seven. Shed never thought to check.

Every day, he stopped by his beloved Rebeccas for an hour before returning as if nothing happened. The words he wrote herEmma had never heard anything like them from him.

Photos showed an older womanforty, at least. What on earth did he see in her?

Emmas anger flared. She was about to storm back inside when she spotted James stepping out of their building.

Shed left a note saying shed gone to the shop. He mustve seized the moment to text Rebecca again.

Only now did Emma recall how often he slipped out at nightforgetting his wallet, needing something from the car. Nearly every evening. Quick tripsnothing suspicious.

James spotted her in his Audi and marched over.

“Who said you could take it? We never agreed to this!”

Emmas fury surged. She buckled up, slammed into reverse, and hit the gas. The car screeched into the fence behind her. A small relief.

She stepped out, glaring at her stunned husband.

“Go to her, then! Lets see how much she wants you without your house and car! Go! I never want to see you again!”

To drive the point home, she hurled his Audi keys into a snowdrift and stormed inside.

The boys were waking up, confused. Minutes later, James tried the doorbut Emma had bolted it.

“Go to her! Dont you dare come back!” she shouted.

James had no choice. In slippers, a dressing gown, and a thin jacket, he trudged to Rebeccas. Surely shed take him in.

She opened the doorbut a mans voice called from inside.

“Darling, are you coming? Ive been waiting!”

James only visited Rebecca on weekdays. Weekends, it turned out, she had *another* suitor. Why waste a weekend alone?

She gave him an apologetic look and shut the door in his face.

Defeated, James dragged himself to his mothers house two streets over.

Margaret, sharp as ever, took one look and understood. She fed him, warmed him, listened to his tale of a cruel wife whod thrown him out over nothing, then said soothingly:

“Dont worry, love. Who knew Emma would turn out like this? Your luck will changeyoure only thirty-five! Youll find real love, mark my words.”

So James stayed with his mother, determined to start fresh. He even felt a spark of relieffreedom at last.

Until Emma filed for child support.

Only then did he realise how hard starting over would be. At least his mother hadnt abandoned himor hed have been truly lost.

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