Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Four months into my pregnancy, my husband’s mistress moved into the apartment below us.
The new neighbor downstairs often found items from our home–socks, shirts, even shorts and T–shirts.
At first, I thought it was a coincidence and didn’t pay much attention.
Until one day, she knocked on my door in a thin nightgown, holding a pair of gray boxers in her hand.
In that moment, my heart stopped.
Because those boxers were new. I had bought them for my husband, and he had worn them out this morning.
The sight of those gray boxers made my mind go blank, as if a bomb had just gone off in my head.
Then, the memories of this morning came rushing back.
Gavin had been teasing me in bed early that morning. He didn’t get up until eight, grabbing clothes to wear in a rush.
I distinctly remembered him picking up the brand–new gray boxers.
But why were they now in the hands of our new neighbor, Nicole Gracelynn?!
“Hannah, sorry to bother you so early.”
“You see, I found something of yours again!”
Nicole’s smile was radiant, her fingers–painted in bright red nail polish–dangling the corner of the boxers in the air.
My throat went dry, and I clenched my fists so tightly my nails dug into my palms, grounding myself.
“Gavin doesn’t own gray boxers,” I said.
Nicole laughed, covering her mouth as her eyes scanned me up and down.
“Hannah, I’ll leave this at your door!”
With that, she swayed her hips and walked away, one step at a time.
I stared at the gray boxers hanging from the door handle, frozen.
This wasn’t the first time she had found something from our home.
Since she moved in a week ago, she’d been finding things of ours repeatedly.
Socks, shirts, shorts, T–shirts.
I had thought nothing of it at first, but now it felt like someone had hit me over the head with a club, and my mind became crystal clear..
I sank weakly onto the couch, suddenly remembering the day Nicole moved in.
She had joined the community group chat right away, flamboyantly announcing that she had come here to pursue true love.
But I never expected that her so–called “true love” would turn out to be my husband.
And worse, they might already have been involved.
The thought made my chest ache, a pain that spread to my stomach.
I didn’t want to believe Gavin would cheat on me. Clinging to a shred of hope, I shakily dialed his number.
Before I could hit call, my phone buzzed with several messages from Nicole.
Chapter 1
“We’re in love. Just letting you know.”
“Be smart and leave early!”
And then, one after another, came a series of photos.
In the photos, Nicole was wearing Gavin’s white doctor’s coat, sitting on his lap.
The poses were suggestive, the actions explicit.
There were even pictures of them role–playing in a couple’s hotel.
The countless intimate photos were too much for me to process.
I couldn’t stop myself from enlarging the images, examining every detail.
Then I noticed the small nick on Gavin’s index finger and the date on the photos.
It was like a bomb went off in my mind, leaving only a blank void and a deafening buzz.
The date on the photos–just shortly after we got married.
That was Gavin’s first long business trip.
He had followed online advice and reported his daily itinerary to me during that trip.
But had they already been involved back then?
My phone slipped from my trembling hands, hitting the floor with a loud thud.
I stood up, my legs unsteady.
The TV in the living room reflected my image.
My long hair, now cut short to my ears because of the pregnancy.
Four months pregnant, my belly heavy and cumbersome.
I stood there in the living room for half an hour, unmoving, until a reminder for my prenatal check–up appeared on my phone.
I snapped out of it, calmly dressed, and headed downstairs to hail a cab to the hospital.
But this time, I wasn’t going for a prenatal check–up. I was going to schedule an abortion.
“Are you sure you want to terminate the pregnancy?”
At the hospital, the doctor tried to persuade me multiple times, but I shook my head firmly each time.
“Alright then. Please leave your husband’s contact information.”
I gave Gavin’s name and number, then added,
“Could you call him only after the procedure is done?”
“He’s very busy, I don’t want to disturb him.”
The doctor’s gaze suddenly filled with sympathy before nodding in agreement.
After completing all the arrangements, I returned home as if nothing had happened, even stopping to buy groceries on the way.
