“Thank you,” she said simply and turned to leave.
I stood there for a few seconds, staring at the pocket where the phone was hidden, my mind screaming at me to grab it again. But before I could move, I heard the bathroom door open, and Matt came out. He glanced at the jacket, picked it up, and slipped the phone out without even looking at me.
“Everything okay?” he asked casually.
I forced a smile. “Yeah.
Everything’s fine.”
That night, I woke up again. Something pulled me out of sleep, that same quiet, murmuring voice beside me.
This time, the words were clearer:
“She won’t suspect a thing.
We’ve hidden it well.”
My breath caught in my throat. I waited for him to say more, but he didn’t. I lay frozen, staring at him, every thought in my head screaming the same thing — He’s cheating on me.
I watched the ceiling until the first light crept through the curtains, replaying every moment of the past few weeks: the late nights, the locked phone, the messages from Emma.
All I needed now were the facts.
At breakfast, Matt was unusually cheerful. I sat across from him, silent.
After we ate, he said casually, “I thought Lily and I could go to the market today. Pick up some stuff for dinner.”
“You?
The market?”
“Yeah.
I’ve got the day off, and I want to spend some time with her.”
It sounded harmless. But he’d never once volunteered to do the grocery shopping. I wanted to ask why now, but I just nodded, pretending not to care.
When they left, I waited a few minutes, then grabbed my keys and followed them.
I stayed a few cars behind, far enough not to be noticed. They didn’t go toward the market.
Instead, they turned into a quiet street, one I knew too well. It was the street where my mother’s old house stood.
The one Lily had inherited.
Matt parked in front of it. I stopped at the corner, my hands gripping the steering wheel. The house looked…
different.
The faded blue paint was gone, replaced with a fresh cream color. The front yard was cleared, the porch repaired.
It looked alive again, as if someone had been taking care of it. Then the front door opened, and someone stepped out.
Emma.
I watched in disbelief as she walked up to Matt and hugged him. Then she hugged Lily, laughing. The three of them went inside together.
He rebuilt my childhood home to live there with my best friend. To start a new family.
I sat there for a moment, trembling, until something inside me snapped. Enough hiding.
Enough pretending. I opened the car door and marched toward the house.
I pushed the door open without knocking.
Matt turned first, startled. “Nat? What are you—”
“How could you?” I shouted.
“How could you do this?
Build yourself a new life in my mother’s house, with her?”
Emma froze, color draining from her face. Lily stared at me, confused.
“Nat, it’s not what you think,” Matt said quickly. “I don’t need your excuses,” I snapped.
“Now I understand everything, the late nights, the secret phone calls, the messages from her! And you dragged our daughter into this, too?!”
Lily’s eyes widened.
“Mom, what are you talking about? What do you mean, dragged me into what?”
“I never thought you were capable of this, Matt. Fifteen years, and this is what it comes to?”
“Nat, please.
We did all this for you.”
“For me?
You expect me to believe that?”
Emma took a cautious step forward. “Do you really think Matt’s cheating on you with me?”
“I don’t think.
I know. You snake. I should’ve seen it.”
“Nat, stop!” Matt’s voice rose sharply.
“That’s not what this is!”
“Then what?” I cried.
“What could possibly justify this?”
He took a deep breath. “We were fixing up the house for your birthday. It was supposed to be a surprise.”
“That’s ridiculous.
The house belongs to Lily, not me.”
“Actually, it was her idea.”
“Mom,” she said softly, “you’re always talking about this place, how much you loved it, how you wished we could all live here someday.
I thought… maybe you should have it back.”
I stood there in silence, my pulse hammering in my ears.
Slowly, I looked around. Everything looked exactly like the way I’d described it years ago.
“Oh my God,” I whispered, covering my face with my hands.
“I’m such an idiot.”
Emma let out a shaky laugh. “I told him keeping it a secret was a bad idea.”
Matt stepped closer, resting a hand on my shoulder. “I didn’t mean to make you worry.
I just wanted it to be perfect.”
“I’m so sorry.
I accused you of the worst thing imaginable,” I said quietly. He smiled gently.
“I’m just glad to know you still get jealous. Feels like we’re eighteen again.”
He pulled me into a hug, and I let myself sink into it.
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