John was a system analyst for a big firm, while Lily worked as an auditor at a medium-sized firm. They worked decent hours and had enough time to themselves. They would talk about everything in their lives so that the two knew exactly what was going on with the other, and everyone around them loved the bond. “It’s been more than two months since you married, but you two look as loved up as ever,” their neighbor, the nosy Mrs. Friar, pointed out one day when they ran into her at the local store. “Sorry Mrs. Friar,” John had replied. “But I didn’t know we were supposed to lose this glow after only a few weeks.” every day,” Mrs. Friar shot back, not one to miss having the last word. John laughed her statement off, but it stuck with Lily, and five months later, she started making some shady moves. Tight as they were, it didn’t take John long to realize that she wasn’t the same. She spoke less to him, and they began to drift apart. “Hey baby, want to go catch a movie this weekend? I hear there are good ones airing,” he had asked one Friday evening when she returned from work, but she said: “I can’t this time darling, I have some things to attend to with work and all that. You know, audit periods always come with a lot of paperwork and I’ve been missing out on them these days.” “But we —” John had started to say, but she cut him off.
“I understand we’ve not had time to catch a break lately but I promise you darling I’ll make it up to you.” The next day, John, who usually turned into bed very early so he could wake up to beat traffic, woke in the middle of the night and found the space where Lily should have been empty. The first thing he did was reach out a hand to feel the spot — it was cold, meaning she’d been out of bed for some time. Perhaps she was in the bathroom. Honey?!” he called out, but no one answered. Perplexed, he took a quick tour of the house, and sure enough, his wife was nowhere to be found. Her car was no longer in the driveway, which meant she went out. That day, John felt more worried than suspicious, but that was not enough to stop him from drifting off on the waves of sleep. When he opened his eyes, his wife was back home like nothing had happened, and having decided he had to confirm what was keeping her up at night, he made plans to follow her next time. His chance came two days later when she snuck out of bed again, thinking he was still asleep. She took her car and drove away quickly to a location several streets over. John decided to pretend he was sleeping, but after she took off, he got up and speedily threw on some clothes before following her in his own vehicle. It was hellish because he had to drive without headlights so she wouldn’t get spooked that she was being tailed. It was, after all, 2 a.m., and their residential area was silent as a grave. She led him to a huge mansion, and he saw her enter it. “So she’s found a richer man,” he fumed as he watched his wife enter the building. It was easy for him to jump to conclusions. He returned to their home and had enough time to stew over things before Lily returned. Eventually, he decided to return to bed and confront her the following day. As early as six in the morning, he was up, but rather than prepare for work, he tapped Lily, who had been lightly snoring beside him.