2
O n Thursday evening, Emily had finished packing her bags, her excitement for the upcoming getaway palpable. That night, a rare occasion when the whole family dined together, Emily gently reminded the kids that she would be away for the weekend. She reassured them that Gabriel and Agnes, their housekeeper, would be there to care for everything.
“Can I come with you, Mommy?” Ava pleaded, her eyes wide with hope.
Emily reached across the table and gently touched Ava’s hand, reassuringly squeezing it. “Not this time, sweetheart,” she said softly. “This trip is just for Mommy, but remember, we have that trip to the mountains soon.”
Ava’s spirits lifted instantly, and her eyes lit up. “Oh yeah!” she exclaimed.
Turning to her older brother, she asked eagerly, “Will you teach me to ski, Hayden?”
Hayden looked at her as if she had suggested something absurd. “No! You’re too young.”
Disheartened, Ava’s smile faded, and her head sank.
Emily looked sternly at Gabriel, silently urging him to address Hayden’s dismissive remark.
Oblivious to the fact that he had hurt Ava’s feelings, Hayden stood. “May I be excused?” he asked.
Gabriel nodded, “Yeah,” much to Emily’s frustration.
Hayden walked away from the table, seemingly indifferent to the upset he’d caused.
Exasperated, Emily threw her hands up in frustration, gathered Ava into her arms, and stormed out of the room, intent on consoling her daughter.
Later that evening, after tucking Ava into bed after a warm bath and her favorite bedtime story, Emily kissed her daughter goodnight and retreated to her bedroom. As she entered, Gabriel glanced up from the medical journal he had been engrossed in. He set the book aside on his lap and met Emily’s gaze. Offering a reserved smile, he asked softly, “Are you still upset with me?”
Emily remained silent, choosing instead to head to the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she returned, Gabriel threw the covers back on her side of the bed and said, “Can we talk about this?”
Emily climbed into bed, and Gabriel put the covers over her body. “Hayden was harsh with Ava. Did you see her face when he rejected her?”
“I did, but he is right. Ava is much too young to ski. I can’t believe you would even consider the idea of her skiing.”
“That’s not the point, Gabriel! Ava’s too young to ski the big mountains, but Hayden could teach her the basics. He never spends any time with her. It’s not just about this incident; it’s a pattern. He continually disregards her feelings. The other day when we dropped the boys off at school, Ava said goodbye, and neither of them even responded. It’s like they don’t care about her at all.”
“It’s the age difference,” Gabriel suggested. “Think back to when you were sixteen. Would you have wanted to hang out with a four-year-old?”
Emily sighed; her frustration evident. “You’re always making excuses for them,” she said, recognizing the familiar direction of their conversation. “Those boys might ignore me, but I won’t let them do the same to Ava. She adores them. She looks up to them like they’re heroes, and they don’t even consider the impact of their actions on her.”
Emily hastily laid down and turned her back to Gabriel, signaling the conversation was over. Leaning over her, Gabriel kissed her cheek gently. “I’ll talk to them,” he whispered.
Emily had heard it all before, she knew that nothing would change. With a resigned “Goodnight,” she reached for the light on her nightstand and flicked it off. After fluffing her pillow, she settled her head down, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning when Emily awoke, the house was quiet—Gabriel had already left for work. As Emily moved through her routine, bustling around to get the kids ready for school, she deliberately pushed aside the previous night’s concerns. Nothing would dampen her spirit; the day she had been waiting for was finally here.
To her delight, the twins cooperated more than usual, allowing her to get everyone to school with time to spare. After dropping Ava off, she decided to treat herself to a cup of coffee and muffin from Starbucks, then indulged in a bit of shopping to find the perfect outfit for her weekend getaway. Having seen the perfect dress for the Broadway show, she cheerfully brought it to the checkout counter and joined the line behind two other women. While waiting, she texted Gabriel, asking if he was free for lunch. Just then, the woman at the front of the line said, “Thank you,” and she instantly recognized Taylor’s voice.
Quickly, she turned her back, hoping to go unnoticed by Taylor, but luck wasn’t on her side.
“Oh, Emily, hey there,” Taylor said, glancing down at the dress draped over Emily’s arm. She took the dress by the hanger and held it up. “Wow! That’s beautiful. Where are you going in that?”
“Sydney and I have tickets to see Wicked,” Emily said, taking the dress back from her.
“Oh, so you’re going to New York? I love New York. Where are you staying? Are you staying at The Plaza? That’s my favorite?”
“No, we’re staying at the Ritz-Carlton.”
“Just as nice. You’re going to have a great time.”
Taylor remained by Emily’s side as she approached the counter and handed the saleslady the dress. “What time are you leaving?” Taylor asked. “Do you have time to grab some lunch? I know a great place just down the street.”
“That will be $149.97,” the woman behind the counter said.
Emily selected a credit card from her wallet and handed it to the saleslady. Turning to Taylor, she said, “I’m sorry, I have plans to meet Gabriel for lunch. I’ll have to take a rain check.”
Moments later, the saleslady frowned as she returned the card to Emily. “I’m sorry, the card declined. Would you like to use another card?”
Emily’s face flushed red with embarrassment. She could feel Taylor watching her from the corner of her eye. “That’s strange. No, thank you. I’ll pay cash.” She quickly retrieved the card from the sales associate, counted out one hundred and fifty dollars from her wallet, and handed it over.
The sales associate handed over three cents in change, placed the receipt in the bag, and passed it to Emily. “Thank you. Have a nice day,” she said with a warm smile.
Emily’s fingers tightened around the bag as she muttered, “Thank you,” her voice barely audible. Her hurried footsteps echoed behind her as she bolted toward the exit, her eyes fixed straight ahead, determined to escape the store as quickly as possible. Taylor had trouble keeping up.
Once outside the store, Emily turned to Taylor and said, “Well, it was nice running into you, but I have to go. Gabriel is waiting for me,” she lied and raced to her car in the parking lot.
The moment she got into the car, she tossed her bag onto the front seat and immediately dialed Gabriel’s number. When he didn’t pick up, she left a message, her voice tinged with urgency. “Hey, something’s up with our credit card. I just tried to use it, and it declined. Do you know anything about this? Call me back as soon as you can.”
By the time she arrived home, Gabriel had still not returned her call. Frustration mounting, she decided to contact the credit card company herself, even though Gabriel usually handled all of the money matters. After navigating through several prompts on the automated system, she finally reached a live representative who asked, “How can I assist you today?”
“Yes, there seems to be an issue with my credit card,” she explained, trying to keep her voice steady. “I attempted to use it earlier, but it was declined. That has to be a mistake; there should be plenty of credit available. Could you please check and let me know what’s going on?”
“Certainly, I’m sorry to hear that. I just need to verify your identity and then we can look into what the problem is. Could you please provide me with your credit card number?”
After providing the customer service operator with all of her identifying information, Emily was informed that her credit card was maxed out, and the line was closed due to six months of non-payment.
“That can’t be right,” Emily said in shock. “I haven’t used this card in months. My husband wouldn’t have run up that much debt. I would know about it. I think this has to be a case of fraud. Could you please send me a copy of the last two statements?”
“Certainly, I can email it to the email address we have on file.”
“No, could you please send it to my email address?” Then Emily recited off her email address.
“Certainly, I’ll send the statements over immediately. Once you’ve reviewed them, if you still believe it’s a case of fraud, please give us a call to let us know, and we will initiate an investigation,” the operator assured her.
“Thank you,” Emily replied, feeling a mix of anxiety and determination as she ended the call.
Anxiously checking her email account for the next ten minutes, Emily opened the email the moment it appeared and sent it straight to the printer. She rushed to Gabriel’s office on the other side of the house and stood in shock, witnessing page after page spilling out of the printer. With her mouth agape, her eyes grew wide as she scanned line after line of recent purchases, totaling more than $10,000 worth of purchases for just one month alone.
What the hell is going on? Seeing multiple hotel room transactions, she thought, This has got to be a mistake. Urgently, she printed out the prior month’s statement, and sure enough, there were several hotel transactions once again. She sank into Gabriel’s desk chair, overwhelmed with emotions, Gabriel was having an affair , she thought.
Just then, her cell phone rang, and Gabriel’s name appeared on the screen. Although she was anxious for answers, she couldn’t bring herself to talk to him at that moment. A single tear rolled down her cheek, her heart shattering as she rejected the call.
Emily spent the next several hours sifting through Gabriel’s belongings, desperately seeking additional evidence of his affair. Upon hearing footsteps approaching, she quickly turned to leave Gabriel’s walk-in closet and unexpectedly collided with Agnes. Startled, Emily placed a hand on Agnes’ shoulder and managed to put on a thin smile. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there,” she said, trying to mask her anxiety.
Agnes’ eyes widened in shock. “What are you doing in here?” she exclaimed. “Mr. Anderson doesn’t like anyone going through his closet.”
Annoyed that Agnes dared to question her in her own home, Emily stepped around her and exited the closet. “Did you need something?” she asked curtly.
“Yes, I came to tell you a package arrived for you.”
“Okay, thank you. I’ll be down in a minute,” Emily replied dismissively.
As soon as Agnes left the room, Emily collapsed onto the bed and covered her face with her hands, her heart pounding in her chest. After a few moments, she collected herself and played Gabriel’s voice message.
“Hey, I got your message. We need to talk.” She thought his voice carried a tinge of remorse. “I’ll be home at six—I’ll explain everything then.”