The conversation with Jack was near the top. I opened it. The first message I saw was from earlier that evening. Jack had written, "Did you make it?" Wanda had answered, "Yes, I'm leaving soon."
I felt my jaw tighten. I scrolled upward. There were messages from the previous week, then more from the week before. They weren't friendly. They were intimate.
Jack had written that he missed her. Wanda had replied that she missed him, too. Then I found a conversation from that afternoon. Jack had asked, "What time are you coming?" Wanda answered, "Around 6."
He asked, "What about Billy?" She replied, "He thinks I'm meeting him at 7." I stared at the screen. I kept reading. Jack had written, "You sure you're okay with this?"
Wanda replied, "I've been thinking about it for weeks." Then he wrote something that made my stomach turn. I've wanted you back since we started talking again. Wanda answered, "I know." There were several more messages.
Then I found one sent shortly before 7." Jack had written, "I don't want you to leave." Wanda replied, "I have to. Billy will be waiting." Then another message appeared.
"Last night was worth it." I stopped. I read it again. "Last night." That meant this wasn't the first time.
My hands went cold. I kept scrolling. There were messages about meeting at a hotel. There were references to nights when Wanda had told me she was working late. There were excuses I suddenly remembered.
Late meetings, drinks with co-workers, weekend errands, all those moments I'd trusted her. I took screenshots of everything. Then I put the phone back exactly where I found it. I didn't wake her. I didn't confront her.
Not yet. I lay back down and stared at the ceiling. I had gone to dinner believing my wife was late because of some problem. Now I knew exactly why she had been late. She had spent our anniversary with another man.
And Jack wasn't a mistake. He had been part of her life for weeks, maybe longer. I turned toward Wanda. She was still asleep. I looked at her for a long time.
Then I made a decision. I wasn't going to scream. I wasn't going to beg. And I wasn't going to give her time to delete anything or invent an excuse. In the morning, I was going to confront her with the truth.
And after that, I was going to decide what happened to our marriage. I didn't sleep much that night. I kept replaying everything in my head. The dinner, the hour she disappeared, the way she avoided my questions and the messages. By 6:00 in the morning, I had already made my decision.
I wasn't going to spend another day pretending I didn't know. Wanda came downstairs around 7. She walked into the kitchen wearing her robe and stopped when she saw me sitting at the table. You're up early. I didn't sleep.
She opened the refrigerator. Why? I looked at her. How long have you been seeing Jack? Her hand froze on the refrigerator door.
She didn't turn around. What? Don't do that. She slowly closed the refrigerator. I don't know what you're talking about.
I picked up my phone. I read your messages. Her face changed immediately. You went through my phone? Yes.
You had no right. Maybe I didn't. But now I know the truth. She crossed her arms. You invaded my privacy.