His camera was pitch black. His voice came through muffled, thick with feigned drowsiness. "Babe, what's wrong? I just fell asleep."
I knew he was faking it.
Even the nasal tone in his voice was a perfect imitation of someone half-asleep. Rehearsed.
Max and I had been married for three years. I'd landed a government position in another city, so we had no choice but to live apart. On the days we couldn't see each other, video calls were all we had.
But every few days, he'd tell me he was too tired from work, that he hadn't slept well, and hang up early.
Sometimes when I called without warning, he'd trot out the same excuse.
In that moment, everything clicked into place.
An apple doesn't rot overnight.
He'd been lying. And once a man starts lying, he never stops.
"Where are you?"
My voice was flat. Expressionless.
Max sounded confused. "In bed, obviously. Babe, what's going on with you?"
"Then why won't you turn on your camera?"
He paused for two seconds.
"Power's out at the apartment. Can't turn it on."
I let out a cold, sharp laugh. I was done holding back.
I kicked the hotel room door wide open.
"Is lying to me fun for you, Max?"
He lifted his head, frozen in place, eyes flashing with shock and panic.
"B-Babe!"
"You told me you left this morning. Why are you still here?"
His phone slipped from his hand again and clattered against the floor.
Max scrambled to pull his clothes on. Even in his panic, he didn't forget to yank the comforter over the girl beside him, tossing her camisole at her.
"Get dressed and get out."
The girl wrinkled her nose, looking more annoyed than ashamed. "I was wondering who'd show up. Turns out it's the frumpy little wife."
She dressed with lazy, deliberate slowness, glancing my way every few seconds with a look designed to provoke.
"So what if you caught us? What are you going to do about it?"
"Once a man's heart isn't in it anymore, he'll just sneak around behind your back anyway."
"Shut your mouth!" Max snapped, his expression turning cold in an instant.
"That bag I promised you? Forget it."
"And don't bother coming around again."
The girl's smugness crumbled. Her face went white. She let out a bitter scoff and deliberately shouldered past me on her way out.
After she was gone, the room held only the two of us.
Max stood there, shirtless, and slowly moved toward me. A small sigh escaped through his nose.
"Babe, don't be mad."
He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around my waist.
"That girl just now, I met her at a bar not long ago. She wouldn't leave me alone, so I brought her here to teach her a lesson."
I stared at him, genuinely stunned. Part of me wanted to applaud the sheer audacity.
I couldn't fathom how his mouth could open and close and produce words that shameless.
He buried his face against my waist the way he always did, nuzzling into me like a spoiled child.
As if this were nothing more than one of our little spats.
"Max."
"You just finished sleeping with me, and the second I walked out the door, you brought another girl back to this hotel."
The stale, musky smell hanging in the air hit me all at once.
Nausea surged through my stomach. I shoved him off me, hard.
"Didn't you tell me you'd gone back home to take care of things? Back to the countryside?"
"Max, we've known each other for ten years. Married for three. And you can't even be bothered to come up with a halfway decent lie anymore?"
Never in a million years did I think that forgetting my portable charger and coming back for it would lead to this.
And Max's attitude made it so much worse.
"It's just an affair. That's all it is."
"I don't have any feelings for her. It was purely physical. A little excitement."
"Everyone in my circle does it. It doesn't mean anything."
"If it bothers you, I'll cut her off right now."
