The moment I spotted the unidentifiable hair on my husband's pants, the blood in my veins ran cold.
Elmer Weiss had told me himself that he'd been bitten by a dog as a child. He hated dogs more than anything.
Yet this was the third time I'd found dog hair on him.
I pinched the tuft of golden fur between my fingers and kept my voice casual. "Where did this come from?"
Elmer froze for a split second, then recovered without missing a beat. "Strays have been wandering onto campus lately. Must've brushed against one on my way through."
He leaned in, pressing a tender kiss to my forehead. "Honey, these pants are dry-clean only. Would you mind dropping them off? I've got an academic conference this afternoon, so I need to head out."
I watched his retreating figure, then pulled out my phone and called my best friend, who worked at a private investigation firm.
"Elmer's cheating. Most likely with one of his students. She feeds strays and owns a golden retriever."
"I need you to gather evidence. I'm divorcing him."
——
Silence.
Then my friend's stunned voice came through. "You're better at this than I am, and I'm the actual investigator. You figured out your husband's cheating from a few strands of dog hair?"
"Divorce isn't something to take lightly. You two have been together seven years. Don't do anything rash!"
I gripped the phone so hard my knuckles ached. My voice came out dry and raw.
"Elmer is a germaphobe. He's never liked animals. He was attacked by a dog when he was little, and whenever we're out walking and a dog comes near, he goes out of his way to avoid it."
I paused. The anger I'd been holding back bled through. "But over the past two months, I've found dog hair on him more than once. The most likely explanation is that his little mistress has a dog, and it gets on him when they're together."
My friend went quiet for a long moment. When she finally spoke, her teeth were practically grinding. "That freeloading piece of garbage. And to think I actually believed he was a decent guy. What a wolf in sheep's clothing!"
"Don't worry, babe. I'm tracking down that shameless homewrecker right now."
Half an hour later, she sent me a message.
Vivian Mercer. Twenty-three. First-year graduate student at the College of Science and Technology. Owns a golden retriever. Currently living in the faculty apartment the university assigned to Elmer Weiss.
Attached was a photo. In it, Elmer held a leash in his left hand and the girl named Vivian in his right. They looked every bit like a couple in love.
I stared at the image until my eyes burned and my vision blurred before I finally snapped out of it.
My friend offered a few more words of comfort, then asked what I planned to do next.
I drew a long breath, forcing the hatred down, and kept my voice steady. "Thank you. I'll handle the rest myself."
The university strictly prohibited relationships between faculty and students.
Elmer was a professor who'd been sleeping with one of his own graduate students, and he'd done it right before receiving the highest academic honor of his career.
I was curious. If this scandal broke during the award ceremony, would he still have a job to go back to?
I threw a few things together and drove to the apartment under Elmer's name.
Six months ago, a distant cousin of mine had come to Graystone City to study for exams. I'd wanted her to stay at this apartment, but Elmer had made excuses about the place not being ready and told me to find her somewhere else.
Perhaps even then, he and Vivian had already been tangled up together.
Rage and bitterness churned inside me until every breath felt like a struggle.
The moment I reached the apartment door, the dog inside started barking. A coquettish female voice followed. "Hold on, let me put Bailey away first."
A few minutes later, the door swung open, and Vivian Mercer stood before me.
Elmer certainly had sharp taste. A girl in her early twenties, right in the bloom of youth. Her face was fresh, innocent, and undeniably beautiful.
