Back when Jacob first insisted on installing a location-sharing app on his phone, he said it was so I could check where he was anytime I wanted.
I'd refused at first. I trusted him. I thought couples who truly loved each other had no need for something like that.
But he wouldn't take no for an answer. He said to think of it as insurance—if anything ever happened to him, I'd be able to find him right away.
All these years, I'd been quietly proud of the fact that I'd never once opened that app.
I never imagined I'd be using it now to catch him cheating.
I drew a deep breath and tapped the icon.
The screen loaded for a few seconds before a map popped up. A small green dot drifted slowly across it.
My dad stared at the screen, visibly surprised. "That's Jacob's real-time location?"
I nodded without a word.
My mom couldn't wait. "Let's go. Right now."
"I want to see for myself which little tramp has Jacob Delgado wrapped around her finger."
Dad said nothing. He grabbed his car keys and headed for the door.
Mom and I followed close behind and climbed into his car.
The whole ride, Mom wouldn't stop talking.
"And to think I believed Jacob truly loved you. Turns out he's been bringing women home while cooking you dinner."
"I've lived over fifty years, and I have never seen anything this disgusting."
"If he'd fallen out of love with you and asked for a divorce, I'd be furious, but at least I could respect him for being a man about it."
"But no. He played you for a fool. Strung you along like an idiot."
"If I catch him keeping some woman on the side today, I will tear them both apart with my bare hands."
Her eyes were red with rage.
When Jacob had first come courting, she'd been against it. She thought his family wasn't well-off enough—that he wasn't good enough for me. It was Jacob who knelt outside our front door for three days and three nights, forehead split open from bowing, before she finally relented.
Dad drove in silence. In the rearview mirror, I could see his brows drawn tight together. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.
About twenty minutes into the drive, the green dot suddenly stopped moving.
I told Dad to speed up, and he pulled over near Jacob's location.
The moment we arrived, I spotted Jacob's car parked in front of a villa.
I threw open my door and made straight for the building.
But I didn't notice what was happening behind me. In the car, both my parents had gone pale the instant they laid eyes on that villa.
When Dad saw me heading toward the entrance, he jumped out and planted himself in my path.
"Dora. Are you sure Jacob brought that woman here?"
Something in his expression was off. I frowned. "What is it, Dad? Do you know this place?"
His mouth opened, then closed again. No sound came out.
Mom caught up a moment later. She glanced at the villa, swallowed hard, and when she turned to me, her face was ashen.
"Dora, let's go home."
"Stop looking into this."
I stared at her in disbelief. "Why?"
"Mom, you're the one who said we should come and get to the bottom of it. You were the most fired up—you said we had to catch them in the act."
"They're inside that villa right now. Why are you suddenly telling me to drop it?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she grabbed my arm, her voice cracking, on the verge of tears.
"Dora, I'm begging you. Please. Let's just go home."
"Let this go. Please?"
Dad walked over too, his face grave.
"Dora, listen to your mother. Go home."
"We're doing this for your own good."
I was completely stunned.
I couldn't make sense of it. Just moments ago, my parents had been ready to tear down the world on my behalf. Now, after one look at this villa, they'd become entirely different people.
Was it the villa itself that was the problem?
Or was it someone inside?
Burning with curiosity, I ignored their protests and forced my way to the front door. I knocked.
The Other Dora door opened almost immediately.
And in that instant, I saw Jacob standing just inside the threshold, and the woman behind him.
