Her voice quivered slightly and her expression turned noticeably uneasy.
Just as the words left her mouth, a man’s voice called out from inside the apartment. "Who is it?"
The next second, a man stepped out of the room.
He was wearing nothing but a white bath towel. Beads of water still streamed down his body.
The moment he saw me, his expression shifted. First he seemed panic, but then he quickly forced into a smile.
"Oh, Mr. Summers, you’re back!" he said awkwardly, tugging the towel a little tighter around his waist.
Watching his flustered reaction, my fury surged to its peak.
I recognized him instantly.
I recognized him too well, in fact.
He was the jerk who had been occupying my parking space.
And now, he was standing here, nearly naked, in my home.
As a man, how could I possibly endure this kind of humiliation?
My fists clenched on instinct. I was about to lunge forward and beat the hell out of him.
But to my shock, my wife stopped me. She did not even look shocked or panicked at all. Instead, she calmly stepped in front of him, shielding him with her body.
"Honey, why didn’t you call before coming home today? I didn’t even have time to prepare dinner for you."
I stared at her coldly, forcing myself to suppress the fire raging inside me.
"Let me ask you one thing. Why is he here… and why is he naked?"
She gently patted the man’s shoulder, gave him a reassuring glance and replied without hesitation.
"Sweetheart, the water pipe burst earlier while you were out. Walter helped me fix it, but his clothes got soaked, so I let him take a shower here. He did us a favor today, after all."
Did she really think I was that stupid?
There was a strange man in my house, half-naked. Even an idiot could figure out what had just happened.
Right after my wife finished speaking, the man, Walter Wade, casually got dressed and strutted over, extending his hand toward me like nothing was wrong.
I stared at him coldly, then pulled my hand back without a word.
Walter did not seem to care. He chuckled and said with mock sincerity, "Yeah, that water pipe really soaked me, so I took a quick shower here. You don’t mind, do you, Mr. Summers?"
Mind? Of course, I mind! I mind it more than anything!
But before I could speak, my wife lightly pinched my arm and leaned closer to whisper, "Say something. Walter is our new neighbor. A close neighbor is better than a distant relative. We might need his help one day."
I stared at her for a long moment. Then I forced a smile and said, "Why would I mind? I should be thanking you for being a good neighbor, Mr. Wade. If it weren’t for you, my home might’ve flooded."
Walter laughed heartily and patted my shoulder. "Mr. Summers, no need to be so polite. We’re neighbors, so of course we should help each other!"
With that, he turned to leave. But right before he stepped out, he glanced back at my wife and said, "I won’t bother you two any longer. Mrs. Summers, if you need anything in the future, don’t hesitate to come find me again."
Just as he turned to leave, my eyes caught a faint strawberry-shaped mark on his neck, followed by a smudged lipstick stain on the collar of his shirt.
The shade was unmistakable. It was MAC Cosmetics Ruby Woo. My wife’s favorite shade. The same one that still lingered on her lips.
In an instant, my blood surged to my head and a deafening buzz filled my ears. My mind went blank.
So it was true. Everything Walter bragged about in the car club was not just talk.
The wife he had stolen was mine.
"Damn it…"
My eyes reddened, but I forced myself to hold back, to stop myself from beating him.
