The Contraceptive Bill in My Husband's Name

On the first day of my husband's business trip, an unknown number calls me. It belongs to an employee of a pharmacy.

The employee sounds very anxious over the phone. "Hello, are you related to Mr. Yates by any chance? He came to the pharmacy this afternoon to buy a box of morning-after pills, but he left right away without paying for the pills. Please pay the bill right now."

My mind buzzes at the news. Morning-after pills?

I suppress my emotions immediately before calling Zachary. I begin probing him afterward.

"Where did you go this afternoon, honey? Your credit card statement shows that the payment you've made at a pharmacy has failed to go through."

Zachary pauses for half a second before letting out a soft chuckle.

"Ah, I bought the pills for a new intern in my department. She's a young woman who gets flustered easily, so I ran an errand for her."

I just smile while saying "okay" to Zachary. After ending the call, I call the pharmacy once again, this time in a cold voice.

"Send me your pharmacy's address. I'll head over and pay the bill in person."

I rushed to the pharmacy.

The staff member looked slightly uncomfortable when he saw me. "Hello. It's this one. The total's 98 dollars."

I took out my phone but didn't pay immediately. "The amount doesn't match. My transaction record shows 128 dollars. Could you pull up the surveillance footage? I'd like to verify the items."

He hesitated briefly before nodding. "Of course. Please wait a moment."

He pulled up the surveillance footage, and a familiar figure quickly appeared on the screen. It was my husband, Zachary Yates.

A young lady stood beside him. She wore a white dress and looked fresh and innocent.

Zachary handed her a box of medicine with easy familiarity, and she accepted it with her head lowered shyly. He smiled and reached up to gently ruffle her hair.

My chest tightened violently. That was something he used to do to me.

On the screen, the young lady looked up and smiled at him. As she moved, the necklace at her décolletage caught the light.

My eyes were fixed on it.

The pendant was the letter "Z".

I'd designed it myself and paid to have it custom-made. There was only one of it in the world, as it had been my third-anniversary gift to Zachary.

Beside me, the staff member continued, "The gentleman bought two boxes of medication, plus a bottle of vitamins. That's why the total came to 128 dollars."

I barely registered his words.

I lifted my phone and took a clear photo of the screen, then tapped my card to pay.

"It's paid."

I turned to leave but stopped. I then went back to the counter and forced a smile.

"The necklace that lady was wearing looked nice. Do you know what brand it is?"

He shook his head. "I have no idea."

"My friend's birthday is coming up. If you could send me a screenshot of the footage, I'd like to use it as a reference to get her something similar."

He agreed without suspecting anything.

I gave him a tip as thanks.

A few seconds later, my phone vibrated. The screenshot came through in high resolution. Her face was clear, and so was the necklace.

I sat in my car, my hands wrapped around the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles turned white.

When I got home, the house was dead silent.

For some reason, I walked into Zachary's study.

On his desk, the high-end Gardelo drawing pen holder I'd given him, engraved with our initials, sat empty. The pen was gone.

I opened the company's internal communication software and pulled up the list of interns. Face after face flashed by until my finger stopped on a name—Serena Lance.

It was the same young lady from the surveillance footage.

I exited the software and made a call.

My best friend, Felicity Jones, answered, her voice loud as always, "Well, look at you, Ms. Sutton. What made you think of me today?"

"I need you to look into someone for me," I said, my voice eerily calm. "She's a new intern at our company, Serena Lance. Also, run a trace on Zachary's private accounts for the last six months. I want everything—bank statements, hotel records, and travel logs. Don't miss a single thing."

Felicity went quiet for a beat. "Did something happen to Zachary?"

"It's worse."

The second I hung up, Zachary's call came in.

His caller ID, which had been saved as "Honey", made my eyes sting. Still, I answered the call.

His voice was gentle, the way it always was. "Winnie, are you busy?"

"No. I just got off work."

"How was your day? Was it exhausting?"

"It was fine."

"I'm back from my trip tomorrow. I got you a gift, and I promise you'll like it."

He was still speaking in that gentle tone, but the sound of his voice made my stomach churn.

"Sure. I can't wait to see you," I said, smiling as I spoke.