Mortimer finished speaking and didn't wait for my response. He grabbed his car keys and headed for the door like an eager teenager.
For a split second, I wanted to call out to him. To see if he'd stay for me.
The words made it all the way to my lips before I swallowed them back down.
There was no point. A man like that wasn't worth the Young family heiress begging.
I stared at the floor, eyes hollow, replaying everything we'd been through.
We'd already survived the hardest times. Why couldn't Mortimer keep holding on?
When my father refused to let me marry him, Mortimer had knelt and kowtowed until he passed out.
He'd sworn he would never betray me.
So why?
Knock knock knock.
The sharp rapping at the door shattered my thoughts.
"Babe, this is Olympia Barber, my executive assistant at the company." Mortimer's face was tight with urgency as he looked at me. "She just got pressured into drinking way too much at a business dinner. Poor girl's got nobody to turn to, so I brought her here. You don't mind, right?"
"I'm so sorry to bother you. I didn't mean to contact Mr. Henson, but I really didn't know who else to call..." The woman in front of me draped herself against Mortimer's chest like she had no bones in her body.
I didn't lose my temper. I didn't scream.
"Well, she's already here. Come on in."
Mortimer shot me a surprised glance, then guided Olympia inside.
This house was the place Mortimer and I had shared for ten years. There was a time when he wouldn't even let the housekeeper through the door, insisting on taking care of every meal and every detail of my life himself.
"Mr. Henson, you're so amazing. Buying your wife such a gorgeous house."
Mortimer slid his arm around her waist and gave it a suggestive squeeze.
They must have thought I was blind.
Without changing my expression, I raised my phone and quietly snapped a photo. Evidence for the day I'd need it.
"It's getting late, Miss Barber. Why don't you take a shower and get some rest?"
I strode over, cutting through their little exchange of longing glances.
"Thank you for taking me in, Mr. Henson. I'll make myself at home, then." Olympia ignored me completely, her gaze still locked on Mortimer, dripping with adoration. "Can I sleep in that room tonight?"
She pointed straight at the master bedroom. Mine and Mortimer's.
"That's my room with Judy. If you sleep there, where are we supposed to go?" Mortimer glanced at me. "Letting you stay is generous enough. Don't push it."
He brushed off her teary-eyed pout and turned to me with exaggerated attentiveness. "Come on, babe, it's late. Let's get to bed."
I lay there staring at the ceiling, listening to the sound of the shower running in the bathroom.
Mortimer climbed under the covers, bringing with him a sickly sweet fragrance.
"Did you switch body wash?"
"A coworker recommended it. Smells nice, doesn't it?"
I didn't want to answer. I rolled over, turning my back to him.
The old Mortimer would have pulled me close, refusing to let even an inch of space exist between us.
Tonight, the gap between us was wide enough to fit another person. Wide enough to fit Olympia Barber.
Some time passed. I didn't know how long. Then the body beside me slipped silently out from under the covers.
I followed without making a sound.
Sure enough, I watched Mortimer walk into the guest bedroom and lie down next to Olympia.
I crouched by the door and hit record.
"Baby, I didn't scare you earlier when I snapped at you, did I? You know how it is. Judy's incredibly paranoid. If she sees us getting too close, she'll get suspicious."
"It's okay. I don't care what I have to put up with, as long as it's for you."
"Just hang on a little longer. Soon, it'll be just you and me."
I'd heard similar words through the surveillance footage.
But hearing them in person was nothing like watching a screen.
My fingertips went cold. My hands trembled as I gripped my phone and crept back to the master bedroom.
"Babe, did you hear something outside?"
