I didn't answer Margaret.
I was trying to remember that dinner.
Brad had been unusually quiet that evening.
He'd asked whether I still wanted the things we'd talked about when we first married.
I'd asked him what he meant.
He'd mentioned children.
I remembered laughing because it seemed like such a strange question after we'd spent years putting the idea aside.
He'd said he was serious.
I told him I hadn't changed my mind completely.
I simply didn't know whether we could afford another responsibility while our marriage was already struggling.
He'd nodded.
Then we'd finished dinner.
That was all.
Or at least, that's what I remembered.
I looked at Margaret.
"What did Brad arrange?"
She glanced at the pharmacy bag.
"An appointment. Some paperwork. A few things he'd been trying to organize."
"For me?"
"Yes."
"Without telling me?"
She looked uncomfortable.
"He thought he was doing something helpful."
I almost laughed.
"Men always seem to think keeping secrets is helpful."
Margaret didn't argue.
I took the small envelope out of the bag.
There were several papers inside.
One had my name.
Another contained an appointment reference.
I didn't recognize the organization listed at the top.
But I recognized the date.
It was the date Brad had mentioned at dinner.
My stomach tightened.
"Why would he arrange this now?"
Margaret rubbed her hands together.
"Because he wanted to give you another chance to decide what you wanted."
I looked at her.
"Another chance at what?"
She paused.
"Having the family you once talked about."
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
I had spent years trying to understand why Brad stopped bringing up our future.
I'd assumed he'd changed his mind.
I'd assumed work had become more important.
I'd assumed the distance between us was simply the natural result of two people growing apart.
Now I was being told that he had been planning something.
And he had involved Chloe.
The woman whose messages had been appearing on his phone.
I felt anger returning.
"Why would he ask another woman to help him arrange something so personal?"
Margaret looked down.
"That's something you'll need to ask him."
"I've been trying to ask him things for months."
"I know."
"No, you don't."
My voice was louder than I intended.
Margaret remained quiet.
I looked at the pharmacy bag again.
There was something else inside.
A folded receipt.
I pulled it out.
The date was from the previous week.
The purchase had been made under my name.
I checked the items.
I didn't recognize all of them.
Some appeared to be ordinary personal-care products.
There was also a small packet connected to the appointment.
I felt embarrassed examining someone else's explanation of my own life.
"Did Brad buy these?"
Margaret nodded.
"He asked Chloe to collect some of the paperwork and items."
I looked at her.
"And she agreed?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Margaret didn't answer.
I already knew the question I really wanted to ask.
I just didn't want to hear the answer.
"Are they having an affair?"
Margaret's face changed.
She looked away.
That was enough.
I sat down slowly.
So the affair wasn't something I'd imagined.
The late nights were real.
The perfume was real.
The secret meetings were real.
I had been right about at least one thing.
Brad had betrayed me.
I looked at the letter.
"Then why would he involve her in this?"
Margaret sighed.
"Because he made a terrible choice."
I stared at her.
"That's an understatement."
"He should never have allowed his relationship with Chloe to become what it became."
I felt my eyes burning.
I didn't want to cry in front of his sister.
I didn't want to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing how much this had hurt.
But the tears came anyway.
I wiped them quickly.
"Did he tell you about the messages?"
"Yes."
"Did he tell you about the hotel?"
She nodded.
"And the cologne?"
Margaret looked uncomfortable.
"Yes."
I shook my head.
I couldn't believe he had discussed all of this with other people while leaving me completely in the dark.
I had been sleeping beside him.
Eating dinner with him.
Washing his clothes.
And all that time, he had been discussing our marriage with his sister and his secretary.
I looked at the black phone on the table.
The message from Chloe was still there.
I picked it up.
I wanted to write something.
Anything.
But I didn't know what to say.
Instead, I asked Margaret another question.
"What did Chloe do exactly?"
She looked at me.
"She helped him arrange the appointment and deliver the documents."
"Then why did she write that he had to tell me the truth?"
Margaret was silent.
I read the message again.
"I did exactly what you asked me to do. Now you have to tell your wife the truth."
The words no longer sounded like a simple message about paperwork.
They sounded like a warning.
I looked at Margaret.
"There's something else, isn't there?"
She nodded very slightly.
"Yes."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"Brad had been trying to tell you something about Chloe."
I waited.
Margaret took a deep breath.
"He didn't want you to discover it through someone else's message."
I looked down at the phone.
Then I heard the front door move.
A key turned.
Both of us looked toward the hallway.
Someone was coming inside.
And this time, I knew the person entering the house was going to have to answer my questions.
Click here to continue reading: PART 7: When Brad Finally Returned Home, I Was Ready to Ask About Chloe, but His First Words Were About the Coffee
I Thought My Husband Was Meeting Another Woman That Morning, Until One Small Detail Made Me Question Everything
Part 6 of 20
