Desperate Housewives 2

I had already uncovered the identities of the women Ryan was seeing on the side, but at this point, I couldn’t care less. That is, until I noticed something strange: Ryan had suddenly taken an interest in attending our son James’s school events.

In the past, I was always the one who went to parent–teacher conferences. Ryan was “too busy with work” to bother.

But recently, after James begged him to come to his school’s sports day, Ryan actually showed up to cheer him on. And ever since then, he’d started making time to pick James up from school.

Ryan explained it to me casually: “I went to the school, and James’s teacher gave me a lecture about ‘absent parenting. Told me I can’t just ignore my son’s life. So here I am, spending more time with the kid.”

Seeing James so happy made me happy too, but something didn’t sit right with me. Ryan wasn’t the type of man to listen to anyone, let alone take advice from a teacher.

Call it women’s intuition, but I decided to eavesdrop on one of Ryan’s phone calls. That’s

when I found out about his affair with James’s new English teacher, Annie Jo.

“Ms. Jo, maybe you can teach me a thing or two as well,” Ryan said, his voice dripping

with flirtation.

“What’s the rush?” she replied coyly. “If it’s with you, I’ll always have time. Not just a day- a lifetime, if you want it.”

Their sickeningly sweet conversation made me want to throw up.

Annie Jo was a fresh–faced, soft–spoken intern who had just started teaching at James’s

school. She’d only graduated last year, and I’d even exchanged pleasantries with her a few

times. James adored her, and up until now, I’d thought she was lovely.

I couldn’t believe someone like her would stoop so low.

Rage bubbled up inside me, nearly consuming me.

21:12 Wed, Mar 12

I couldn’t believe someone like her would stoop so low.

Rage bubbled up inside me, nearly consuming me.

་་་་་ས་གྲ་ས་གྲ་ས་ན་ན་ག་་་།

I wanted to storm in and scratch Ryan’s face off. How dare he? Cheating was bad enough, but to go after our son’s teacher? Was he not disgusted with himself?

And Annie Jo… seriously? She was young, pretty, and had a respectable job. Was she

really that desperate?

Listening to Ryan’s slimy sweet talk, I bit my lip so hard it nearly bled.

But I knew I couldn’t expose them just yet. If I did, James would be the one caught in the

middle of the fallout.

80%

They didn’t care about my son, but I did.

Ryan’s betrayal might have pushed me to the edge, but it was James who kept me from

falling.

Still, I wasn’t planning to be a doormat anymore. These two deserved a lesson they’d

never forget.

I didn’t have a solid plan yet, but one way or another, I was going to make them pay.

First, I needed proof.

So I started following Ryan after work. It didn’t take long to catch him meeting up with Annie–dinner dates, shopping trips, romantic strolls. To an outsider, they might’ve looked like a regular couple.

But Annie wasn’t like Ryan’s usual flings.

With most women, Ryan was generous, but it was strictly transactional–money for time, affection, and nothing more. But with Annie, he was different. He was patient.

If you want to know whether a man really likes someone, just watch how much time he’s willing to waste on her.

21:13 Wed, Mar 12

wimy w masie vII NGI.

Part of the reason Ryan played along with Annie’s romantic games was that he hadn’t gotten what he wanted from her yet.

They were both skilled players, trading moves in a careful game of seduction.

One evening, I watched from the shadows as Ryan dropped Annie off at her apartment. He leaned in to kiss her, but she turned her head away at the last second.

“I’m sorry, Ryan,” she said softly, her voice trembling with fake innocence. “I know this is wrong, but I can’t help myself. When you call me, I get so happy. When you ask me out, I can’t say no…”

Ryan pulled her into his arms. “Annie, it’s not your fault. My marriage has been over for a long time. My wife and I don’t love each other anymore. You’re the one I truly care about. Once I divorce her, we’ll get married, okay?”

Annie blushed and lowered her head. “But what about James? Will he be okay with this?”

“You know how much James likes you,” Ryan said without hesitation.

Hearing that, my nails dug into my palms so hard that my new manicure snapped. The physical pain didn’t even register compared to the storm of anger and heartbreak inside

These two scumbags were plotting to take my son away from me.

Did they really think James would accept a homewrecker as his new stepmom?

Whenever Ryan and I argued, James always took my side. He was like a little adult, wagging his finger at his father and saying, “Dad, women are supposed to be treated with love. You can’t bully Mom.””