Chapter9
The Illusion of The Normalcy.
As soon as they stepped inside their apartment, Sophie felt the familiar rhythm of their evening, routine wash over her. Jason disappeared into the bathroom to freshen up, leaving her in the silence of their home. The warmth of the space wrapped around her, but an unsettling chill crept in as she began to tidy up, a task she’d become all too accustomed to.
She bent down to pick up Jason’s clothes from the floor—his shirt crumpled next to the couch, his shoes haphazardly tossed in the corner. No matter how many times she reminded him, the habit never seemed to fade. With a sigh, she tossed his belongings into the laundry bag, her thoughts drifting back to the underlying tension that had taken root in her heart,
Just as she straightened up, a soft chime broke the silence, pulling her from her thoughts. Jason’s phone lit up on the table, and her breath hitched in her throat. Should she look? Curiosity clawed at her, an almost magnetic pull toward the device that had suddenly become the key to unraveling her swirling doubts.
Against her better judgment, she found herself frozen in place, heart pounding, A message preview flashed across the screen from someone saved in his contacts as “Red Dress.” The blood in her veins turned to ice. It read: “Same time at my place tomorrow?”
Sophie’s mind raced as the words settled like lead in her stomach. Was this it? Was this the moment she uncovered the truth? Her heart pounded, each beat echoing her growing anger, but something held her back. Maybe it was fear of what she might find if she dove deeper, or the fear of confronting the reality she’d been dreading.
With a shaky breath, she reached for Jason’s phone, her fingers hovering over the screen. Instead of responding, she grabbed her own phone and snapped a quick picture of the lock screen, capturing the damning notification. She would need this, she thought, an archive of evidence that might just lead her to the truth she sought, even if it was painful.
In a moment of clarity, she set his phone back down on the bedside table, deciding not to charge it. She didn’t want to be the one to shatter their world, not yet.
When Jason emerged from the bathroom, fresh and clean, the tension in the air evaporated like steam. He smiled at her, and she felt a pang of guilt for what was brewing inside her. Was it really betrayal if he didn’t know she knew?
“Hey, how was your day?” he asked, his voice warm and inviting.
“Just the usual,” she replied, forcing a smile. “You know me.” The words tasted bitter on her tongue, but she swallowed them down, pushing her concerns into a corner of her mind.
She went back to playing the part of the perfect wife, pouring them both a glass of wine, filling the silence with chatter about their day as if everything was fine. She laughed at his jokes and listened
Chapter9
intently, all the while her heart raced with the knowledge that something was very wrong.
As they settled onto the couch, a veneer of normalcy enveloped them, but Sophie felt like an imposter in her own life. How could she sit there, laughing and smiling, when everything felt so fragile?
Deep down, she knew the facade could only last so long. But for tonight, she’d pretend. Tonight, she’d play the part. Because in the end, wasn’t that what love was all about?
