“Honey! You’re incredible. I love you so much!. Moan louder, honey! I love to hear your pleasurable moans. Shane’s cheeky words felt like a basin of icy water pouring over my head. The entirety of my body froze to the point that I could not move a muscle. Then, I heard a woman’s voice coming through the earphones. She did moan louder as she was told, and they said all sorts of lewd words to each other. Judging by their grunting, it was clear that they were having rough sex. I covered my mouth, tight enough to prevent myself from crying out loud. But I couldn’t stop my tears from surging. My husband’s every word and every pant he drew out were like daggers, jabbing into my heart. I was in so much pain that I could do nothing but cry in silence. Soon, my pillow was wet with my own tears. And because I couldn’t stand to hear them any longer, I took off my earphones, held my legs, and curled up like an infant. It was a hot summer, but I felt so cold… very cold. My entire body trembled, and no matter how tightly I wrapped myself in the quilt, I could not warm myself up. That night, I shed countless tears, and it was the most restless night. But even so, I refused to believe that there was a woman in the study, because there was no place to hide a person there. The only possibility I could think of was that he might be masturbating while talking to a woman through a video call. What was the truth of this matter?

It was then that I regretted inst alling only a bug and not a mini c amera. It should’ve been a camera. After an entire night of grudge-filled contemplation , I gradually calmed down from the shock. Then, I de cided to drop by the study again in search of clues. The next morning, after Shane left for work, I didn’t get up right a way. Or perhaps I didn’t have the courage to do so. Though I truly w anted to find some clues, it frightened me to know what I might find. Because I was struggling mentally, I didn’t get up unt il it was well past ten in the morning. I hardly slept a wink last night, so I was feeling a little dizzy now. Step by step, I came to the do or of the study . , recalling everything I heard last night . I could feel my nerves tensing up, and my heart was beating faster by the second. What could be waitin g for me at the othe r side of that door? . As soon as I grabbed the doorknob and was about to turn it, I heard the front door o f the house open. Shane must’ve come back. I withdrew my hand in a hurry, pretending to walk past the door of the study. Finally, I sat down on the liv ing room sofa. It was then that I feigned composure by picking up the remote control from the tea table to t urn on the TV. I was so nervous that I pressed so many buttons by mistake before I managed to turn the TV on. Shane approached me, staring at my face

I was afraid that he might notice that something was wrong with me. After all, I had cried all night. Fortunately, he didn’t ask me any questions. All he said was that he had asked for a leave and th at he wanted to take me out for a trip someplace. He was a workaholic. We didn’t even have a honeymoon trip after we got married. Asking for a leave to travel was certainly uncharacteristic of him. But he told me that he had neglecte d his duties as my husband because of overworking, and he wanted to spend more time with me. Perhaps due to what I found out last night, I sensed only h ypocrisy in his words. Thus, I raised my head, staring stra ight into his eyes, searching for a trace of doubt or fear. But he looked calm. He appeared as though he had not cheated on me, and his behavior only made me feel like I was overthinking. I pretended as though nothing had happened, packed our luggag e and went downstairs with him. I was already twenty-six years old now; no longer the impulsive girl I used to be. For the time being, I needed to ensure that t he truth was revealed before letting him know that I knew of it. I thought it best to have the upper hand that I knew of his secret, and decided to wait and se e how things would turn out. But I was mistaken. Though I might have matured at my age, I still wasn’t ad ept at anticipating outcomes. In the end, I fell into his trap and allowed him to pu sh me to the depths of hell