“They closed the club for a private event. And I pay an enormous membership fee every month. They had no right,” Stella snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.
Frank’s words from the night before flashed through Nina’s mind.
“We were out of town, playing golf…”
And then that cursed receipt from his jacket flashed before her eyes.
“But my husband was playing golf yesterday,” Nina said slowly, trying to process what she’d just heard.
There was only one golf club in the city that matched the caliber of men like Stella’s husband and Frank. They’d been patrons there for five years. Frank hadn’t cared about golf at all at first, but then he’d suddenly gotten into it, bought all the gear, paid for a yearly membership, and started going there several times a week after work to unwind.
Stella blinked, then shook her head with a short, incredulous laugh.
“Nina, you must be mistaken. If Black rented out the club, then there were no outsiders there at all. Your husband couldn’t have been playing there.”
A deep chill ran down Nina’s spine.Frank had lied to her.
“Are you sure the club was completely closed?” her voice was calm, thougheverything inside her tightened.
Stella snorted irritably, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“Absolutely sure. You can ask anyone.” She wrinkled her nose in annoyance.“I was so pissed that I called the administrator and made a scene. You know what they told me?‘We’re sorry, but we’re hosting a private event and even members don’t have access. Tomorrow we’ll be open from eight a.m., and we’ll gladly offer you three complimentary drinks after your game.’”
Nina stayed silent, frantically sorting through possibilities in her head. Maybe they’d gone to a different golf club? Unlikely. There was only this one within city limits, and the nearest one outside the city was a three-hour drive away. If that were the case, Frank would’ve come home at dawn.
“Nina, what’s wrong?” Stella narrowed her eyes, studying her closely.
“Nothing,” Nina said quickly and forced a smile.“It just feels strange.”
“Well, your husband could’ve told you anything. Maybe he wasn’t playing golf at all,”Stella wrinkled her nose.“Not every man reports to his wife about his every move. Maybe he was out drinking with the guys at some strip bar and fed you a story about golf. Don’t overthink it. They all do that sometimes.”
Nina didn’t answer, though everything inside her protested. Frank always told her exactly where he was going, even if it was just to meet friends. He wasn’t the kind of man who lied over small things. They’d always had a relationship built on trust.
She spent the rest of the day at the center, but she felt like she was submerged in a soundless haze. Normally, Nina loved this time. Children ran around her, laughed, shared their stories. But today, as she went through the motions, her thoughts drifted far away from the noisy playroom.
The receipt she’d found in Frank’s jacket kept replaying in her mind. It was from a bar downtown — not the golf club. And the time on it was seven in the evening.
Why had he lied?
For now, she could still force herself to see it as a coincidence. Maybe they really had played somewhere else and then gone to a bar afterward. But then why hadn’t he told her? She had always believed Frank never lied to her.
And what if it hadn’t just been a night out with the guys?
Her heart started beating faster. Once again, she caught herself thinking the unthinkable — that her own husband might be cheating on her.
***
All the way home, Nina kept replaying her conversation with Stella in her head. The more she thought about it, the stronger the anxiety grew inside her.
They’d been together for so many years. She was endlessly grateful to him for staying. Sometimes she even felt guilty that she couldn’t be the wife she believed he deserved. She wasn’t easy to live with. Panic attacks, depressive episodes. There were times when it was hard for her to let him close. But Frank had known what he was getting into. He’d known about what had happened to her in the past. He’d known that wounds like that didn’tsimply vanish.
Could Frank really have… No. That couldn’t be true. She didn’t want to believe it. But she could no longer pretend the coincidences meant nothing.
She needed time to fully grasp what was really going on. And she already knew where to start.
As soon as she got home, Nina locked herself in the bathroom and took out her phone. She scrolled through her contacts until she found the number she needed.
Robert Stanfield.
