I lift the file resting in my lap and fling it across the table towards him. He glances at it, a shadow of confusion and worry in his expression, but makes no move to reach for it.
“You want to know what’s triggered this conversation? Open it. See for yourself.”
His eyes linger on the folder for a beat longer, staring at it as though it’s an alien object that might sprout fangs and claws at any second. And just when I think he won’t reach for it, he extends his arm and lifts the file from the table, opening it—slowly, deliberately.
It takes only a few seconds of looking at the first photo before he snaps the folder shut and slams it onto the table, as though he has a right to be mad.
“What the fuck is this!”
“It’s your surprise.”
“Where did you get that?”
“Does it matter? What’s important is what’s in that folder. So I’ll ask you again,
Adrian—will you be honest with me?”
The Adam’s apple in his throat bobs as he swallows heavily.
“What do you know?” he asks, his voice so soft I almost missed it.
“Nothing more than what’s in that file, which if you bothered to check, is a fucking lot.”
“Hope, I can explain—,” he starts, stepping towards me.
“Don’t you dare come any closer!” I snap, stopping him in his tracks.
“If you’d just let me explain everything—please, baby. It’s not what you think.”
“I had no idea you were a mind reader on top of being a liar and a cheat,” I say, my voice calm but stripped of any warmth. “That’s some talent you have there, husband. But don’t waste your breath.” I grab the file and dump its contents onto the table, papers scattering across the surface. “I think these photos and screenshots of your text messages to your mistress are pretty self-explanatory, don’t you think?”
Funnily enough, he doesn’t so much as glance at the stack of evidence spread out before him. Instead, his eyes stay locked on mine, as if he’s trying to silently communicate something I have no interest in hearing.
“I want to know where you got those?”
“And I told you, where they came from doesn’t matter.”
“It was a mistake, one I deeply regret. I ended it with her a while ago. She meant nothing to me.”
“Oh, so you risked everything, our marriage, our family—for someone who meant nothing to you. Wow, Adrian. I don’t know which is worse: your stupidity or your complete lack of respect for us. You couldn’t even come up with a better lie. I’m utterly disappointed.”
“Baby, please… listen to me. She was the one who kept pursuing me, even after I rejected her time and time again. But working so closely with her in the classroom nearly every day made it hard to keep my distance. I really tried, Hope. You have to believe me.”
“And what? She wore you down, found your weak spot, and you just caved, was that it? Once you finally had a taste, you couldn’t stop, huh, Adrian? You fucking carried on for five months, sleeping with her while coming home, sitting at our family table, on our couch where we watched TV together, sleeping in our bed—all the while betraying us. And still, it wasn’t enough to make you stop?”
“No, it wasn’t like that. I never wanted to be with her—I wanted you. I always wanted you. But we were rarely intimate; you were always too tired whenever I tried to initiate sex. I just wanted a little more effort, a little more affection from you.”
“So you fucking another woman was all my fault? Are you really pulling the victim card right now?”
“No—I’m not. I… it’s not coming out the way I want it to. Can I just come closer? I hate that you’re so far away.”
“Come any closer, I swear to God, Adrian. I’ll flip this fucking table on you.”
“Hope, I’m not blaming on you. This was all on me. But I just wanted you to know why I did it. I’m only human, baby. I fucked up and made a huge mistake.”
“Try again, Adrian! That’s classic, textbook shit for selfish, lying, cheating bastards. Surely you can do better than that!”
“It’s the truth, I swear! I made the biggest mistake of my life and I’ll do anything to make it right.”
