“This,” I said, closing the door, “is the honesty you said you wanted.”
Vanessa’s voice trembled.
“Marcus, I can explain—”
Marcus let out a bitter laugh.
“You’re in another woman’s house with her husband. I think that explains enough.”
Three days earlier, I had found what Caleb had failed to hide: hotel receipts, messages lighting up his tablet, a selfie at a restaurant he claimed was a “client dinner.”
Vanessa had left enough clues for me to find her online within an hour. From there, finding her husband was easy.
I called Marcus that same day. I expected denial—anger aimed at me. Instead, he went quiet, then said:
“If you’re right, I want to hear it from her.”
So I invited him.
Caleb stepped closer, his voice dropping into that familiar warning tone.
“You had no right.”
I almost laughed.
“No right? You brought your mistress into my house.”
Vanessa started crying, though I couldn’t tell if it was guilt or panic.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”
Marcus turned to her.
“How was it supposed to happen? You lying to me while playing house with him?”
Caleb cut in, defensive.
“Let’s not pretend this is all my fault.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got enough disgust for both of you.”