The first month of my marriage, a girl slid into my DMs claiming to be a victim.
She flooded my inbox with the screenshots of her chats with my husband and intimate photos, advising me to dump the scumbag as soon as possible.
Two weeks later, I found them both in our home.
The girl was clutching his arm, acting like she was doing me a huge favor.
“Don’t worry. I’m taking out the trash for you,” she announced. “You’re welcome.”
…
It was our one-month wedding anniversary.
I carried a cake home, ready to surprise my husband Blake.
I’d just finished setting up the candlelit dinner when my phone buzzed.
A text from Blake, “Cassie, Mom took a fall. Heading over there now.”
“But, do you know what day it is today?” I typed, but deleted it before sending.
My intended accusatory tone changed to. “Is your mom okay? Do you need me to come and check on her?”
“No need, just look after the store.”
To play the part of a perfect, understanding wife, I ate the small cake alone and cleaned up the house.
As I was getting ready for bed, my phone screen suddenly lit up.
A strange girl was requesting to add me as a friend.
Her profile picture was a serene, gentle-looking girl with long hair, holding a cat.
“Who is this?”
I asked first, not liking strangers in my contacts list.
“I’m Blake Harrison’s girlfriend, and I have something to tell you.”
How could Blake, a married man, possibly have a girlfriend?
Curiosity piqued, I accepted her friend request.
“I saw your contact info on Blake’s phone, and I’m adding you to tell you that you should get away from him as soon as possible. He’s been two-timing you behind your back, and I only just found out. I’ve been fooled by him too,” the girl got straight to the point.
I tried to keep my voice steady. “What’s your name?”
“Amber Jones. You’ve probably never heard of me, just like I never knew about you, or even that you two were married.”
Her words instantly piqued my interest. So, she was his long-term girlfriend from his hometown?
Amber then sent me a long chat history.
Apparently, she knew that my husband had quit his job and started an escape room business.
She also knew about his family background and members.
She even knew his computer and phone passwords.
…
We kept cross-referencing information, and I realized Blake had been juggling his schedule to chat with her, sharing everything.
I was sure Blake was hiding something from me, and this girl was no ordinary person either.
Blake used to tell me he wanted to give each other private space after dating and marriage, claiming that trust was the foundation of a lasting relationship.
So all along, it wasn’t about building trust for our marriage, was it? It was just to make it easier to contact his mistress! What a manipulative jerk!
Before I could even process the existing information, Amber sent another intimate photo.
She was nestled in Blake’s arm, just like the docile cat in her profile picture.
The image on my phone flickered on and off, burning into my eyes, making them ache. My vision blurred, and tears streamed down my face.
According to Amber, they had been together for many years.
Could it be that I was the other woman?
Blake came home the next afternoon.
“You’re back so early? Is your mom okay?” I asked casually, pretending nothing had happened.
His eyes darted to the right, a hint of guilt in his voice, “Yeah, it wasn’t serious, so I came back. The store just started making a profit, and now is a crucial time.”
“Do you know Amber Jones?” I decided to lay it all out there.
Blake paused, then chuckled, “Amber? No, I don’t think so. Why?”
“Amber added me, and she said she’s your girlfriend.” I fiddled with the paintbrush in my hand, trying to keep my emotions in check.
“Oh, her! I almost forgot. She’s my ex-girlfriend, yes. But we haven’t seen each other in ages. Why would she suddenly add you?”
I didn’t answer, and Blake got anxious, adding.
“She’s a bit intense and tends to exaggerate. I broke up with her ages ago, but she’s always clung to me. You have to believe me, Cassie. I’m a married man now.”
He came over and put his arms around my waist, his breath warm on my neck, making me deeply uncomfortable.
“I’ll play along for now. But if you’re playing games, you’ll regret it, Blake.” I turned to face him, staring into his eyes.
He must’ve had a guilty conscience because, after I agreed, Blake immediately went into the kitchen, fussing over the seafood he’d brought from his hometown, saying he’d make me a gourmet shrimp dish.
I couldn’t just blurt out everything Amber told me. After all, I still couldn’t tell how much of her story was true or false, or how much truth this man in front of me was hiding.
Chat logs could be faked, pictures could be Photoshopped.
So, I decided to keep observing, to see how many more secrets Blake was keeping from me, and what they were truly up to.
But in the following days, the more attentive and affectionate Blake became, the more uneasy I felt.
After Amber intruded into my life, I often couldn’t sleep a wink.
My mind replayed all the memories of how Blake and I first got together.
During my senior year of college, I worked part-time as an NPC at the most popular escape room venue in town, often playing ugly ghost roles because they paid better.
One time, I spent two hours on my makeup and put on a big red dress.
A couple entered the game. After I dramatically appeared in the mirror, my job was to chase them to prevent them from completing their tasks.
The girl was terrified and just sat on the floor, throwing a tantrum and refusing to play.
Since my task wasn’t done, I continued to pretend to scare them.
The boyfriend got angry, came up and slapped me across the face, glaring at me like he was avenging his girlfriend.
That’s when Blake appeared. He stopped the player and even slapped the guy back. “If you can’t handle the game, don’t play. What kind of person bullies an NPC? Where are your manners?”
After that, I added Blake on SnapChat, and we naturally became friends.
He was five years older than me. After getting a job as a programmer at a major tech company, he was never satisfied with the status quo and always wanted to open his own escape room business.
We talked about everything, and naturally, we became a couple.
He used his savings and took out a bank loan to successfully open “The Labyrinth Escape.”
To help Blake, I even considered going home and swallowing my pride to ask my parents for money, but he said having me brainstorm ideas and design things was enough.
When I was applying for colleges, my parents secretly logged into my account and changed my design major to business administration, calling it “preparing me to run the family hotel someday.”
Later, I pursued a double major in management and design in college but never took a dime from my family.
I even snuck off to get married to Blake, taking my documents without their knowledge.
Memories flashed through my mind, making it impossible to sleep.
When I went to the living room for a glass of water, I saw Blake’s tablet on the table. I tried the password Amber had given me, and it unlocked easily.
Once unlocked, I found Blake’s SnapChat still open. There was a pinned conversation, and the profile picture was identical to Amber’s.
The SnapChat username was “Sweet Pea,” but Blake had saved her as “My Kitten.”
Blake and Amber didn’t chat constantly, but he confided in her about all the major things.
Juggling his wife and his girlfriend – turns out my own husband was a real time management guru.
Learning of Blake’s lies, my hands clenched into fists.
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