The city lights shimmered outside their apartment as Adrian watched Claire pack her suitcase.

“Business trips again?” Adrian sighed.

“The trips, meetings, deadlines, they’re all part of the job,” Claire explained, zipping up her suitcase.

“I promise it won’t be long. I’ll miss you too.”

Claire gathered her things, kissed him, and left.

***

Back home, Adrian muttered, “Finally, she’s gone!” and called his mistress.

“I’ll get roses on the way. I know they turn you on!” she promised.

“Come soon; I can’t wait!” Adrian said excitedly.

As Vanessa arrived, they shared a passionate kiss. “You love my kisses and her perfume, don’t you?” she teased, spraying Claire’s perfume all over her body. They were about to get in bed when the doorbell interrupted them.

“Who could that be?” Vanessa sighed.

“Claire, you’re back? I thought you left for Hong Kong,” Adrian stammered.

“My flight got canceled. I have to wait three days for the next one!”

“Why didn’t you call me? I mean…I could’ve come to pick you up from the airport.”

“Ah, never mind. I decided to visit the bookshop on the way. My phone battery is dead…sorry I couldn’t call. Anyways, now I’m home.”

Before Claire could notice, Adrian quickly grabbed and pocketed Vanessa’s lingerie from the lampshade and hurried after his wife to stop her before she entered the bedroom.

“Claire, I missed you so much!” Adrian hugged her, but she sensed something was off.

“You’re being weird, Addy. It’s just been three hours,” she said, her brows furrowed.

“Three hours without you felt like an eternity for me!” Adrian awkwardly explained.

“I get it,” Claire squeezed Adrian’s shoulders, staring into his eyes. “I was expecting your texts, but you didn’t send me any.”

“I left my phone in the charger and forgot,” Adrian said. “I thought I’d video call you later once you reach.”

“Now that I’m home, let’s plan dinner. But first, I need to use the restroom,” Claire said, craning her neck in shock.

“I heard something. Who’s in there?” she pointed at the bedroom.

“No one. It must be the windows…I left them open,” Adrian stammered.

Ignoring him, Claire approached the bedroom. “Claire, honey, stop…there’s no one. Don’t you trust me?” Adrian pleaded.

Claire barged in but found no one. “I thought I heard something like someone coughing. I felt you had someone here.”

“What? No, it’s the windows,” Adrian insisted.

“Sweetheart, I love you more than you know. There’s nothing to be worried about,” Adrian assured her. “How about you go and take a shower? You must be tired.”

Claire nodded, and as she closed the bathroom door, Adrian sighed in relief. Quietly, he looked for Vanessa, finding her under the bed. “Leave before she comes out,” he whispered.

While Claire showered, Adrian helped Vanessa sneak out. But just as they reached the door, they ran into the pizza guy, his face obscured by his helmet.

“Your pizza, sir! Sorry for the delay,” he apologized loudly.

“But sir, who’s gonna pay for this? I can’t cancel your order like that. You’ll need to call the restaurant!”

Adrian paid him and told him to get lost when Claire’s voice boomed from behind: “Did you order food?”

“I was hungry, thought we could order!” Adrian glared at the pizza guy and shut the door in his face.

“I love you, so I love everything you love,” Adrian blurted out while Claire was getting suspicious about him as she noticed he had ordered pizza. Yet, she took a bite from a slice, only to rush to the sink and puke it out.

“What’s in this pizza? Did you order it extra spicy?” Claire coughed.

“You said you liked a bit of heat. Thought we could try the Tabasco pizza tonight,” Adrian apologized.

“A bit of heat? This is like a volcano in my mouth!” Claire exclaimed. You’ll be such a silly but adorable dad, she thought.

“Sorry, sweet pea. Let’s order something else,” Adrian suggested.

“Order something else, or let’s go to a restaurant. I’m starving,” Claire decided, thinking she’d disclose the pregnancy the next day. She’d make special arrangements. She was too tired now.

“It’s late. I’ll order something else,” Adrian agreed. “Sorry about the pizza.”

“No apologies until you have a bite,” Claire teased. Adrian reluctantly took a bite, pretending to enjoy it.

“Never seen you eat spicy food. And now, you’re eating a double Tabasco pizza? Do you really like it?” Claire asked suspiciously.

“Preferences change, you know? It’s not so bad,” Adrian lied, taking another bite.

Claire went to change, leaving Adrian to ‘enjoy’ the spicy pizza in relief. But he actually spat it in the sink the moment she left.

The next day, Claire discussed Adrian’s strange behavior with her friend at a restaurant. She hadn’t been able to sleep the whole night, wondering if Adrian was even ready to take this big step in their lives. Would he be a good father?

“I think there’s something bothering him,” Claire told her friend.

“You’re overthinking, babe. Maybe he’s finding it hard when you’re on those business trips; maybe he misses you,” her friend, Vanessa, suggested.

“But he seems so distant these days, Van!” Claire was worried.

“Babe, men are different with emotions. Don’t let these things get into your head,” Vanessa assured her.

Little did Claire know Vanessa was Adrian’s mistress. Vanessa suggested Claire take a solo vacation. However, Claire considered taking Adrian along, unknowingly foiling Vanessa’s plans.

“Anyway, let’s order food!” Vanessa said, feigning a smile. Claire got the shock of her life when Vanessa completed the order with a half-regular, half-double-Tabasco pizza.

“I just love extra spicy Tabasco pizza!” Vanessa chuckled as the order arrived. But Claire wasn’t as excited.

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you eating anything?”

“Nothing. It’s just work,” Claire lied while connecting the dots in her head. She recalled Adrian’s strange behavior, the messy bedroom, the Tabasco pizza, and now…Vanessa’s love for the same pizza!

She excused herself and left the restaurant, claiming she had urgent work to do. On her way home, she called Adrian, but his line was busy. She called Vanessa then, and the result was the same.

Claire’s heart sank. The life growing inside her was her and Adrian’s, and here was…cheating on her! But that betrayal gave Claire a newfound strength.

“Honey, who were you talking to for so long?” Claire confronted Adrian as she entered their room with a suitcase.

“No one… just a friend,” Adrian lied, eyeing Claire’s suitcase. “Leaving again?”

“Just got a call for a last-minute work trip to Cairo,” Claire explained.

“You just returned yesterday! What’s the point of us living together?” Adrian lashed out.

“What do you mean, Addy? I’m doing this for us!” Claire snapped.

“Well, I’m done. Let’s just…get a divorce!”

“What? Why?”

“You’re hardly home. It’s been three years, and you’ve not been able to give me a child!” Adrian accused.

Claire, teary-eyed, defended herself. “I work hard for us, Adrian. You can’t blame me for not having a child. And we’d decided to wait for two years before trying!”

We ARE having a baby, Adrian, she thought, But you ruined everything, and now, you’ll never see this baby’s face!

Adrian went on to propose a divorce and splitting the property. Claire swallowed her tears.

“Alright,” she said eventually. “Let’s not rush with this, okay? Let me get done with this business trip. And then we’ll discuss everything with a cool head.”

“Alright, if you say so,” Adrian wickedly smiled while staring intensely into Claire’s eyes. “You have only until a week to decide once you’re back from this goddamn trip. Do you hear me?”

Claire silently nodded and left.

Soon after, Adrian called Vanessa over. When she arrived and learned about the whole thing, she was shocked.

“What are you going to do for money?” she scolded him.

“Don’t worry, she’ll have to split the property,” Adrian assured her. “It’s in the prenup!”

Vanessa, wearing a sly smile, voiced her concern about Claire discovering their affair. “She’ll never forgive me if she comes to know that I’m your mistress. I’m worried for her.”

“Where did your loyalty vanish when you shared the bed with me while Claire was on her business trip?” Adrian retorted.

Vanessa, feeling pathetic, shifted her focus. “Not like I always got the best things in life like her! Let’s enjoy the day!”

While Vanessa and Adrian started getting intimate under the sheets, thinking Claire would be on a flight to Cairo, she was waiting for someone in the pizza restaurant just three streets away

Claire sought the truth from the pizza delivery guy who’d visited her apartment and seen Adrian with Vanessa.

“Was it her that you saw with my husband?” Claire asked, showing Vanessa’s picture.

“Yes, that’s her!” the delivery guy confirmed.

The doorbell rang, interrupting Vanessa and Adrian in the bedroom.

“Honey, could you answer that?” Vanessa teased playfully. “I’m exhausted from your love.”

“Be ready for more, babe!” Adrian chuckled before he rushed out to answer the door while buttoning up his shirt. He was irritated to see the pizza guy, his face obscured by the helmet, in the doorway.

Adrian snatched the box from the man and frowned. Vanessa approached the door.

“Did you eat the pizza on the way? Why is this box so light? First of all, you come here and interrupt me! And now this?”

Adrian unboxed the pizza, only to find divorce papers inside instead of an actual pizza.

“DIVORCE PAPERS? Is this some kind of joke?” Adrian gasped.

“You might want to look down at the signature, Adrian!”

Claire removed the helmet and revealed herself, stunning both Adrian and Vanessa.

“SURPRISE!” she smiled and marched inside. “Adrian, I long suspected that you were seeing someone…but my love for you blinded me. Oh, how did I miss noticing that you were my husband’s…sorry, soon-to-be-ex-husband’s mistress?!” She looked at Vanessa, who stood near the door in nothing but a bedsheet.

“Claire, you’re crazy. So what if I was cheating on you? No one’s gonna believe you! You have no proof!” Adrian argued.

Claire revealed a hidden camera under her dress. “Everything’s recorded. I bet this tiny thing is enough to expose your betrayal.”

As Adrian pleaded for another chance, Claire grew angrier.

“That’s enough! You’ve been betraying me forever,” she declared, rejecting his pleas.

Vanessa also begged for forgiveness, claiming she was seduced by Adrian. Claire was just done with both of them. She decided to end both her marriage and friendship.

“Both of you liars and two-faced traitors deserve each other! Trust, once broken, is forever broken! You’ve got one hour to pack and get the hell out of my house…and my life! Good luck!”

Claire hurled her wedding ring on the floor and stormed out of the house, glaring at Adrian. Her heart ached to think that her child would never have a father, but not having a father was better than a deadbeat dad.

Months after the divorce, Claire found herself on a Hawaiian beach, basking in the pink and gold sunset, embracing her newfound freedom and peace. Adrian eventually learned she was pregnant. But he never approached her asking to be a part of the baby’s life. Why would he? He was just a greedy man and a cheater!

Tell us what you think about this story, and share it with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life.