The Man She Cheated

Doubt Becomes Action

Chapter Two

Back home, Clara was waiting.

She wasn’t crying anymore. That scared him more than the tears would have. Crying meant regret. This, this calm, still face, meant she’d already moved to damage control.

“Kendrick, I’m sorry” she said, blocking the hallway. Her arms were crossed, defensive.

He held up the hospital receipt. The paper crinkled in his grip.

“I asked for a paternity test.”

Her face drained of color. It happened fast, like someone pulled a plug. “You think Daniel isn’t yours?”

“I know you’ve been seeing Rig for months,” Kendrick said. His voice was quiet, but it cut. “I read the messages. I saw the photos. So yeah, I think it.”

Clara’s voice cracked. “It was a mistake. One night when you were away for work. I was drunk, I was lonely.” Lonely.

The word sat wrong in his chest.

He’d been in Texas for 72 hours, running on coffee and 4 hours of sleep, closing the deal that paid their mortgage and Daniel’s tuition.

He’d called her every night. She’d said she missed him. She’d said she couldn’t sleep without him.

“Lonely?” He laughed, but it sounded hollow, ugly. “I was in Texas closing the deal that paid for this house. That paid for Daniel’s school.

And you were sleeping with a client.”

“I never wanted you to find out!” Her eyes were wet again.

“Too late.” He stepped around her. His chest felt tight. “I’m going to see Daniel.”

“Don’t”

Kendrick opened Daniel’s bedroom door. The hinges creaked. His son was still asleep, curled on his side, clutching the old Spider-Man toy

Kendrick gave him for his 5th birthday. The toy’s red paint was chipped. Daniel refused to let him replace it.

Daniel looked exactly like him. The same nose. The same stubborn chin. The same way he slept with one arm thrown over his head.

But doubt was a poison. Once it was in, you couldn’t unseen it.

Every feature that looked like him suddenly looked like a coincidence.

Clara stood behind him, voice low, careful. “If you do this, there’s no going back.”

Kendrick didn’t turn around.

“Maybe there shouldn’t be.” He closed the door quietly. The click felt final.

When he walked out, Clara was on the phone. Whispering. Her back was to him, shoulders tense.

“Rig, he knows. He’s doing a test. What do we do?”

Kendrick stopped breathing.

Rig.

So she’d already told him. She went to him before she tried to explain to her husband.

His hands went numb. Not just an affair. A plan.

And now Kendrick had to wonder

What else had they planned?