His Tight Praise Outed His Affair,I Made Him Beg

While my husband, Julian Holden, was in the shower, I snooped through his phone for the very first time. Over the past three months, he had over 50 packages sent to Unit 101, Building 8 of Rosewood Apartments. I closed my eyes. I knew that address all too well. It was where my best friend, Mia Hall, lived. I stared at the screen for a long time, remembering my very first pregnancy. Julian had told me, "Get rid of it. Being a father is something I'll leave for the next life." It turned out his "next life" was simply this lifetime with Mia. Gripping the phone, I felt the blood drain from my face. The recipient saved in his shopping cart history was entirely my best friend's name. Julian stepped out of the bathroom, drying his hair. He saw me staring blankly at his phone and asked casually, "What's wrong? Checking up on me?" I didn't say a word. Instead, I swiped open the long list of things he had bought for Mia and shoved the screen in his face. "Care to explain? Why did you buy so much stuff for Mia?" I asked. He fell silent for a few seconds. His tone darkened instantly as he tried to flip the script. "What are you implying? Are you monitoring me?" "Answer me. What exactly is going on between you two?" I yelled. "What could possibly be going on? Isn't she your best friend?" he scoffed. "She saw I had discount coupons last time and transferred me money to buy things for her. Is that a crime?" Unsurprisingly, he was ready for this. He already had his script rehearsed. "That's not a crime," I replied coldly. "But having you buy her intimate lingerie? That's a massive problem!" Julian let out a dismissive chuckle. "Don't you always complain my taste is tacky? I was worried you'd hate it, so I didn't buy you any." He reached out to hug me, but I stepped aside. He sighed, acting like the victim. "Alright, stop throwing a tantrum. Let's go to sleep." With that, he turned around and lay down, refusing to look at me. I opened Mia's social media and slowly scrolled down. Three months ago, she posted a blurry photo officially announcing her new boyfriend. A man's large hand was pressed against hers on a glass window. Her caption read: Once you sleep with some people, you can't pull yourself away. Stolen happiness is definitely sweeter. That was the exact month Julian told me his company was going on a team-building trip, and family members weren't allowed. He was gone for half a month. Two months ago, on Valentine's Day, Mia posted a photo of two people holding hands on a beach at sunset. Her caption read: Stolen happiness is still happiness. At least he's with me on the days that matter. So, I was the one getting robbed this whole time. That day, I had bought movie tickets weeks in advance, but Julian claimed he was stuck on a business trip. I ended up sitting alone in the theater with a giant tub of popcorn, watching the whole movie by myself. Thinking of all this made my stomach churn violently. Frustrated, I tossed the phone aside. Julian turned over, his warm breath hitting my neck. He sounded incredibly exhausted and helpless. "Aria, what exactly do you want from me?" I looked at him calmly. "What could I possibly want from you?" Thinking of all the children he forced me to lose over the years, I added, "Actually, you're pretty good at playing dad. You just didn't want to be the dad of my children, right? And Mia is pretty much a slut. She just doesn't want people to realize it!" Julian's face changed instantly. "What kind of bullshit are you spouting? Mia isn't that kind of person!" he blurted out. His desperate need to defend her triggered another memory. Mia had shown up at our door specifically looking for Julian twice. The first time, she "accidentally" left her house keys in his car. She knocked on our door in the middle of the night, her eyes red from crying, looking for them. Julian ended up driving her home. Two weeks later, I found a tube of lipstick under the passenger seat of his car. Julian casually brushed it off. "Mia must have dropped it by accident." He then naturally pocketed it himself. That was our very first massive fight. At the end of the screaming match, he explained in deep frustration, "Aria, not everyone's brain is filled with this filthy, paranoid garbage like yours." He had acted so emotionally wounded at the time that I actually believed him. Snapping back to the present, Julian reached out to hold my hand, but I pulled away. He didn't get angry. Instead, his voice softened. "Alright. It was my fault for not thinking it through. Stop being mad, okay? I won't buy things for other people anymore. I promise." He pulled out a necklace and handed it to me, wearing a coaxing smile. "Look, I got you this heart-shaped necklace you wanted. Let me put it on you." Having just snooped through his phone, I knew this cheap piece of jewelry was just a "buy-one-get-one-free" promotional gift. I stood up, popped the lid of the trash can, ripped the necklace from my neck, and tossed it right in.