The Other Woman
1445 Words
Amelia did not remember the drive to her mother’s house. She remembered gripping the steering wheel, stopping at traffic lights, and wiping her face more than once because the tears kept blurring her vision, but the road itself was a blur.
By the time she pulled into the driveway, the sky was beginning to lighten. She sat in the car with the engine off, staring at the familiar house. For seven years, whenever life became difficult, her mother’s home had been the place where she could breathe. Tonight, she wasn’t sure she could.
She looked down at her wedding ring and slowly twisted it around her finger. For the first time since she had put it on, she wondered what it would feel like to take it off.
Amelia stepped out of the car. She barely made it to the front door before it opened.
“Amelia?”
Her mother stood there in a robe, worry already written across her face.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
That was all it took.
Amelia’s face crumpled, and her mother pulled her into her arms. She cried against her mother’s shoulder until her chest hurt, unable to explain everything in the order it had happened. Her mother didn’t ask questions. She simply held her until the worst of the tears passed.
When Amelia finally pulled away, her mother touched her cheek.
“Did Daniel hurt you?”
Amelia shook her head. “Not physically.”
Her mother’s expression changed. “What does that mean?”
Amelia looked away.
“He cheated on me.”
Silence filled the hallway.
Her mother stared at her. “What?”
“Daniel cheated on me.”
“When?”
“I don’t know.” Amelia swallowed hard. “He said it’s been happening for months.”
Her mother’s face fell. “With who?”
“I don’t know her. I found them in our bedroom.”
Her mother closed her eyes for a moment before pulling Amelia inside.
“Come in, my child.”
⸻
After showering and changing into an old pair of pajamas, Amelia sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the wall. She had expected the pain to become smaller once she was away from Daniel, but without his voice telling her that she was overreacting, there was nothing left to distract her from the truth.
He had chosen another woman.
For months.
While Amelia had been working late, helping with bills, sending money to her family, and trying to keep their marriage together, Daniel had been building a relationship with someone else.
Her phone vibrated.
She looked at the screen.
Daniel.
She didn’t answer.
A message appeared.
We need to talk.
Then another.
Don’t make this worse than it already is.
Amelia stared at the words until another message arrived.
Think about your family before you make any stupid decisions.
Her stomach tightened.
There it was again.
Her family.
Daniel knew exactly where to hurt her.
Before she could put the phone down, another notification appeared. This time, the number wasn’t saved.
I’m sorry you had to find out that way.
Amelia frowned.
Another message followed.
I should have told you sooner.
She knew immediately who it was.
Her fingers hovered over the screen before she finally typed, What do you want?
The reply came quickly.
To tell you the truth.
Amelia almost laughed. She had heard enough truth for one night.
I already know.
There was a pause.
You know he cheated. You don’t know everything.
Amelia stared at the message. Every sensible part of her told her to put the phone down, but another part needed answers.
What don’t I know?
Victoria replied that she could send her something.
A photograph appeared.
Amelia opened it and felt the air leave her lungs.
It was Daniel, sitting across a restaurant table from Victoria. He was smiling—not the polite smile he gave strangers or the tired one he sometimes gave Amelia, but a genuine smile she hadn’t seen in years.
Another photograph arrived. Daniel was handing Victoria a small jewelry box.
Then another.
Victoria getting into Daniel’s car.
Then a hotel receipt.
Amelia scrolled slowly through the messages. There were dinner reservations, hotel bookings, gifts, and transfers. Dates stretched across several months.
This wasn’t an affair that had happened by accident.
It had been planned.
It had been maintained.
It had been a part of Daniel’s life while Amelia was still standing beside him, believing they were married in every sense that mattered.
Why are you sending me this? Amelia typed.
Victoria took longer to answer.
Because I realized I was helping him destroy you.
Amelia’s jaw tightened.
You knew he was married.
Yes.
At least she was honest.
Then don’t pretend you’re innocent.
I’m not.
A moment later, Victoria added, I was wrong to continue seeing him after I understood how he treated you.
Amelia didn’t know whether she believed her. She didn’t know whether Victoria felt guilty or simply wanted to protect herself. But the evidence on her phone was real.
She looked at the final photograph.
Daniel stood outside a luxury hotel with his arm around Victoria’s waist. He looked happy.
Amelia’s throat tightened.
She hadn’t lost her husband last night.
She had lost him months ago.
Maybe years ago.
She had simply been the last person to find out.
⸻
Her mother appeared in the doorway.
“Who was that?”
“Her.”
Her mother didn’t need to ask who.
“Daniel’s mistress?”
Amelia nodded. “She sent me proof.”
Her mother sat beside her. “Don’t look at it anymore.”
“I need to know how long.”
“Knowing every detail won’t make it hurt less.”
“No,” Amelia whispered. “But not knowing makes me feel like I’m losing my mind.”
Her mother took her hand.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then Amelia asked the question she had been avoiding since she walked out of Daniel’s house.
“Mom, if I leave him… how do we survive?”
Her mother’s expression softened.
“You don’t have to make every decision tonight.”
“I’m not talking about tonight. I’m talking about my life.”
Amelia looked down at her hands. Her mother’s medical expenses. Her younger brother’s tuition. The bills Daniel had gradually taken over. The financial responsibilities he had accepted so naturally that Amelia had eventually stopped imagining what life would look like without his help.
“I can’t just walk away because I’m angry,” she said.
Her mother squeezed her hand. “You don’t have to stay because you’re afraid.”
The words settled somewhere deep inside Amelia.
⸻
The next morning, Amelia woke before sunrise. She hadn’t slept much, but beneath the exhaustion was something she hadn’t felt in years.
Clarity.
She sat at the dining table with a notebook and wrote down everything she needed to do: review her finances, speak to her employer, make plans for her mother’s expenses, and find somewhere to stay.
Then she wrote the words she had been afraid to face.
Find a divorce lawyer.
Amelia stared at them for several seconds before underlining them.
Her phone buzzed.
Another message from Victoria.
There is more you should know about Daniel.
Amelia hesitated before opening it.
A document appeared.
She expected another photograph.
Instead, it was a financial document connected to Daniel’s company.
Her eyes moved across the page.
Then stopped.
Something wasn’t right.
Daniel had recently celebrated winning one of the biggest supply contracts his company had ever received. He had spoken proudly about the deal, telling Amelia it would change everything for them.
But the figures on the document suggested money was moving somewhere it shouldn’t.
Amelia read it again.
Then once more.
Her heartbreak was slowly being replaced by something else.
Suspicion.
Victoria sent one final message.
You need a good lawyer, Amelia. Not just because of the divorce.
Amelia stared at the words.
Then she looked at the notebook in front of her.
She picked up her phone, opened her laptop, and began searching for divorce lawyers. Dozens of names appeared, but one caught her attention because she recognized the firm immediately.
Bennett & Cole.
Alexander Bennett.
She stared at the name for a moment before saving the firm’s contact details. She wasn’t ready to call anyone yet. Not tonight.
Tomorrow, she would speak to Sera first.
Amelia closed the laptop and leaned back in her chair, unaware that the man whose name was now sitting in her phone had noticed her long before she ever knew his.
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