"Is it ready?", you hear Mark's voice call out impatiently from the living room.
"Just a minute!" you called down, watching the microwave tick down as your popcorn cooked. As soon as the machine beeped, you grabbed the bag and ran to the couch where he was waiting for you covered by a blanket with his arms open. You settled in as he covered you both with the blanket and leaned back onto the armrest. Relaxing, you opened the bag and pressed play and your favorite movie started playing on the TV. Every time it was your turn to pick the movie, you always picked from ones you had already watched and enjoyed. He never complained. As long as you had a good time, he was fine. As the movie played on, you noticed Mark continuously checking his phone, which was a pretty normal occurrence during movies you had watched multiple times, except now it seemed as if he was hiding it. You snuggled closer, causing him to put his phone away all together. Dismissing it, you returned to the movie. An hour later, as the credits rolled, Mark tapped your arm, signaling you to get up.
"Something came up at work," he explained while walking towards the door and putting his shoes and jacket on. "I have to go rerecord some stuff."
"Um okay. When will you be back? Should I wait up?" you asked.
"No. No. It's fine. It could take a really long time. I probably won't be home until late," he rambled.
"Oh. Well bye I guess," you said. But it was pointless. He was already out of the door before you could get the second syllable out. You sighed. He had been acting so weird for the last couple of days and you just couldn't figure out why. Your mind had come up with many possibilities and you were trying your hardest not to think the worst.
Getting up, you decided to get ready for bed, showered, and wrapped your hair. You followed your usual routine and got into bed. You were more than ready for sleep, only your mind didn't agree. You lay there for hours thinking of everything that was going on. Just as your mind was finally drifting and it seemed like you would get a little sleep, you heard the shower start. Mark was back. Rolling over, you checked the time. 4 a.m. What the fuck was going on? There was no way he was just correcting a recording until this late. And why would he need to shower after? He usually took his shower in the morning. Your thoughts were interrupted as the shower cut off. You stilled your breath and pretended you were asleep. A few minutes later, Mark entered the room and got into bed.
"(Y/N)," Mark whispered, checking to see if you were awake. You didn't move and kept your breathing steady. He moved closer and wrapped his arms around you. You spent the night like that. Eyes open, staring at the wall, letting him hold you.
The next morning, he woke up smiling brightly and you smiled back as if you didn't know anything.
"Did you sleep well? What time did you go to sleep?" he asked.
"Yes, and I think about 12," you replied, setting a trap. "When did you get home?"
"Oh. About 1 or 2. I guess I barely missed you," he lied. You couldn't believe it. He really lied to your face. And if he had to lie about it, obviously something he didn't want you to know about was going on. You had a feeling your worst thought was correct.
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Days passed and you never brought the haunting question up. In fact, you didn't even think about it. He had since been so loving that you convinced yourself it was your imagination. Sure, he had been spending a lot of time away, but you figured it was just work. When he was home, he was always near you, touching you. He even followed you into the shower once after a sexually charged date night, which lead to a pretty passionate night. Everything was fine.
Two weeks into this blissful period, as Mark was relaxing on the couch, he asked you absentmindedly to get his phone charger out of his nightstand. You decided to let him be lazy and went to get it. Looking through the drawer, you quickly spotted the charger, and next to it a black box. Out of curiosity, you opened it. Inside, was a shining gold necklace with your name on it. Your hand found its way to your mouth, then back down to glide your fingers across the necklace's smooth letters. Squealing, you returned the box to its place, excited to receive it. Your excitement faded as you noticed another box in the drawer, pushed a little further back. You opened it to find another necklace, this one with the name Somin. This time when your hand found its way to your mouth, it was out of shock. You were right. Mark was cheating on you.
"Did you find it?" he called, making you jump.
"Yea," you answered. You hurriedly closed the box and put it back. Grabbing the charger, you went to give it to Mark, your heart racing.
"Thanks," he said without looking at you, which was a good thing. If he had seen your face, he easily would've been able to see your emotions on your face. You were sure the anger, confusion, and hurt all showed. You couldn't stay there. You needed to collect yourself and make sense of your thoughts.
"I'm going on a walk," you announced, grabbing your coat and keys, and heading toward the door. He grunted in response.
You wondered for about two hours, calming yourself, before you got a text from Mark.
Mark: Hey, I have to go into work really quick. You should head home. It's getting late.
You: Yea. Okay.
You still didn't know what to do. Should you confront him? Or just lock him out, ignore him, and hope he doesn't try to contact you? Was the necklace even proof enough that he was cheating? All this ran through your head as you walked back home. When you got to the corner before your street, you saw Mark walking. You quickly decided to follow him. He walked for about ten minutes until he reached the door of a house. You hid behind a tree. The whole time he was so focused that he hadn't even noticed you. You held your breath, still holding out hope that you were wrong. This hope was crushed after you saw a woman open the door and Mark kiss her on the lips before stepping in. You turned around, back against the tree, and slid to the ground. Tears pricked at your eyes, but you willed them away. You weren't going to cry. Standing up, you began the walk home. Halfway there, you knew exactly how you were going to handle this situation.
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Three days passed as you put your plan into place. It disgusted you how normal he acted and you had to hold yourself back from cringing every time he touched you. You slowly began to hate him. Finally, after one last phone call confirming you address and the scheduled time, you were ready.
You: Hey. Meet me at our favorite café.
Mark: Sure. Be there in ten.
You made sure to dress nice and beat him to the café. Once he walked in, you flagged him down, smiling as if you were happy to see him. Once he was settled, the two of you ordered. You let him pay. Wiping his hands on a napkin, Mark asked, "So what made you want to meet here? WE usually only come here on special occasions."
"It is a special occasion," you answered.
"Really? Why? What's going on?" he questioned.
"I think you know what's going on Mark."
He gave you a puzzled look.
"I know what's been going on. I know that you've been cheating on me."
He stared at you, not even trying to deny it. After a moment, his jaw clenched and he looked out of the window.
"I don't want an explanation. Frankly, I don't even want to be looking at you right now, but I should do this. So, let's get this straight right now. You won't contact me again. Here." You toss a pair of keys on the table. His head snaps toward you.
"What's this?" he asked.
"The keys to the storage unit that has all your stuff in it," you say standing up. "And don't think about trying to come home. The locks have been changed."
You walk away and stop a couple of feet from the door, waiting to see if he even cared enough to try to come after you. He didn't. Looking back, you saw he just sat there with his head in his hands. You shook your head and walked out.
