Three's Company

1. A Humdrum Existence

The first signs of cheating are easy to spot. The realisation should usually come when you notice his heart is wandering and his tone has lost compassion. Above all, you should know he's over you when he stops saying 'I love you.'

It should also be pretty obvious when he starts shittalking on the young pretty thing who just moved in next door. The guilt of wanting to ram his cock into the gorgeous brunette will overwhelm him, and he'll start making excuses about how the so-called incompetent neighbour needs his help with her yard work on a random Tuesday evening, or how Dalia, their eldest chicken, has run away into the plaything's home yet again, and he must go and get her.

Was that a little too specific?

Anyway, the next sign that he's having an affair will be your own state of insecurity.

You'll start asking yourself, am I the problem? Does he loathe me entirely?

Have I seriously collected that many cobwebs down there that he needs to find pleasure in a woman ten years his junior?

Woman, she paused as that sentiment sounded back in her psyche.

Mona almost upchucked her breakfast at that unsettling comment.

The guide to catching a cheater wasn't difficult to follow, but for the thirty-year-old trapped in a loveless marriage with a husband who clearly desired more than her, it was fucking impossible to see.

It only took her five years to notice, five years full of lies and deception. But it all came to her in an epiphany one sunny day on the farm.

Heath, the cheating husband in question, had taken a trip into the city and she got to thinking whilst folding his freshly clean laundry- which was never a good idea.

She began to scrutinise his late-night outings and the sickly sweet perfume odour on his clothes. It reminded her of a scent she had worn in her early twenties, around the time he had fallen in love with her.

For the first year or so, it was heartbreaking and traumatic, and then it became mind-numbing.

But of course, you must remember that cheaters never win, and winners never cheat and that numbness will eventually turn into emptiness.

Heath Callahan was the love of her life, and despite his secret double life, she was still in love with him. Growing up with someone and being with them for ten years will do that to you.

As his tall frame reached down to place a fleeting kiss on her lips, the butterflies she had felt when they first kissed were back in full force.

"I won't be long, habib albi." His throaty voice promised into the empty air around them. "Two or three hours at most."

She knew he was lying, it was never two or three hours at most. More like two or three days.

Her sleepy eyes found his dark brown ones before seizing the picture of his well-groomed dark beard and his short curly hair. She also noted that he was wearing a pristine white dress shirt and the designer slacks she had bought him.

The term of endearment should have sounded odd from his non-Arab speaking self, but she thought otherwise. It always warmed her heart that he called her something so sweet in her language.

Barely awake with sleep still in her eyes, her vision blurred slightly. "Mm?" A soft murmur let out.

"I'm leaving for business, Mo. I'm just saying goodbye."