OUR LITTLE SECRET

Part 11

A few days later...

A few days later, and following an array of arguments between Danielle and Cillian, Danielle decided to investigate matters further after her husband had gone to bed early that day. After all, she couldn't trust anything he said anymore, especially when it concerned other women.

As quiet footsteps echoed across the cold wooden floors, Danielle tip-toed cautiously into Cillian's bedroom as, just recently, they decided to sleep separately. Despite being aware of the risk involved, her need for confirmation trumped her common sense.

Slowly, opening the door slightly, she peered into the dimly lit space. Her eyes darted quickly, trying to locate his cell phone on the nightstand beside the bed. Her senses heightened, anticipating danger.

As quietly as she could manage, she tiptoed toward the object of her search, which was plugged into a wall charger. She undid the latch on Cillian's phone case swiftly but silently. As she lifted the device from its perch, her heart thundered in her ears, nearly drowning out the faint ringing noise emanating from within.

Careful not to drop the expensive piece of technology, she slinked back to her room, closing the door behind her softly. Closing her eyes briefly, she took a few calming breaths, grateful to still be unnoticed. Opening her eyes again, she glanced at the clock - it was almost midnight.

She punched in his passcode, which was still the same, and then she went straight to his text-message folder. Scrolling past the ones from friends and acquaintances, she stopped abruptly at something that seemed odd, referring to a person simply by their initials, followed by a heart emoji.

Intrigued, she opened the conversation thread and, just as she did, her chin dropped.

The entirety of the text exchange revolved around explicit content that made her question whether she wanted to delve any deeper. In shock, she read on and also saw pictures as well as short videos attached, each showing several intimate moments.

One of the pictures showed a woman's intimate parts exposed to the camera, her nipple hardened and covered in ejaculate and another photo revealed what appeared to be a closeup of her husband's erection, ejaculating onto the woman's body.

In a very short video clip, she witnessed her husband penetrating the unknown woman vigorously, and the audio even captured their moans.

It was evident that they had performed multiple sexual acts together, in which he did not even bother to wear protection, suggesting carelessness and recklessness. Danielle felt physically sickened at the thought of such practices happening behind her back.

In his text messages to the female stranger, she discovered that not only were their exchanges filled with dirty talk, but he also told her that he missed her and wanted to see her again.

His last message, in particular, went as far as to invite this woman to his home on Tuesday afternoon, telling her that he really needed to talk to her, and Danielle wondered what this last message could possibly have been about.

It certainly suggested some level of premeditation for their secret encounters, which intensified her rage further. The texts indicated his desire to take things beyond mere sexual interactions and she worried that the time had come when he would leave her.

In the end though, she knew that there was nothing she could do about this now and thus she decided to return his phone

to him, making certain no trace remained of her snooping. Before placing the phone back, she scrolled through the threads again looking for any additional evidence, finding none. It wouldn't change how betrayed she felt or alleviate her wrath, but she found solace in knowing she had answers to questions she had feared asking.