He Cheated With My Friend My Parents Helped Chapter 02
I had just tied up the garbage bag when a video call from Gabriel came through.
The moment he saw my face, his brow furrowed.
“I just got back to the hotel. Mags, why are you so pale? Are you sick?”
I stared at his image on the screen, a bitter taste in my mouth.
“Gabriel, look at me and tell me where you really are.”
His eyes flickered for a half-second before his mask was back in place.
“I already told you. I’m on a business trip.”
He stood up and panned the phone around.
“See? Hotel room. Don’t let your imagination run away with you.”
“I’ll be back in two days, tops. Wait for me at home.”
Ever since he’d lost his eye, he always angled his face so only his good right eye was clearly visible on video calls.
But this time, he deliberately brought the scarred left side closer to the lens, as if reminding me of the promise he’d extracted.
My chest tightened.
I didn’t answer. I just hung up.
A few seconds later, a Venmo notification popped up. He’d sent me money with a note attached.
[Sorry I can’t be with you for Thanksgiving. Buy yourself something nice. I need to get back to work.]
I suddenly remembered my parents’ house had security cameras, inside and out.
When I opened the home security app, a notification informed me that the administrator had revoked my access.
So, in their eyes, I really was an outsider now.
I unblocked Sienna on Instagram. Three years of her posts flooded my feed.
The newest one was from an hour ago.
[All my favorites. Happy Thanksgiving.]
The photo showed the exact holiday dinner my mother had made.
Both my parents had liked the post. My mother had even commented.
[Glad you liked it, sweetie. I’ll make it for you again next time.]
Further down was a photo of Sienna and Gabriel, their hands clasped together over her swollen stomach.
[Daddy loves Mommy, so baby came to us.]
My parents’ likes were sprinkled across almost every post.
By the time I finished scrolling, my hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold my phone. The pain in my chest was so tight it was hard to breathe.
For three full years, my parents had been taking care of the woman my husband was having an affair with.
The house I’d lived in for over a decade had become a cover for their affair.
Gabriel hadn’t ended things with Sienna at all. They were having a child together.
I was the only one who didn’t know the truth. And all this time, I’d been drowning in guilt over what I thought I’d put them all through.
I grabbed my car keys and drove back to my parents’ house. I had to hear it from them, face-to-face.
I pounded on the front door, but no one answered.
I tried my old passcode. It failed. I tried again. Failed. With only one try left, my hand was shaking too hard to punch in the numbers.
On a sick impulse, I entered Sienna’s birthday.
The lock clicked open.
Standing in the doorway of my childhood home, I finally broke down and sobbed.
No one was inside.
The living room floor was piled high with diapers, a stroller, and bags of baby clothes.
A new family portrait hung on the wall. In it were my father, my mother, Gabriel, and Sienna, all smiling.
The old photo of me with my parents had been taken down and tossed on the floor, its frame leaning against the wall.
I went upstairs and pushed open the door to what used to be my bedroom. I froze on the threshold.
The room had been converted into a generic, hotel-style guest room. Everything in it—the bedding, the lamp, the art on the wall—was an exact match for what Gabriel had just shown me on his video call.
The image of him standing right here, lying straight to my face, made my legs give out. I collapsed onto the carpet, bile rising in my throat.
Then I heard the front door open downstairs, followed by footsteps and cheerful chatter.
My mother spoke first.
“Well, we’ve basically bought everything the baby needs. Tomorrow we can get the rest of the things Sia will need for postpartum.”