For three weeks, my husband came home late, fell asleep without a word, and whispered another woman’s name in the dark. He swore he didn’t know her, but then I found her number on his phone. I called her and discovered my husband had been keeping a secret that could cost us everything.Jake and I had been married for two years. We cooked dinner together. We went to bed at the same time. He used to text me in the middle of the day just because.Then the texts slowed down, and he started working late.I didn’t worry at first, but I should’ve.One evening, Jake walked in looking like he’d been dragged behind a bus.”Working late again?””We’re wrapping up a big project. You know how it is.”I didn’t. His job had never taken this much from him before.

But I nodded anyway, because that’s what you do when you want to be the supportive wife.Weeks passed in a blur of late nights and short, clipped answers.One night, I slipped into bed after Jake had already fallen asleep. I closed my eyes, then the silence broke.I sat straight up and stared at Jake. He was deeply asleep.”Jake?”Nothing.lay back down and told myself it was nothing. But less than a minute later, he said it again.”Marlena. Marlena. MARLENA!”This time, he wasn’t whispering. It sounded urgent. It sounded… intimate.I couldn’t just lie there. I reached out and shook his shoulder.He groaned, squinting at me in the dark. “What? Rose? What’s wrong?””Who is Marlena?”