Chapter 1: The First Betrayal

My wife was seven months pregnant. One night, working late at the office, I made a mistake that changed everything.

The office was nearly empty, the hum of the copy machine echoing down the hallway. My desk was a mess of paperwork, my phone buzzing with reminders from Emily—her vitamins, questions about the nursery, little pieces of our life together. But that night, something inside me gave way. Madison’s easy laughter, the trace of vanilla lotion in the air, her hand brushing against mine as we sorted reports—suddenly, the boundaries blurred, and I let myself slip.

I told myself it was just a moment of weakness.

Guilt gnawed at me on the drive home, the city lights streaking past as I replayed every second, promising myself it would never happen again. I tried to rationalize—just a mistake, something to bury under apologies and extra time at home. But the more I tried to leave it behind, the more it haunted me.

But affairs aren’t isolated moments. Once you cross that line, it’s never just once.

Three days. That’s all I managed. Three days of forced small talk at work, three days of avoiding Madison’s eyes, three nights lying next to Emily, watching the shadows spin from the ceiling fan, listening to the house settle in the cold Chicago winter. Three days, and then I slipped again…