Chapter 20: Caught on Camera

Amazon Prime delivered overnight. By morning, I had the cameras up and running—tucked behind the bookshelf, hidden in the smoke detector, even taped under the kitchen cabinets. I acted the part of the clueless husband, smiling, cooking, texting Natalie with cute memes like nothing was wrong.

Sure enough, after a brief period of calm, Natalie got lazy about pretending to be nice and quickly returned to her usual coldness. I pretended not to notice.

The old routine came back: silent dinners, separate beds, tension you could slice with a paring knife. I waited, watched, collected every scrap of evidence. It was only a matter of time.

After a few days, I decided to create an opportunity for Natalie and Marcus to meet privately.

I brewed up an excuse, wanting to test how far they’d go with their charade. I rehearsed my lines in the mirror, making sure my voice sounded as genuine as possible.

“It’s the end of the year. I got an invitation from the TikTok Creator Summit to attend their annual event for top influencers. I haven’t gone out much these past two years—maybe I should take this chance to get out?”

I tried to sound upbeat, almost bashful, like I was asking for permission.

Natalie scrolled through her phone, not even looking up. “Up to you.”

Her tone was dismissive, eyes glued to her screen. She didn’t even ask where it was or how long I’d be gone. If anything, she sounded relieved.

I sneered inside, but put on a worried face. “But what about your meals? If I go, who’ll take care of you? Maybe I shouldn’t go.”

I layered in concern, hoping she’d take the bait. I could almost see her calculating, deciding whether to object or push me out the door.

Natalie finally looked up, frowning. “I’m a grown woman, can’t I take care of myself? If you want to go, just go. Don’t use me as an excuse.”

There it was—permission, plain as day. She wanted me gone. I nodded, hiding my satisfaction behind a worried frown.