William's Secret

A Lipstick in the Car

In a daze, I had a dream.

I dreamed that I poked the woman in the belly with a harpoon, blood flowed down, and a baby came out of it.

In the dream I was furious, and the baby laughed and jumped on me.

William came home even later. For the first time, we hit a rocky patch.

After a few more days, he offered to make peace and bought me a bunch of roses.

"Honey, forgive me."

He sat on his knees on the couch and looked at me, his eyes shining like a puppy's.

Before, I would have accepted his apology. Now, my mind was full of that woman's bulging belly.

"Let's have dinner, or the food is getting cold."

He took my hand, and the moment he touched me, I felt my whole body stiffen.

"Honey, don't be mad at me. Cheer up."

William always said nice things to me.

He hugged me gently. My eyes reddened again as I felt a warmth I hadn't experienced in a long time.

"We will celebrate your birthday again in a few days, okay?"

He rested his head on my shoulder.

"Is it that you don't like my gift? That one is the best seller, you know."

William held my face. "If you don't like it, let's buy another gift, okay?"

Was it a coincidence?

Was that bracelet just a best-seller?

I felt a little relieved. Could it be that I was overthinking?

On a weekend, William took me out, saying it was to make up for my birthday.

I smiled and got in the passenger side when I suddenly felt something in the back.

Reaching over, I got a long object.

It was an expensive lipstick that I'd always wanted to buy.

"Wow, honey, is that your surprise?"

I held the lipstick up to William, who stared ahead without looking away.

I couldn't see his expression.

"What is it? I've never seen it before."

He cocked his head and looked away for less than a second.

"Maybe my colleague left it behind. I didn't know."

As if he was afraid I wouldn't believe him, William deliberately raised his voice.

I turned my head, my face pale.

There were scratches all over the lipstick. It looked like it'd been used for a long time.

Just as I looked at it, I smelt the familiar baby soup scent.

"Honey, where do you want to go for a walk?"

William asked me several times before I responded.

"I want to go home."

"What?"

"I said I wanted to go home."

I turned my head, gritting my teeth and blushing miserably.

William frowned. "Audrey, what are you mad about again?"

I reached out and tightened my grip on the handle. "I'm going to jump out of the car if you don't stop."

William pulled over. I opened the door and got out of the car.

I thought he would stop me, but he drove the car away without hesitation. The car quickly disappeared.

I sat on the roadside, tears falling.

At this time, my phone rang. I picked it up, and it was Vivian.

"I finished my task."

She sounded tired.

"That woman's name is Abril, William's business partner."

I fought the urge to cry out. "Thank you."

Vivian seemed to feel my sadness. "Don't be sad. Maybe William doesn't take her seriously.

"I'm sending you the information I found out. Where are you now?"

I shook my hand hard. "I'm near my home. I'll tell you later."

Was I overthinking this?

But from their intimate behaviors and the way they addressed each other, how could it be nothing between them?

It was late at night before William returned. We still didn't talk to each other.

I couldn't sleep and suddenly had the urge to check his phone.

William faced the backrest of the sofa and slept soundly.

I quietly picked up his phone and typed in my birthday.

Wrong password?

I felt stunned.

When did he change his password? Why didn't I know?

I entered William's birthday again. It was still incorrect.

I bit my lip. Several numbers came to me, and I didn't wish my guess was true.

Flipping through the information Vivian had sent me, I got Abril's birthday. It was the 25th of October.

I entered each of these four numbers...

It was correct.