Chapter 3
As usual, I prepared his favorite sandwich and waited for Julian to return. I knew I needed
to tread carefully if I wanted to uncover the truth.
At eleven o’clock sharp, Julian walked through the door. In the three years we’d been married, he’d never come home later than midnight. He always said he couldn’t bear the thought of me being alone, no matter how busy he was.
His forehead was dotted with sweat, and the faint scent of printer ink clung to his clothes. He devoured a large sandwich, barely pausing for a breath. He genuinely seemed exhausted from a long day at work.
“Honey, your cooking is the best. Knowing I get to eat it for the rest of my life makes me so happy.”
His eyes, filled with what seemed like genuine affection, made my heart pound with a mixture of fear and suspicion. I lowered my gaze, subtly avoiding his stare.
Then, I casually brought up the event announcement I’d prepared on my phone.
“Honey, I might not be able to go with you to get the divorce papers tomorrow. The amusement park just announced that everyone in management is required to attend a company event tomorrow. We’ll have to postpone the divorce proceedings for a few days.”
Our park had
at least five mandatory events a year, often announced at the last minute, so he wouldn’t suspect a thing when I said I had to attend one. Today was Wednesday, the event would last two days, and then it was the weekend. Four days should be enough time to investigate.
As expected, when I mentioned the postponement, I saw a flash of disappointment on Julian’s face before he quickly hid it.
“No worries, we can go next Monday.”
He turned towards the shelf. “Honey, did you take your vitamins today?”
I’d completely forgotten. I’d been taking vitamins religiously to prepare my body for
Too Late to Say Sorry
55.9
regnancy and had never missed a day- until today. How did Julian know?
Before I could respond, he’d already retrieved the bottle and a glass of water, placing them in front of me.
“Here you go, honey. Take your vitamins.”
He watched intently as I swallowed the pill, then he turned and headed to the bedroom.
I realized that Julian had taken over handling the prenatal vitamins after I finished the doctor’s prescription. Could there be something wrong with the pills?
I lay awake all night, consumed by anxiety and suspicion.
—
The morning after Julian left for work, I discreetly slipped one of the vitamins into my bag and headed out. I managed to locate a pharmaceutical testing facility and anxiously awaited their assessment. The results wouldn’t be available until tomorrow, but thankfully, they would be sent directly to my phone.
After requesting four days of vacation time, I boarded a bus to Julian’s hometown, but not before posting a picture of myself in workout clothes on social media as an alibi.
As the bus rattled down the road, I sifted through my memories of Julian, hunting for the pieces I’d overlooked.
