My sister kissed my husband in front of thirty people at her own anniversary party and called it a joke. kertati Her husband had a wrapped present in his hands and an envelope she had never opened.

No photographs.

No contact names.

Just a black screen.

I turned it on.

There was one message waiting.

From Sasha.

Are you sure she doesn’t know?

The message was dated six days earlier.

My hands went cold.

I opened the conversation.

There were hundreds of messages.

Years of them.

At first, they looked harmless.

Are you coming tonight?

She went upstairs.

He thinks I’m asleep.

Don’t call me from your number.

Then they changed.

I miss you.

I hate going home after seeing you.

One day we’ll stop pretending.

I scrolled further.

Then I saw:

Sasha: What if Bryony finds out?

Callan: She won’t.

Sasha: How do you know?

Callan: She trusts me completely.

I stopped scrolling.

I read it again.

Then again.

I continued.

Sasha: And Bram?

Callan: Bram is easy. He believes whatever you tell him.

I sat down on the edge of the bed.

They weren’t just cheating.

They were discussing us.

Our marriages.

Our families.

Our trust.

Like we were obstacles.

Like we were furniture that could be moved when convenient.

Then I found a message from almost nine years earlier.

Sasha:

I shouldn’t have kissed you.

Callan:

You shouldn’t have stopped.

Nine years.

Nine years of lies.