Beyond the Divorce

Chapter 7 Looking for Evidence

I had almost finished preparing the food when Matthew returned with our daughter. Ava ran in, exclaiming in her sweet and childish voice, “Mommy, I’m back! Daddy picked me up!”

Her adorable voice brought tears to my eyes, but I suppressed my emotions. “I got you some pineapples. They’re your favorite, right?”

“Oh! Mommy, you’re the best! I can’t wait to eat them” She ran out and headed to Matthew, saying, “Daddy, I want to eat pineapples!”

“You can have a small piece for now. You can have more after dinner, okay?” Matthew washed his hands and took a small piece to hand to our eager little girl. Then he squeezed into the tiny kitchen and hugged me from behind. “Why did you make so much food?”

I felt terrible because this once-happy family of three was now on the verge of collapsing.

a business trip. You must be tired.” I

I playfully nudged him with

he held me. When I finished cooking, I smiled and

“Why do you suddenly want

asked as I turned to get

well, so I poured him a little to avoid arousing suspicion. Then I poured

high spirits as I reminisced about our college

while reminding me not to drink too much. Ultimately, he drank more

My heart was pounding as it was my first time looking through his things in so many years. I finally realized how foolish

his pockets and bag but found

grab his hand, but he suddenly turned and caught me, staring

water,” he slurred at

to him. Then he collapsed back onto the bed, fast asleep. I unlocked and looked through his phone but found no suspicious names in