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.

tired.” I forced a smile and asked, “Were you

a reply, and my heart immediately sank. I playfully nudged him with

woman whenever he held me. When I finished cooking, I smiled and asked, “Do you want a drink? It’s been a while, and I want

me questioningly. “Why do you

I asked as I turned to get the wine. “Since I made so many dishes, we need to

shattering into a million pieces as I spoke. I knew Matthew couldn’t handle alcohol well, so I poured him a little

became excited and talkative. I pretended to be in high spirits as I

himself another glass of wine while reminding me not to drink too much. Ultimately, he drank more than he could handle. He was drunk when

I washed up and put Ava to bed before beginning my mission. My heart was pounding as it was my first time looking through his things in so many years. I finally

searched through his pockets and bag

to grab his hand, but he suddenly turned

need water,” he slurred

onto the bed, fast asleep. I unlocked and looked through his phone but found no suspicious names in the call history. I recognized most of them, and it seemed like very few were female, so I