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.

came back from a business trip. You must be tired.” I forced a smile and asked, “Were you busy today?”

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

whenever he held me. When I finished cooking, I

me questioningly. “Why do you

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

a million pieces as I spoke. I knew Matthew couldn’t handle alcohol well, so I poured him a little to avoid arousing suspicion. Then

talkative. I pretended to be in high spirits as I reminisced about our college days, starting the business, and

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

my mission. My heart was pounding as it was my first time looking through his things in

through his pockets and

but he

need water,” he

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