The Day My Water Broke, I Caught Him Cheating

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My water had just broken when I got a phone call from ten years ago.

On the other end, my own voice was screaming.

Justin Sanchez has been cheating for years. He moved his mistress and love child right into the house...

I didn't believe it.

Justin was famous for spoiling his wife. Everything he owned was in my name, and wherever he went, he reported it to me himself.

Besides, that short call hadn't even gotten the mistress's name straight.

I bore down against the tearing pain of the contractions and waited in the labor room for him to come sign the forms.

But he didn't come.

When I followed his phone location to find him, he had Carolyn Harding pinned against the wall in the fire-escape stairwell.

Both of them soaked in sweat, clothes in disarray.

Justin's voice still carried a trace of heat.

"Last time. From now on, anywhere Violet Fox is, we keep our distance."

Carolyn laughed softly and rose onto her toes to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"You still owe me one. So come to Iceland with me next week to see the northern lights."

"No. I need to be with Violet and the baby."

Carolyn pushed her lip out, sulking.

"If you don't give me what I want, I can't promise I'll keep my mouth shut in front of Violet."

Justin looked helpless, then tapped her forehead with fond indulgence.

"Fine. I promise."

I felt like I'd been dropped into ice. The contractions came harder, one after another.

Tears blurred everything. I bit down hard on my lip and dragged myself, step by step, back to the doors of the delivery room.

Stroke by stroke, I signed the surgical consent form.

In the box for marital status, I wrote two large words: Divorced.

...

The next second, the form I'd just signed was torn to shreds in one big hand.

My mother-in-law's spit nearly landed on my face.

"I had a master read the day. Today is cursed. A child born now will kill its father and its mother!"

"You hold it in. Don't have the C-section until after midnight!"

The pain crashed over me like a tsunami. Cold sweat broke out all over.

The doctor lost patience and moved to stand between us.

"The patient's water has already broken. Any more delay and both mother and child are in danger!"

But my mother-in-law didn't care in the slightest. She planted herself in the doorway of the operating room.

"What danger? When I had Justin, I was in labor two days and two nights, and I still delivered him just fine, didn't I?"

I curled into myself against the pain, my vision starting to blur.

The next second, a familiar voice rang out.

"Violet, I just had my phone on silent..."

I looked up. On his rumpled collar, there was the smear of a lipstick mark.

Carolyn shoved my mother-in-law aside in a fury.

"You old woman, what feudal superstition are you pulling now? Are you trying to get Violet and the baby both killed?!"

"You want me to call the police and have you locked up?!"

Carolyn was like a lioness someone had provoked, cursing Justin outright.

"Justin Sanchez, if you can't control this mother of yours throwing a fit, get her out of here."

"Hurry up and sign the form. Don't hold up our Violet!"

Watching her defend me like that, my memory went hazy.

I'd been soft-natured since childhood, always the one getting picked on.

Every time, Carolyn was the first to charge in and stand up for me, hauled into the principal's office more times than I could count for fighting.

After I married, my husband and I lived in peace, but I always clashed with my mother-in-law.

Without a word, Carolyn had dragged me straight to my mother-in-law's house and taken on the whole room by herself, cursing her out so thoroughly that the woman didn't dare give me trouble for the better part of a year.

Justin quickly signed the form.

"Violet, focus on having the baby. I'll deal with my mother and make it right for you."

Right up until they wheeled me into the operating room, he held my hand tight, his eyes full of aching worry.

The anesthesia slowly took hold.

As my consciousness dimmed, my mind filled with these five years with Justin.

The year we married, we went hiking and got caught in a landslide. He shielded me under his own body, and a falling rock broke his leg.

At the hospital afterward, he only looked relieved. "Thank god my Violet is okay."

No matter how my mother-in-law objected, he took on all the housework himself.

He never let me cook or wash a dish. Even something as small as folding clothes, he wouldn't let me touch.

After I got pregnant, he went and learned prenatal massage.

Even after a hard day's work, he gave me a massage for half an hour every night.

Because he was that good to me, I trusted him completely.

When I accidentally noticed how close he and Carolyn were getting, I only complained about it in passing, once or twice.

He held me and soothed me gently.

"You. It's just the pregnancy hormones getting to you, filling your head with nonsense. You're jealous of your own best friend now?"

"I just care for the people you care about. I'm only looking out a little more for your closest friend."

...

"Waah!"

A loud cry pulled me back to reality.

Justin held the baby wrapped in a blanket, his eyes rimmed red.

"You did so well, honey."

"Look, our daughter. She looks so much like you."

He carefully brought the baby to me and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead.

Carolyn took my cold hand too, her tone playful.

"Violet, while you were working so hard to have the baby, I kept an eye on him for you."

"Your husband didn't scroll on his phone, didn't play games, just paced back and forth, so anxious he was about to cry."

"A hundred-percent perfect husband. You finally trained him into one."

Looking at the two of them in front of me, my tears slid silently down from the corners of my eyes into my hair.

Yes. He really was good.

Good enough to sleep with my best friend and still act this heartbroken and devoted right in front of me.

Justin saw the tears on my face and wiped them away, one streak at a time.

"Violet, it hurts me too, seeing you go through this. We won't have any more children. You and our daughter are enough for me."

Then he brought out a bag I'd wanted for ages, and a bouquet he said he'd tied himself.

Something in me softened, just a little. He'd actually remembered the small ritual I'd once mentioned in passing.

But the next second, Carolyn jumped in to claim the credit.

"Violet, I picked all of this out for you myself. You know Justin's hopeless at this kind of thing. Whatever he chose on his own, you'd have hated it."

My heart skipped, hard.

The two of them tangled together in the stairwell, that smear of red on his collar, it all rose up in front of me at once.

I pulled the corner of my mouth into something like a smile, pressed everything back down, and thanked her.

Grinning, she took out a gold bracelet and slipped it onto my daughter's wrist.

"Baby, hurry and take me as your own. I'm your godmother!"

She leaned in to kiss the baby, and Justin pulled her back, annoyed.

"Can you keep some distance from her? What if you've got germs?"

Carolyn rolled her eyes at him, laughing, and settled on the edge of my bed to peel an apple for me.

"Your husband really is such a stiff. I don't know how you put up with him."

Outside, thunder cracked. A storm was coming.

The postpartum nurse Justin had hired finally showed up, late, and the two of them couldn't sit still any longer.

Justin spoke first.

"Violet, why don't I run your friend home first? There's a storm coming, it's not safe out there."

"The nurse will take care of you tonight. I'll come back in the morning."

I nodded, numb, and watched the two of them laugh and shove at each other on their way out the door, without a care in the world.

On the tracking app, they sat in the hospital's underground garage for a full forty minutes.

Beside me, my daughter had already fallen asleep, her little face all wrinkled.

The nurse was tidying away the baby's things.

"Ma'am, your husband really does put you first."

"He was so worried I wouldn't take good care of you, he made a whole slideshow, dozens of pages, laying out all your habits and the things you like."

The year we got married, I ended up in the ER in the middle of the night with acute gastroenteritis.

He was frantic, sweat all over his face, holding onto me so tightly in the hospital corridor his voice shook.

"Violet, from now on I'll handle everything for you, meals, everything. I'll never let you suffer like this again."

In all these years, I never washed a single dish, never cooked a single meal.

There was never any cilantro on the table, the thing I hated, only the flavors I liked.

In winter, when my hands and feet went cold, he'd get into bed half an hour early every night and warm it through before he let me climb in.

The day before my period he'd have all the supplies ready, set out at the most convenient spot on the bathroom counter.

Every time we went out shopping, my own bag was empty.

His was the one that always carried my thermos, my wet wipes, my blister plasters, my spare jacket.

A ringtone broke into the memory.

On the video call, Justin's clothes were soaked through.

"Honey, the storm out here is too much. Carolyn's place got flooded. I've got no choice but to bring her back to stay the night at ours."

There was a rustling on the other end, and Carolyn snatched the phone away.

"Violet, you just rest. I'll keep an eye on your husband for you at home. I promise I won't let him get up to anything."

The camera swung, and I saw it clearly: she was wearing Justin's shirt.

The collar hung slightly open, a wide stretch of skin showing, water still dripping from her hair.

I gripped the phone and said into the screen:

"If there's really no other way, why doesn't Carolyn get a hotel room downstairs?"

On the other end, Carolyn's hand paused in her hair, and she gave a careless little pout.

"No way. No way! Violet, you don't even trust me?"

"They're right online, aren't they. Have a baby and you really do start imagining all kinds of things."

The picture flickered, and she hung up the call.

The screen went black, and my worn-out face stared back at me from it.

I hesitated for a long time, then finally called Mr. Lambert.

"Mr. Lambert, that transfer you mentioned before, I'll take it. Not three months from now, I can leave next month!"

"I need you to help me find a reliable divorce lawyer. I'm taking my child and going."

The next morning, when I opened my eyes, Justin was already sitting on the edge of the bed with breakfast in hand.

"Violet, something came up at work, a big project. I have to go on a business trip."

I stared at him, contempt filling me.

To get to Iceland, he'd actually reached for an excuse this clumsy.

I didn't take the bowl. My voice came out cold. "You absolutely have to go? You can't stay and be with me and our daughter?"

"If it really can't be helped, I'll call your boss and ask for leave on your behalf."

Justin pulled me into his arms.

"I know you just had the baby, and you want me here with you. But this is work. I can't get out of it."

"This is the critical stretch for my career right now. If I land this project, I'll make director."

"And then I can give you and our daughter a better life."

He looked at me, his eyes full of tenderness.

So it turned out love could be acted this convincingly.

Carolyn, sitting and playing with the baby, chimed in to persuade me too.

"Violet, you've got a postpartum nurse for your recovery. You don't really need him at your side."

I turned my head to look at her, my tone even.

"Then I'll let him go on his trip. Carolyn, you stay and take care of me and the baby instead."

Carolyn's smile stiffened for a second, then she waved a hand. "That... won't really work. I've got a project of my own, and it happens I have to travel for it too."

"Well, isn't that a coincidence. Both of you traveling."

Justin's brow was already furrowed.

"Violet, don't be so suspicious. What connection could there possibly be between our two trips?"

"You don't understand how these company things work. Don't just go imagining things."

For the next five days, Justin took care of me himself, hands-on with everything.

The day he left, he pressed a kiss to my forehead.

"Violet, wait for me. Next month I'll be home with you the whole time."

Too bad. I no longer planned to wait for him.

In our chat, Justin reported his schedule to me every day. I never replied once.

On Carolyn's secret account, the posts updated every day.

The newest one was two figures shot from behind, clinging tightly to each other under the northern lights.

The caption: After all the wandering, when will we finally cross every hardship together.

The day the week was up, Justin called.

"Violet, there's been a hitch with the project. We're behind schedule."

"Looks like it'll be a while before I can get back. Just focus on your recovery."

"The project needs some money fronted, so I'm going to borrow from the fund we set up for our daughter for now."

I swallowed the question I wanted to ask and nodded.

Carolyn's secret account kept updating constantly.

They left Iceland, went to Paris, went to Switzerland.

Every one of these was a place Justin had once promised to take me and our daughter.

And now he was using the money from our daughter's account to make it happen early, with another woman.

The day my confinement ended, Justin showed up travel-worn, holding a bouquet of bright red roses.

"Violet, congratulations on finishing your recovery."

Carolyn followed close behind him, her tone light.

"Violet, I've set up a big dinner out tonight. You've been cooped up for a month, you must be dying for it."

I ignored the flowers he held out.

I pushed the signed divorce papers in front of me across to him.

"Let's get divorced, Justin."

"I already know about the two of you."

Carolyn's face went white, her body trembling.

"Violet, we"

Justin cut her off at once and took a quick step toward me.

"Violet, it isn't what you think. You just finished your confinement, the hormones have your emotions all over the place. You've misunderstood."

I looked at him coldly.

"The day I gave birth, I saw you two in the hospital stairwell."

The words were barely out before Carolyn dropped hard to her knees in front of me, tears spilling instantly.

"Violet, I'm sorry!"

She sobbed it, then raised her hand and slapped herself across the face.

Before I could say anything, Justin pulled her behind him.

"Violet, we got drunk once. It was a one-night thing."

"And later, when you were pregnant, I had needs to take care of. Whatever you have, take it out on me. Don't bully her."

"I know you're only using divorce to threaten me. I can sign over everything in my name to you as compensation."

The promise he'd made when he proposed, that he would love me forever and be faithful, was still ringing in my ears.

Rage surged straight to my head. I strode forward, drew back my arm,

and with all the strength in my body I slapped Justin across the face.

"You have me in your heart? Is that why you took her off to see the world while I was in confinement?"

"I could never forgive you. From today on, I'm done with the both of you."

Justin held his cheek and looked at me quietly.

"As long as hitting me makes you feel better."

He seemed certain I would never actually divorce him.

After all, to marry him back then, I had even cut ties with the parents who fought so hard against it.

Carolyn crawled closer, voice thick with tears, and reached for my hand.

"Violet, I know you're angry. If you want to hit me, do it. Just don't ignore me"

A wave of disgust rose in me and I flung her off, hard.

She crashed to the floor, and in an instant her face was streaming with tears.

"Violet, it was my fault. Today I'll pay for it with my life."

Before the words were done she snatched the fruit knife off the nightstand and drove it hard into her own belly.

Blood sprayed.

Justin went ashen and lunged, catching Carolyn tight against him.

"Doctor! Get a doctor, now!"

Carolyn's face was drained of all color as she looked weakly at me.

"Violet, if I die, stay with Justin and be good to him. Forget everything between us."

I stood frozen where I was, watching the medical team rush in and wheel Carolyn away into the emergency room.

Outside the emergency room, his hands covered in blood, Justin turned and fixed his eyes on me.

"Why did you have to push Carolyn with a divorce? Now she's dying. Is this the result you wanted?"

I cried until I retched, barely able to breathe,

everything I'd held down pouring out of me,

"If the two of you were having an affair, you should have told me. I would have let you go."

"Why hide it from me, why make a fool of me like I'm an idiot!"

"How can you face me and our daughter? You used the money in our daughter's account to take your mistress traveling."

Something complicated flickered through his eyes.

"Take the child home first. When Carolyn's recovered, we'll talk about whatever needs talking about."

The emergency room door opened, and Carolyn was wheeled into an ordinary ward.

Justin went straight to her, gripping her hand, keeping step beside the gurney the whole way.

A nurse held out a form to Justin. "Are you the patient's family? Sign here, please."

Justin took the pen without a moment's hesitation.

"I'm her boyfriend."

Listening to the answer that came right out of him, I laughed at myself,

left the signed divorce papers in the ward, and blocked the two of them pinned to the top of my chat list.

That night, holding my daughter in my arms,

I boarded the plane out of Cloudport without looking back.