Chapter 1

I had been begging my wife for weeks, and she finally agreed to come to the movie theater with our son and me to catch the latest blockbuster.

My plan was to wait until the credits rolled, then hit her with the big news: I’d just been promoted to general manager of the entire multiplex.

Then, right in the middle of the movie, my phone buzzed with a wave of notifications from the work group chat.

[Holy crap! Hall 3 is wild right now, 4K quality!]

[Are people for real right now? Doing it in a movie theater like they’re glued together?]

[Seriously though, ping janitorial ASAP. That row is gonna need a deep clean.]

My mind went blank.

Hall 3? That was the exact theater we were sitting in.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I tapped on the video file. The second the screen lit up, my whole body froze.

The couple in the video was sitting right in our row. It was my wife, sitting just past our son, locked together with the guy next to her.

I spun my head toward her. Her cheeks were flushed, her breathing heavy.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I snapped.

Chapter 1

"W-What?"

My wife, Ava Miller Reynolds, went pale for a fraction of a second, caught completely off guard by my sudden outburst.

She recovered almost instantly. She gave her hips a subtle sway, then shoved the bucket of popcorn straight into the arms of our son, Ethan Reynolds.

She tossed me a defensive glare, her voice trembling slightly even as she tried to force an annoyed roll of her eyes.

"We hardly ever get out of the house. What’s the big deal if Ethan eats a few snacks? You’re completely overreacting. Kids these days aren't made of glass. A little junk food isn't going to kill him."

She thought I was confronting her about giving our kid popcorn.

Just then, my phone buzzed again.

On the screen, Ava’s lower body was arched up off her seat. Behind her, a dark silhouette moved against her in a rhythmic, relentless motion. Her upper body, angled right toward me, perfectly blocked my line of sight in the dark theater.

My coworkers were losing their minds in the work group chat, filling the screen with live updates.

[Holy crap, is this girl seriously here with her husband, her kid, and her side guy?]

[I totally thought they were just a couple!]

[I’m praying the husband doesn't figure it out. If a fight breaks out, it’s going to ruin the theater’s reputation.]

My coworkers could only see the back of our heads on the security feed. They had no idea the idiot being cheated on was their own boss.

They were right about one thing, though. Ethan was way too young. I couldn't let him watch his own mother degrade herself like this.

Besides, I had taken over management of this multiplex less than a week ago. To minimize the damage to the business, I had to choke back the rage. I had to wait.

Ava must have felt my gaze burning into her because her expression flickered with unease. Her fingers gripped the plastic armrest so hard her knuckles turned white.

Her breathing came fast and shallow, her eyes growing hazy in the dim light.

Suddenly, she reached out, pressing a slender finger against my lips. "Babe," she whispered, "What if we drop Ethan off at my mom's house tonight?"

She paused. Her cheeks flushed a deeper red, her voice quivering even more. "It's been forever since we... You know."

In seven years of marriage, she almost never initiated anything like this. If I hadn't just seen the crisp, high-definition footage from the theater, I probably would’ve wrapped my arms around her in excitement.

Now, the sight of her made my stomach churn.

When I stayed dead silent, she leaned closer. Just as she opened her mouth to speak again, her whole body jolted forward. A muffled, breathless gasp broke from her throat. She clamped her hand over her mouth in a panic, covering it up with a fake cough.

The work group chat exploded again.

[Man, the side guy is getting jealous. He's making moves right now.]

[This chick is wild. Glued to her side man while flirting with her husband?]

[She’s got a blanket over her lap, but honestly, if her husband just tilts his head, he’d see everything. Her dress is hiked up to her waist.]

I glanced out of the corner of my eye. Sure enough, the light fleece throw blanket we brought from home was draped across her lap. I was the one who grabbed it before we left the house, worried the theater AC would be too cold for her.

How ridiculous!

Suddenly, a surge of revulsion hit me. I lunged forward, grabbed Ethan out of the middle seat into my arms, and growled in a low, icy whisper, "Keep your trashy behavior away from our son."

Ava blinked, completely stunned, like she couldn't register what I was saying.

However, she didn't get angry. Instead, she sank back into her seat with a look of twisted satisfaction.

"Seven years of marriage and you're still such a block of wood," she teased, "You don't have a single romantic bone in your body."

A dark, bitter laugh threatened to bubble up in my chest.

Back when we first started dating, I bent over backward trying to plan romantic dates and surprises for her. She was the one who told me I was being impractical. She said I needed to be realistic, like other husbands who provided real financial security.

So, I worked myself to the bone. Every single month, I handed over my entire paycheck. I even put our house and car exclusively under her name. After all of that, she still blamed me for not being romantic.

I snapped back to reality and forced my eyes onto the silver screen. Even though the rustling continued right beside me, and the faint, sickening sound of fabric friction vibrated beneath the blanket, I didn't look back once.

Instead, I unlocked my phone, opened a private message to my head of security, and typed out a quick text: [Save the raw footage from Theater 3. Send a copy to me and legal immediately.]

Chapter 2

The movie ended, and the lights flickered on.

Ava jerked upright in her seat, her fingers frantically smoothing down the rumpled hem of her dress. A lingering, flushed glow washed over her cheeks, and when she stood up, her knees buckled, trembling visibly beneath her.

The seat right next to her was already empty.

I scooped up our sleeping son into my arms. "Let's go."

When we made it out to the parking garage, Ava looked at Ethan and asked me again, "Why don't we drop Ethan off at my mom’s for the night? She's been begging to see her grandson anyway."

As she spoke, her eyes took on that same heavy, suggestive look.

Watching her pull this act, a dark, bitter laugh broke from my chest. "What's the matter? Didn't get enough back in the theater?"

I pointed straight behind her, letting every single word land with deliberate weight. "If you're still hungry, you can always ask him for second helpings."

Ava frowned, totally clueless, and turned around.

The moment her eyes locked onto Henry Foster standing right behind her, her entire body went rigid as a board.

"Henry?!" Her voice pitched up into a sharp, panicked squeak. "What are you still doing here..."

Before she could even finish her sentence, she turned toward me. The color drained from her face, leaving her deathly pale.

She sucked in a sharp breath, immediately going on the defensive and screaming right in my face, "Noah, what’s wrong with you? Do you own this movie theater? Are you the only person in the city allowed to buy a ticket?

"We just happened to be watching the same movie! Are you seriously starting rumors about us right now?"

I nearly laughed out loud at the absolute absurdity of it. I had seen people tell on themselves before, but I had never seen someone tell on themselves and completely lose their mind in the exact same breath.

Exposing them right here in a public parking garage did nothing for me, though.

I gestured casually at the giant tub of popcorn in Henry's hands. "I meant, if you're still hungry, you could ask him for some popcorn to fill up your stomach."

I paused, locking eyes with her while a faint, mocking smile touched my lips. "Where exactly did your mind just go?"

Ava’s face flushed from pale white to a furious, blotchy red. Her lips trembled, but not a single word came out.

Henry, on the other hand, stayed completely calm. He strolled over with a relaxed grin and waved. "Hey Ava, what a coincidence. I had no idea I'd bump into you here."

He turned to me, putting on a fake, embarrassed smile. "Ava gives me rides home from work all the time. Do you mind if I catch a lift with you guys tonight, too?"

Before I could even open my mouth, Ava ripped open the back door of the SUV. "It's my car. He doesn't get a say in who rides in it."

A second later, my phone buzzed with a text from her.

[Babe, he’s the intern I’m managing at work. It's just a small favor, I can't really say no. Let's just go.]

I nodded. "Fine. It's on the way anyway."

A smirk of triumph flashed across Henry's eyes. "Thanks a ton, man. Ava is honestly the best boss ever. She doesn't just help me get used to the job, she buys me dinner all the time, too.

"Sometimes when I work late past midnight, she even drives me all the way home. She takes such incredible care of me."

Was that right?

Funny, because whenever I worked crazy overtime until three in the morning, she never showed up once. It wasn't that she was too tired to care. She just didn't love me.

Listening to Henry brag, Ava didn't show a single drop of guilt. If anything, she looked proud of herself. "I just think it's important to help out the new guys. Henry, if you ever need anything else, just let me know."

"Get in," I chimed in, shutting her down as I buckled Ethan securely into his car seat.

Ava hesitated for a second. "Ethan's fast asleep. I'll sit in the back to keep an eye on him."

Seeing her move, Henry casually pulled open the door on the opposite side. He grinned and said, "I'll sit in the back too, then, just to help her out."

Looking at the slick, predatory look in Henry's eyes, how could I, as a man, possibly miss what he was planning?

Sure enough, we weren't even five minutes down the road when I caught it in the rearview mirror. Henry’s hand was sliding quietly underneath the fleece blanket on her lap.

Ava put up a pathetic, half-hearted token resistance before giving in completely.

Underneath the blanket, the movement grew faster, wilder. Ava’s cheeks burned a deep crimson, her entire frame quivering against the leather seat.

Finally, she broke, panting softly into the quiet cabin. "Noah, I almost forgot. I have a document I need to review with Henry tonight. You can just drop us off up ahead. I'll get an Uber home later."

I acted completely understanding, even stepping out to politely pull the door open for her.

What she didn't know was that while I was helping her out of the car, I slipped a tiny, magnetic listening device straight into the side pocket of her purse.

They had barely walked through the front door of his place when the audio stream on my phone cracked to life with a breathless moan.

"Henry, stop, you're driving me crazy... Are you really that desperate to have me?"

Chapter 3

"My birthday is tomorrow, and I literally told Noah early this morning that people were coming over! How could you not even wait..."

Henry’s rushed, aggressive voice cut her right off. "Ava, didn't you say your body only reacts to me? What kind of sweet-talking garbage were you just spouting to him? You just wait until tomorrow night. I'm going to pin you down right on your marital bed and teach you a real lesson..."

It wasn't until past three in the morning that Ava finally tiptoed into the house.

I choked back a wave of intense nausea and pretended to be sound asleep.

First thing the next morning, I had my assistant fetch Ethan under the pretense of taking him out to pick out a birthday gift for his mom. After everything, I refused to let my son witness the storm that was about to hit.

Once Ethan was safely gone, my in-laws, relatives, and mutual friends started trickling in. Henry was right there with them.

He strutted up to me, putting on a half-baked, fake apologetic expression while his eyes practically dripped with pure provocation.

"Hey Noah, man, I'm so sorry. I borrowed Ava last night, and we kind of lost track of time for five hours. I saw how completely exhausted she was, so I just let her crash on my couch and sleep for a bit."

I stared back at him, completely unbothered. "No worries. You can borrow her for as long as you want from now on."

Henry clearly didn't expect me to react with total apathy. His smug grin faltered, and a split second later, his face twisted into embarrassed rage.

He suddenly cranked up his volume, shouting so the entire living room could hear him, "Noah, how can you even say that? Ava works her butt off at the office! How can you not care about her at all?

"Do you have any idea that she was so dead tired at my place last night she fell asleep twice? It broke my heart just watching her!"

The loud living room instantly went dead silent.

Every single head snapped in our direction.

My mother-in-law's face darkened the second those words hit her ears. "My daughter works herself to the bone to support this family, and this is the disrespect she gets? I told you back then not to marry down to some community college drop-out like Noah, but you just wouldn't listen..."

Her fake-bougie friends immediately chimed in, "Right?! Ava had so many rich guys chasing her back in high school and college!"

"Noah, you need to count your lucky stars. Marrying a woman like Ava is a miracle a guy like you doesn't even deserve!"

I stood there, totally stunned.

The reality was that I had spent nights grinding to get into a top-tier Ivy-caliber master's program on my own merits years ago. I remember running to Ava, buzzing with excitement to share the acceptance letter, only for her to sneer in my face.

"What's there to brag about with some pay-to-play degree? You think I don't know what kind of joke adult education programs are?"

That was the exact reason I had planned to announce my massive promotion to General Manager at the multiplex. I stupidly thought that if she saw my success with her own eyes, she would finally believe in me.

Looking back now, she had looked down on me from the very beginning.

If she hated me so much, why hadn't she just divorced me? Was she too attached to the paycheck I handed over every single month? Or was she just clinging to the house and the luxury car I bought for her?

Listening to everyone roast me, Ava didn't deny a single word. Instead, she put on a sweet, long-suffering smile. "It's really no big deal, guys. As long as my husband loves me, none of that stuff matters."

Hearing that, the room burst into even louder, mocking laughter.

Right on cue, Henry pulled out a sleek, ribboned box with an insufferable smirk.

"Happy birthday, Ava," he said, his voice dripping with tenderness, "I had this custom imported from overseas. It's a super rare, limited-edition piece. I knew you'd love it."

Ava gasped, taking the box as her eyes lit up. "Henry! Oh my god, you shouldn't have!"

Henry turned to me, throwing a smug, challenging glare. "So, Noah, what did you get her? Come on, show it off so everyone can be jealous!"

Every eye in the room locked onto me.

I looked at the eager expectation in Ava's eyes, a cold, bitter laugh echoing inside my head.

A month ago, I had drained my entire savings account to put a down payment on a sprawling, five-thousand-square-foot luxury villa. I had originally planned to hide the keys inside her birthday cake to give her the ultimate surprise.

Now? She didn't deserve a single brick.

The thought made me laugh out loud. "Oh, I got her something. There’s a massive surprise coming up in just a bit."

Ava beamed, clapping her hands together as she patted my chest playfully. "Babe! I knew you were the best!"

Henry's face went sour, his eyes flashing with raw jealousy.

Ava caught his expression, quickly pulling her hand back off my chest. Her cheeks flushed as she stammered, "Babe, I'm going to run upstairs to change into a different outfit. Why don't you entertain the guests for a minute?"

Suppressing the urge to gag, I turned around and guided everyone to sit down in the living area.

Not long after Ava disappeared upstairs, Henry made up some lame excuse and slipped out of the room, too.

I pulled out my phone and tapped open the hidden security feed of the master bedroom.

The timing was just about right.

I hit speakerphone and dialed Ava's phone right in front of the whole family.

It rang for a long time before the line finally picked up. The screen stayed completely pitch black.

Ava’s voice leaked through the speakers, laced with sharp impatience. "What is it now? I told you I was just changing my clothes!"

I dropped the nice-guy act completely, letting out a dark chuckle. "Isn't your little intern in there helping you out? Why is it taking two grown adults this long to change an outfit anyway? Unless you guys are just taking clothes off, putting them back on, and taking them off again?"

Silence fell over the phone line.

The entire living room went completely frozen, too.

A second later, Ava’s furious scream erupted from the phone speakers. "Noah! You’re literally psychotic! I didn't even throw a fit because you failed to get me a gift ahead of time!

“What kind of sick lies are you spouting right now? Are you intentionally trying to ruin my birthday?!"

My in-laws couldn't sit still for another second. They surged up from the couch, pointing fingers right at my face.

"Noah! What the hell is wrong with you? Ava treats you well, and you're sitting here accusing her of crazy stuff?”

“You’re completely out of line!"

I ignored their yelling completely. Instead, I stared at the dark phone screen and sneered. "If your hands are clean, why don't you unlock the bedroom door right now and let everyone see what you're doing in there?"

Ava snapped immediately, her voice screeching into a panic. "Noah, you’re a total freak! What kind of sick pervert asks his wife to strip in front of a crowd? You’ve got a serious case of cheating paranoia!"

Without saying another word, I hit the power button on the home theater remote. The massive, hundred-inch projector screen on the living room wall flashed to life.

In crisp, high-definition color, Ava and Henry’s tangled, naked bodies slammed onto the screen in real-time.

Everyone in the room was stunned.