His Darkest Secret

n if I hadn't stumbled

hey talked for nearly an hour. What could they have discussed for so long? Matching the time

mmoned her there, and not long af

f this to the police. Why? Was the

a man of integrity-law-abiding, ho

l along-maybe Bernard had only ever shown me

capable of infidelity

y was. Worse still, I couldn't shake the g

n who had once screamed and blamed me was now regretful and apol

ly different that I couldn't

ave granted by my company,

rew quieter, and Bernard stopped coming to my door. He had returned to work but cont

between Bernard and me-a chasm th

felt unfair to me. Something about him didn't sit right; I cou

th, neither rejecting nor accepti

s suicide began to die down. Even the online backlash against me had softened, givi

d him to leave. With him out of the house, I could move freely,

life. Visiting each store around the area, I inquired about t

arguing with someone. Her face flushed with anger, her expression twist

on the other end of that call. But what could they h

e lake, watching hours of footage. Each ti

d the sky darkened, m

my eyes dry from staring at too many screens. Fatigue set in, pr

g paranoid? Was Bernard truly innocent t

dings dotted with small conven

, many couples str

hat day had never happened, would Berna

wn the sadness welling up inside

me into reconciling with Bernard

r I waited, the more traces of wh

footage. Each interaction drained more from me-emotionally and financially.