When My Husband Cheated On Me, I… - Chapter 4

Perhaps because the question came from the person closest to me, the bad rumor about Hayden immediately came to mind.

It felt as if a heavy boulder had been placed on my chest, making every breath I let out feel suffocating.

I awkwardly smiled and lowered my gaze. Warm steam wafted above the luxurious teacup, said to be imported from somewhere far away.

“Something happened, didn’t it? You look like death warmed over.”

Noticing right away, Chloe set down her cake plate and moved to sit beside me. The familiar, warm presence put me at ease.

She gently patted my shoulder with a warm hand. I bit my lip and looked at her. Even with my closest friend, I wasn’t sure if I should share something like this.

“What’s wrong? Tell me, Winter. You know they say a burden shared is a burden halved.”

Chloe met my eyes as she spoke, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.

Maybe, just maybe, Chloe would truly listen to me. She was my best friend, after all.

After hesitating, I finally managed to speak.

“The truth is… I heard a rumor that Hayden is having an affair.”

“What…?”

Chloe’s hand, which had been patting my shoulder, went stiff. She looked at me with confused eyes.

“The servants said so. They said they saw Hayden on a date with another woman over the weekend.”

“Another woman…?”

Chloe’s brown eyes wavered as she looked at me.

Tilting her head and narrowing her eyes, Chloe asked in a much quieter voice,

“Is there… any proof?”

At her question, Hayden’s shirt button came to mind.

Could a misbuttoned shirt really be considered evidence of infidelity?

I felt ridiculous for even thinking such a thing.

When I shook my head, Chloe looked at me intently.

“Then what? All you did was overhear the servants talking?”

“Yeah. That’s all.”

Saying it out loud made the whole situation seem even more absurd. I let out a small laugh and added,

“Besides, it was on the weekend. He was busy with a business trip then.”

To think I had doubted my husband with no evidence at all. I felt so pathetic.

“But still, it’s strange. I just can’t get that story out of my head.”

With a bitter smile, I picked up the teacup in front of me. The fragrant tea washed the bitterness from my mouth.

“……”

Chloe, too, silently picked up her teacup. She quietly gazed at it, lost in thought.

For a brief moment, silence enveloped us.

“So there really isn’t any other evidence, right?”

Chloe turned back to me and checked. I nodded and replied,

“That’s right. The more I talk about it, the more ridiculous it sounds. Sorry, Chloe. Just pretend you didn’t hear it.”

Chloe gave an awkward little smile and nodded.

“Of course.”

“I’m embarrassed. I feel like I’m showing you such a pathetic side of myself.”

“No, it’s understandable. But the thing is, because the person in question is Hayden, it’s hard to take your side, you know? ‘That’ Hayden, cheating? It just doesn’t suit him.”

Hayden would never do that.

Chloe smiled softly as she spoke.

Her firm conviction reflected her impression of my husband.

A gentle and family-oriented man. People often said that even being half as good as the Marquis of Wolfhaze would make a husband a model one. Hayden was considered the very definition of a ‘good husband’.

“There’s only you and me around him. I just can’t imagine Hayden being unfaithful.”

Chloe shook her head as she said it. I felt a little hurt by the way she’s dismissing me, but also a wave of relief.

If even Chloe was calling it a baseless rumor, maybe I really was the strange one.

It seemed like that nonsense was beginning to take root inside me. I straightened my posture, giving myself a pep talk.

“You’re right. It’s a ridiculous rumor, and I’ve just thought about it too much.”

“Exactly. Maybe you just felt lonely because I wasn’t around for a while.”

Chloe’s gaze softened as she hugged me, rubbing my shoulder as a mother would her child.

It was something her own mother used to do for her, and it made me smile a little.

“Winter. You know how I feel, right? It’s a sensitive subject, so it was hard to be too blunt.”

“Yeah.”

“But still, if you ever find any evidence that Hayden is cheating, will you tell me, too? I know he’d never do something like that, but if it ever happens, I want to take your side.”

Chloe looked straight into my eyes as she spoke. For a moment, I thought there was something strange about her gaze.

“Yeah. I promise, Chloe. If I find any proof, I’ll tell you.”