She circled the block twice before finally pulling into the driveway of Harold’s home. The moment she’d seen another woman in her bed it had ceased being hers. But she didn’t want a repeat of the day before. She didn’t think Harold would be foolish enough to allow the girl to stay overnight, but then, she hadn’t thought him foolish enough to have an affair with a girl who was young enough to be his daughter, much less an employee.

She had a moment of pause when she spotted a man standing next to a mailbox two doors down from Harold’s house. He definitely wasn’t Old Man Johnson, the owner of the home, and she was pretty sure he wasn’t one of his kids, as he had three daughters. But he’d caught Marina’s attention because he was just standing there. Not checking the mail. Not looking at his phone. Just staring at her as she drove past, his white V-neck T-shirt and purple skinny jeans looking completely out of place in Last Chance, where the majority of the men lived in ragged blue jeans and work boots.

Whatever, she thought as she climbed out of the car. If Harold had acquired a strange new neighbor, it wasn’t her problem. She slammed her car door, angry that she had to case the neighborhood she’d called home for almost thirty years. Angry that she was forced to worry about finding a half-naked girl inside with her half-naked husband in the bed that she’d called her own just one night before. But more than anything, angry that she cared. And she did still care. How did someone simply erase three decades of her life?

She unlocked the front door and stomped inside. But once she caught sight of the living room that she’d spent so many nights in, all the anger drained away and sadness coursed through her as she realized she felt like a stranger. A stranger walking into a strange place. Just like that, her home had become somewhere that somebody else lived. Tears pooled in her eyes, threatening to spill over, and she struggled to maintain control. The last thing she wanted was for Harold to see her upset. He didn’t deserve her tears.

“Marina.” Harold’s voice sounded from the hallway and she looked over to see him dressed for the office. Of course he would be dressed for work. Harold had always insisted on working Saturdays, although now, Marina wondered if it was work or play that kept him from staying home. It wasn’t like his life had exploded the day before. For Harold, it was just another day of accounting and sneaking around with his hired help. All those pesky details such as being married didn’t matter.

“I thought you’d call before you came,” Harold said.

Marina stared. Halcyon had warned her that Harold would likely be on the defensive. She swore that men who were caught in the act immediately lashed out with all the reasons their wives made them do it and somehow turned themselves into the victim. Marina had listened as Halcyon had explained but she hadn’t wanted to believe it.