I Caught Them in the Guest Bathroom

I stared at my phone in disbelief. The notification showed Adrian's face on a live stream, his eyes hollow, cheeks sunken. The caption read: "Day 3 of hunger strike until Sophia forgives me."

Three days without food. One day for each year of our relationship so far—he planned to go seven days total. The comments section overflowed with strangers weighing in on our marriage, some calling him romantic, others pathetic.

"This is insane," I muttered, tossing my phone aside only to have it buzz again with another notification.

Adrian had posted a photo of himself at a tattoo parlor, my name now permanently etched across his chest in elaborate script, directly over his heart. The caption: "Forever marked as yours."

I felt sick. This wasn't love—it was manipulation on a public stage.

My assistant knocked gently on my office door. "Ms. Collins, there's someone here to see you."

"I'm not taking visitors," I replied, not looking up from my laptop.

"It's... it's Mr. Mills' mother."

I froze. Margaret Mills was the last person I wanted to see.

"Send her away," I said firmly.

"She's crying in reception. Says she won't leave until—"

"Fine," I sighed. "Five minutes."

Margaret burst through the door moments later, her usual perfectly coiffed appearance disheveled. Without warning, she dropped to her knees before me.

"Please, Sophia," she sobbed, clutching at my hands. "He hasn't eaten in days. He's shaved his head. He's falling apart!"

I pulled my hands away. "That's his choice, Margaret."

"He knows he made a mistake," she pleaded, "but men sometimes stray. It doesn't mean he doesn't love you."

The casual dismissal of his betrayal ignited something fierce inside me. "A mistake? He had affairs with multiple women for years. He betrayed me with my best friend while I was visiting my sick father."

"Marriage is about forgiveness—"

"No," my mother's voice cut through the room as she appeared in the doorway. I hadn't even known she was in the building. "Marriage is about respect and fidelity, neither of which your son showed my daughter."

Margaret rose to her feet. "Patricia, surely you understand. In forty years of marriage, did Robert never—"

"Never," my mother said firmly. "And if he had, I would have left just like Sophia is doing. He made his choice, now he lives with the consequences."

Margaret left in tears, but her visit was just the beginning. My phone exploded with messages from friends taking sides.

"He's suffering so much, Soph. Maybe just talk to him?" texted Melissa.

"All men make mistakes," wrote Jason, Adrian's college roommate.

But others stood firmly with me: "Stay strong. You deserve better," from Eliza.

That evening, I met with David Chen, the private investigator I'd hired to uncover the full extent of Adrian's betrayals. We sat in a quiet corner of a nondescript café, away from prying eyes.

"I have the full report," David said, sliding a folder across the table. "You might want to prepare yourself."

My hands trembled as I opened it. Pages of evidence—photos, hotel receipts, text messages. Names and dates meticulously documented.

"Seven women," David said quietly. "Over seven years."

My stomach lurched. "Seven?"

"His assistant Kelly, gym trainer Maria, a high-class escort named Vivian, his college friend Sarah, your neighbor Lisa, business client Amanda... and Rachel."

Each name was a fresh wound. I flipped through the pages, noting the dates. "These... these are all significant dates in our relationship."

David nodded grimly. "He was with Kelly on your first anniversary. Maria during your birthday weekend. Vivian..."

"When?" I whispered.

"The night before your wedding."

Something inside me hardened permanently. Adrian hadn't just betrayed me—he'd systematically desecrated every sacred moment of our relationship.

As I left the café, my phone lit up with another notification. Adrian had posted a video, his head now completely shaved, tears streaming down his gaunt face.

"Sophia loved my hair," he sobbed to his growing audience of spectators. "So I've sacrificed it as penance. I'll do anything to earn her forgiveness."

I turned off my phone, clutching David's folder to my chest. Adrian wanted a public spectacle of remorse? Fine.

But I was about to give him something else entirely: justice.