After Hearing the Snakes Talk, I Gave My Husband's Cursed Necklace to a Pig

Clement Sanchez had been nothing more than a low-level employee at a research institute I'd invested in. When I was trapped in a fire, he risked his life to save me.

With his persistent effort, we married quickly.

Our marriage was stable, and we had our daughter, Virginia.

I used to think I was the luckiest woman alive.

I never imagined that all of it was a lie.

Forcing myself to stay composed, I searched for evidence to confirm my suspicions. Sure enough, I found a backup phone behind the bookshelf, no passcode set.

Back when we first got married, he'd left all his devices unlocked to put me at ease.

I'd been so moved by his openness that I never once checked them. It turned out the more loyalty he performed, the more he had to hide.

I took a deep breath, opened his messages, and typed in "babe" as a search term. A familiar profile picture popped up almost instantly.

It was my neighbor Dawn Henson.

The chat history stretched back eight years, to just one year after Clement and I got married.

Clement, didn't you say you'd divorce that btch soon? It's been a whole year! Don't tell me you've actually fallen for her?*

Tilly and I are sick of living in this dump!

How could I ever fall for her, babe? I married her for her money and connections! Just give me a little more time. Once I've earned her complete trust and gotten my hands on her company shares, I'll file for divorce immediately. If you and our little girl don't want to live in that neighborhood anymore, I'll figure something out.

I kept scrolling. Clement had used the excuse of needing investment capital for the institute to swindle money out of me, then used it to buy Dawn and Tilly a luxury apartment. Right across the street from our home.

Honey, this place is perfect. I get to see you every single day.

Honey, I want a little thrill... I want us to do it right under that btch's nose...*

That naughty, babe?

Hmph, the more miserable she'd be if she knew, the better I feel. And the real fun hasn't even started yet!

After Dawn and Tilly moved in across the street, Clement started coming home later and later.

I felt sorry for him, thinking he was overworked. I'd cook dinner with my own hands and wait with Virginia for him to walk through the door. All the while, he was on the other side of that wall, in bed with another woman.

A wave of nausea churned up from my stomach.

No wonder Dawn and Tilly had always been so hostile toward me. Two months ago, Tilly had shoved Virginia off a second-floor balcony, fracturing her right leg. Virginia spent two weeks in the hospital.

I'd gone to their door, furious, demanding an explanation. They bolted it shut and watched me through the peephole, stone-cold.

I was about to hire a lawyer and press charges when the news came that they'd both been killed in a car accident.

The matter died with them. But Clement walked around like a man who'd lost his soul, silent and hollow for weeks.

I thought he was struggling with his research. Virginia and I did everything we could to cheer him up.

That went on for a month. Then one day he came home beaming, carrying a glass terrarium with two pythons inside, their scales an eerie, unnatural color. He claimed they were a rare species he'd rescued and that he'd turn them over to a wildlife shelter once he made contact.

Out of respect for his work, I agreed to keep the snakes in the basement.

A few days later, he gave Virginia and me each a jade pendant on a chain.

"Sweetheart, thank you for always standing by me, you and Virginia both. I got these blessed jade pendants from a temple. Once the jade turns completely red, you'll be surrounded by good fortune for the rest of your lives."

His knees were scraped raw. My heart ached for him, and I was so touched that I fastened the pendants around my neck and Virginia's right away. I wouldn't even take mine off to shower.

I had no idea he wanted to trade our lives for theirs.

Fighting through the searing pain in my chest, I photographed every message on that phone. Then I put everything back exactly where I'd found it, as if I'd never been there at all.