Phone 4

“Sarah!”

“Yeah, Mom?”

“Where have you been? I’m hungry. My head is spinning looking at this mess. Lorraine’s kids are so naughty.” Ruth, who had just woken up, came out of her room and approached me.

“I’ve already cleaned the house, Mom. Please be patient. The food will be ready soon.”

“Lorraine is so irresponsible, leaving her kids here,” Ruth muttered.

Ruth was rather strange. She wouldn’t dare say things like that in front of her own daughter.

But no matter what, I had a moral duty to continue respecting her.

After finishing the cooking, I invited Ruth to eat together at the dining table. She must be really hungry by now.

“Mom!” Lorraine’s loud voice came from outside.

“When entering someone’s house, it’s better to greet and say hello. Don’t just yell,” I muttered as I enjoyed the still-warm lunch.

“Hey, this is my mom’s house. I can do whatever I want. You’re just a guest here. Don’t tell me what to do,” Lorraine snapped, glaring at me.

“Relax, Lorraine. Your face is already scary, so there is no need to make it scarier,” I replied calmly without looking at her.

“Oh, Lorraine and Jack. Come, join us for lunch,” Ruth invited them.

“No thanks, Mom. I am in a hurry for a social gathering. Just here to pick up the kids,” Lorraine replied as she walked to the kitchen.

Wow, that was unusual. She was always looking for freebies. It was a good thing my food was safe from her today.

I had spoken too soon as Lorraine emerged from the kitchen with several plastic bags.

“What are those bags for, Lorraine?” I asked, suspicious.

“To pack food. I’ll eat at home later,” she said as she packed the food on the table without hesitation. Ruth and I were still eating, but she cleared the table of all the food.

Ruth sighed heavily. I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. She hadn’t been smiling since Lorraine arrived. Ruth must be upset seeing her eldest daughter’s behavior. But for some reason, she never complained to them.

Luckily, I had set aside some food for Gillian and Derrick for dinner.

After Lorraine and her kids finished packing up the food and left, Ruth just watched them go with a puzzled look. Ruth always defended her children in front of me, so she would never express her annoyance with Lorraine in front of me. Yet her face showed a mix of anger and sadness.

–

It was late at night. Ruth and Gillian were already asleep, but Derrick still wasn’t home. I tried calling his phone, but it was off.

Again, Kendall’s face popped into my mind. I checked her profile. It was still a calligraphy photo. I looked at her status on WhatsApp, and to my shock, there was a photo of my husband with the caption “Make me your number one.” What did she mean by that?

Derrick was handsome. His defined jawline and curly hair, along with the stubble on his cheeks and chin, made his face even more attractive. It was no wonder women out there were attracted to him. Derrick was quite lucky. With only a high school diploma, he had managed to become a manager at his office. This, of course, was thanks to Uncle Benny. I doubt he got the position because of his good work.

I checked Kendall’s status again.

Ugh! What a shameless homewrecker. Posting a picture of someone else’s husband. Could they be out together?

Around midnight, Derrick finally came home.

“Hello honey.”

“Hi. You’re home late, Derrick.”

Without answering, Derrick went straight to clean up.

I tried to be patient, waiting for his explanation.

“Want me to get you some food?”

He shook his head.

“I’m tired. Had meetings all day. I need to rest,” he said and went to bed.

I frowned. Was it really possible to have meetings this late? It seemed unlikely.

I heard Derrick’s soft snoring. He was already asleep.

Slowly, I checked his phone. Unfortunately, it was locked. This was suspicious since he never used a passcode before. Derrick was quite forgetful about things like that.

Suddenly, a message notification popped up. Though I couldn’t open it, I saw the sender’s name: Kendall. It seemed like they had been texting each other, or maybe they had just met?

Curious, I kept trying to unlock Derrick’s phone. But no passcode worked. I tried Gillian’s, mine, and Derrick’s birth dates. Nothing worked.

I decided to text Bradley.

[Brad, do you know Kendall’s birth date?]

There was no response for quite a long time. I kept calling Bradley’s phone repeatedly until he finally replied.

[Are you crazy? Calling me in the middle of the night just to ask that?]

[You’re fired! Calling your CEO crazy? Hurry up and find out!]

I laughed out loud, satisfied with pranking Bradley.

Soon, a message from Bradley came in with Kendall’s birth date.

‘W-what? May 8th? That’s today.’

Kendall’s birthday was today?

Without wasting any time, I tried unlocking Derrick’s phone.

And it turned out…