“Come now. Elena isn’t home.”
I typed that message from my husband’s phone while he was showering less than ten meters away from me.
My hands didn’t shake. That was what scared me the most.
Just a minute earlier, a notification had appeared on the screen from Maya, my best friend since college: “I want to see you. Can you?” No greeting, no explanation. It was 10:17 p.m.
Julian had left his phone unlocked on the table in our apartment in Highland Park. I could hear the shower running from the bathroom.
For months, I’d felt that something wasn’t right: last-minute meetings, sudden trips, and the strange way Maya kept asking about him. Two years earlier, when her husband left her for another woman, I had been the one who supported her through the divorce. That’s why I didn’t want to imagine anything. I wanted proof.
I replied, pretending to be Julian: “Elena isn’t here. Come quickly.”
Six minutes later, the doorbell rang.
I opened the door.
Maya was wearing a dress and heels, with her hair styled and perfume on. She didn’t look like someone who had just happened to be in the neighborhood.
When she saw me, she froze.
“Elena? What are you doing here?”
“I live here.”
The color drained from her face.
“I… I was nearby and thought…”
“What a coincidence. Right after my husband asked you to come over.”
At that moment, the bathroom door opened.
Julian stepped out with a towel wrapped around his waist.
He looked at Maya.
Then he looked at me.
And I understood everything before either of them said a word.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, far too quickly.
I picked up his phone and showed him the conversation.
“That’s what I’d like to know.”
Maya started crying.
“It’s not what it looks like.”
“Then explain to me what it looks like.”
Julian stepped in front of her, as if protecting her.
That gesture hurt more than any confession could have.
“Don’t attack her,” he said. “If you want to blame someone, blame me.”
“Fine. How long has this been going on?”
Silence.
“Julian.”
“Don’t turn this into an interrogation.”
“How long have you been sleeping with my best friend?”
Maya lowered her eyes.
Julian clenched his jaw.
“Six months.”
