Elizabeth Evans sat at the marble island, wishing for the time to pass. It had been four hours since her handsome husband left her for work. She was aware of the smells around her, from the bread in the oven. She waited for the delicious loaf to finish so she could start the chicken for dinner, although she was unsure if she would dine alone again.

   Since Sean Evans' promotion at his job, he hardly came home anymore, and when he did, it was to sleep or to eat. Elizabeth couldn't understand how his career could be more important to him than she was. Of course, he did pay for everything she owned: the sparkling indoor pool, the kitchen that belonged in a magazine, and the six cars in the garage. She enjoyed her life but wished she could see her husband more often.

   Sean refused to tell Elizabeth about what he did as a job but never ceased complaining. 'Someone declined our offer today', 'Hannah didn't do what I asked today,' 'Aaron fired Steph today.' It almost seemed like Sean was married to his work instead of Elizabeth.

   The oven beeped, drawing Elizabeth from her thoughts. She rushed to the stove, shoving her hand into the oven mitt. The oven's door screamed as she pulled it open quickly; the bread was pulled out, and the smell involuntarily crashed into her nose. She sniffed, enjoying the scent that made her think of home.

   She placed the bread on the island and quickly shoved the chicken in the oven to replace it. She sat back down by the island and let her thoughts consume her.

   Sean had been making excuses lately, always about coming home. 'I have a project,' 'I must have dinner with a promoter,' 'Hannah didn't finish her assignment, so I have to do it.' She didn't know if the excuses were genuine or if he just wanted a reason not to come home, but she refused to believe the latter. Sean had made promises before but broke them because something 'came up' at work.

   Although all these excuses made Elizabeth question her husband, the ones that made it worse were the excuses he created about the church. Elizabeth came from a religious family, always at church on Sunday, reading their Bible daily, homeschooling their kids, and praying. That's when Sean's absence was noticed. As time passed, Elizabeth didn't want the questions and stares of her friends, so she left. Her parents were angered by her decision but eventually realized that Elizabeth was an adult and could do what she wanted. Elizabeth wished there was a way to know if she was doing the right thing, almost regretting her decisions.

"Mrs. Evans."

   Elizabeth snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of her name. In front of her stood Rosita, their maid. Her black hair sat in a tight bun on top of her head, gray lightly splashed in it. Elizabeth had always liked Rosita, although most of the time, Liz didn't know what she was saying.

   "Yes, Rosita. What is it?" Elizabeth asked, playing with her hands in front of her.

   "There is a man at the door asking for you. Said it was important," she answered, grabbing a rag and wiping down the counters in front of the island.

Elizabeth shook her head in confusion but shuffled toward the door. I wonder who it is, she thought. She imagined the worst, a cop standing in the doorway informing her that something had happened to her parents. She visibly shook in her shoes as she approached the white wooden door. She cracked it open to reveal a man wearing a brown t-shirt with a faded American flag printed, blue Levi's that seemed to have faded over time and extreme use, and a pair of gray Converse. The man didn't look a day over twenty-five, with his blonde hair long enough to cover his eyebrows, piercing blue eyes, and glasses that made him look like a librarian.

"Yes, can I help you?" Liz asked, almost impatiently, crossing her arms.

He looked her up and down, chuckling before he answered, "I'm assuming you are Mrs. Evans. My name is Nathaniel Cooper. I am a private investigator."

Elizabeth was confused before saying, "And? What exactly does that have to do with anything?"

Nathaniel chuckled again before pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "So, they didn't tell you."

Elizabeth must have looked even more confused because Nathaniel answered her unspoken question, "Your parents hired me. They said your husband has been acting strange lately, so they asked me to watch him."

She nodded her head, understanding a little bit. "But why keep an eye on him? He's just at work."

Nathaniel's eyes held guilt and pity, which led to Elizabeth questioning herself, "Right, Nathaniel? He's just at work."

Nathaniel quickly asked if he could come in and talk; Elizabeth accepted and opened the oak door further to allow him room to move inside. Nathaniel moved into the living room across from the front door, making himself at home, sitting on the couch and opening his briefcase that Elizabeth had just noticed. He began to pull out what looked like files and a disk. Elizabeth sat on the loveseat before him, waiting until he was done doing what he was doing.

Elizabeth was immediately concerned, seeing as he hadn't said anything yet, "Might I ask what this is about, Nathaniel? Is Sean okay?"

He laughed, not answering just yet.

Elizabeth felt her temper rising, worry creeping into her voice. "What is this about?!"

Nathaniel had no more sympathy for this woman, and she almost yelled at him twice. He knew he should've sugar-coated it but decided it was too late as the words left his mouth. "Sean Evans is cheating on you."

Elizabeth's eyes widened at the news, and her hand shot to her mouth. "How dare you?"

Nathaniel seemed confused by what she said, "Huh?"

"How dare you come into my house and accuse my husband of cheating. How dare you? Did my parents put you to this, so I'll finally come home? Well, tough. Sean loves me, and I love him. He would never cheat on me."

Nathaniel felt sorry for the woman. She was delusional if she thought he would lie to her, but of course, if she hadn't figured it out by now, maybe she was delusional. Nathaniel pulled some photographs from his briefcase, quickly passing them to Elizabeth.

The photographs contained the brown-haired, green-eyed Sean Evans and a blonde bombshell coming out of a nice hotel room, kissing. Photos of Sean Evans and the same bombshell wrapped in an intimate embrace near Sean's black BMW. Pictures of Sean and a different modelesque female swapping spit in a fancy restaurant.

Elizabeth eyed the photos as tears filled her eyes. "How could he?"

Although Nathaniel knew she was speaking to herself, he couldn't help but say, "His loss."
Elizabeth's tears overflowed as she sobbed. Nathaniel gathered his things and quickly headed out of the house.

"Wait!" Nathaniel heard. He turned to see Elizabeth with tears in her eyes; makeup smeared down her face. "Thank you."

Nathaniel nodded and left.

Elizabeth sank to the floor, realizing her world had just fallen apart.