My husband, Alex, and I have been married for ten years, and during this time, we’ve built a strong, loving relationship.

Alex works as a project manager at a large tech company, and it comes with long hours.

“I’m sorry,” he said one evening when we were having dinner well after 10 PM. “I know that my hours are getting insane. But we’re just working on the launch of something new, Emma. We’ll be done soon and I’ll be back to normal hours.”

“It’s fine,” I replied. “Just eat before we have to reheat dinner once again.”

Despite the long hours, I always trusted my husband completely. Although, recently, that trust has been tested by one of Alex’s coworkers, Lisa.

“Are you threatened in any way by this woman?” my mother asked when I told her that I wasn’t comfortable with Lisa.

“Yes. No. I don’t know,” I said. “She’s just too much. She does a lot of questionable things. And I don’t know what her intentions are.”

“What has she been doing?” my mother asked.

What hadn’t Lisa done?

Firstly, she was young and attractive and worked closely on many projects with Alex.

“Of course, Alex has mentioned her before, but I didn’t think anything of it,” I said. “But things are getting a bit much now. And I’m uncomfortable, Mom.”

“What things, Emma?” my mother asked. “Tell me more!”

“Gifts, Mom. She’s been giving him lots of gifts. Personalized and all.”

And it was true. My husband began bringing home gifts. At first, it wasn’t anything extravagant. But then they began to get personal.

“Custom mugs, Mom. With his name on it and everything,” I replied. “And then, a tie with little rockets on it, because you know how much he loves space.”

“And you know for a fact that they’re gifts from Lisa?” my mother asked.

“Yes! Alex said so. Loud and clear,” I replied.

“Just keep an eye on the situation, Emma,” my mother said.

And, of course, I was going to do just that.

But one evening, as Alex walked in the door, I didn’t know what came over me. And I found myself addressing him with a snide comment.

“Another gift from Lisa?” I asked, as he carried a little pot plant into the house.

My husband turned to me, looking surprised.

“Yeah, just a little something she said she picked up at the Farmer’s Market,” he replied, heading to the kitchen.

“Why does she keep giving you things?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

“She’s just friendly, Emma. It’s no big deal, honey.”

I tried to brush it off as nothing important. But then there were the homemade meals.

I knew that my husband loved my cooking. He always said that my food was so much better than his mother’s.

“Don’t let her hear that,” Alex said when we sat down for dinner early in our relationship. I had invited him over for a home-cooked dinner and it had solidified my role in his life.

One evening, we sat down to lasagna as Alex got home from work. He tossed the salad as I cut into the lasagna.

“You really have to try Lisa’s lasagna, honey, it’s amazing!”

“Why is she feeding you, Alex?” I asked, putting my fork down.

I had never wanted to be the insecure wife. It was something that I hated. I couldn’t stand the frustration over my husband working his long hours, or constantly wondering who he was talking to. Or where he was going.

I didn’t want to question if his work meetings were actually meetings or whether they were dates with other women.

And yet, there was something about Lisa that turned me into that exact person.

“Look, Emma, she said that she made extra and she brought some for me to have for lunch. I didn’t want to be rude, so I ate it,” he said, looking at me with confusion.

“I’m sorry,” I said, the look on his face sobering me up. “It’s just a little much for me.”

Alex smiled and poured wine into our glasses.

I knew that he would leave the conversation where it was. That he wouldn’t want to get into it and entertain my insecurities. He knew that deep down, I still trusted him.

But the final straw came at the company’s annual corporate event. It was Alex’s big work event for the year, and all spouses were invited.

“It’s going to be at one of the fancy hotels downtown,” Alex said. “So, get all dressed up, love. This is the time for us to be all formal and fancy.”

If I was being honest, I was quite excited about it. It was usually in a grand ballroom with incredible food. And usually live music.

On the day, I wore my favorite dress, and put on my wedding earrings. I was actually looking forward to the evening, and for a moment, I forgot about Lisa.

“You look stunning, honey,” Alex said as we walked into the ballroom. There was a live band playing in the corner and the ambiance was perfect.

As we mingled with some of Alex’s colleagues, Lisa made her grand entrance.

She was glamorous in a sleek red dress, turning heads as she walked in. And even though everyone turned to look at her, she made a beeline for my husband, completely ignoring me.

“Here’s my work husband!” she exclaimed loudly, throwing her arms around him.

My stomach turned, the nausea taking over. Alex, to his benefit, looked embarrassed, but before he could say a word, Lisa turned to me with a patronizing smile.

“You must be Emma,” Lisa said. “I’ve heard so much about you. Alex is such a good guy, isn’t he? The best! I don’t know what I’d do without him!”

I forced a smile.

“Yes, he is wonderful.”

Lisa continued, oblivious to my discomfort.

“He just loves my cooking! And I’ve had to make so many things that he enjoys because he says that you’re too busy to cook sometimes. Right, Al?”

I felt humiliated, but I maintained my composure. I couldn’t let myself go.

I watched as Lisa clung to Alex’s arm, laughing and whispering in his ear. He looked uncomfortable and excused himself, and Lisa turned her full attention to me.

“Emma, let’s cut to the chase,” she said, holding her glass of champagne. “You might be his wife, but he’s given me something special tonight.”

She pulled a note from her clutch and showed it to me. There was a hotel room number scribbled on it.

“He’s planning a surprise. He’s going to see me. Let’s see what excuse he gives you when you get home for why he needs to leave,” she said.

“You know, Lisa,” I said. “People who think that they can take what isn’t theirs, often end up disappointed.”

Lisa laughed.

“I’m sure we will, Emma,” she said.

We returned home later that night, and as soon as we walked in, Alex made an excuse to leave.

“Emma, I need to help a friend with something. His car isn’t starting and he needs a ride home. It’s urgent. I’ll be back soon.”

“Which friend?” I asked, feigning casual curiosity.

“You remember John? From work? I think you saw him tonight, too.”

“Of course,” I said, pretending to accept his explanation. “Just be careful.”

As soon as he left, I grabbed my keys and followed him to the hotel. I parked discreetly and saw him head into the lobby.

I waited a few minutes, then followed, making my way to the floor that I saw on the note earlier.

When I reached the room, I took a deep breath and knocked. The door opened, and there was Alex, looking surprised and worried.

“Em? What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I could ask you the same thing,” I said, pushing past him into the room.

But here’s the kicker, to my surprise, John was there, looking sheepish in a hotel bathrobe.

“What’s going on?” I demanded.

John stepped forward, looking embarrassed.

“I asked Alex for Lisa’s number because I wanted to ask her out. We had dessert together after the work event, but she spilled a drink on me and I needed a change of clothes. I asked Alex to bring me some clothes.”

“So, you’re the one who wanted to see Lisa?” I asked, blinking slowly.

“Yes,” John said. “I really liked her, but I guess she wasn’t interested. She left a few minutes ago, saying she wasn’t feeling well.”

“Why did you follow me, Emma?” Alex asked.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself.

“Alex, Lisa told me something at the event tonight. She showed me the note with this room number on it. She said that you’d make up some excuse to leave the house and come to her. I needed to see it for myself.”

“Emma, I had no idea,” he replied. “I’m so sorry.”

“Look,” John said. “Why don’t you guys keep the room and talk this out. I’m not going to use it, and neither is Lisa.”

In the end, that’s exactly what we did. And Alex promised to take up Lisa’s behavior with the company.

“I finally see it for what you do,” Alex said.