Chapter 14
“You know what Samuel’s like, Emily. He’s a sentimental man, so he can’t bring himself to be straight with you about it. As long as you accept it, he’s willing to take care of you for the rest of your life. Nevertheless, I think some things should still be clarified.”
“In a relationship, it doesn’t matter who comes first. However, I’m sure that if he’d met me first, you two would be nothing more than old classmates. A woman should know how to doll herself up. Why would a man want to go home to a woman who walks around bare–faced all day long?”
“Being young isn’t a huge advantage, but it’s still better than being an old hag who still tries to compete with a young woman. At least I know my value. Samuel called me pretty again today.”
“Look! This is the necklace Samuel gave me. He designed it himself.”
“I’m sure you get what I’m saying, right, Emily? Samuel and I are in love. As long as you choose wisely, you can have that villa as part of your divorce settlement. Samuel will get me a new one.”
Many more of these types of messages had been sent. The messages were by no means long, and they certainly weren’t sophisticated in any way. However, the fact that Jessica kept pointing out Emily’s age and talking about Samuel made it impossible to miss the obvious passive–aggressiveness. It was practically oozing through the screen.
The policewoman who’d lent her power bank to Samuel saw some of these messages too. Scoffing, she immediately began surveying Samuel with an added level of derision.
Even if Samuel wasn’t trying to get a divorce, just from the way Jessica sent these messages to Emily alone was enough to prove that he was considering having a second family on the side.
Perhaps Samuel was the only one who thought that hiding his affair from Emily was a show of love for her.
Samuel had an icy scowl on his face, but alas, these messages were only the beginning. Scrolling up through the chat logs, he realized that Jessica would send pictures to Emily every few days.
There were pictures of the gifts she cajoled him into getting for her, screenshots of the money he sent to her, and even indecent photos of them lying in bed together, with him sound asleep after their latest bout of passion.
When he saw the images, he felt the urge to vomit. He realized just how disgusting he was.
By now, the surrounding police officers could figure out what happened too. Despite seeing his reaction, they couldn’t muster up much empathy for him.
Doing his best to hold himself together, Samuel passed the power bank back to the policewoman before beseeching Kate, “I need to head back to check on something. Please continue your efforts to locate my… Emily.”
He was too ashamed of himself to call Emily his wife.
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