The sound of his keys jingling echoed down the hall as he made his way towards her classroom. She was in the midst of grading papers when she heard the familiar sound of the custodian’s steps outside her door. He poked his head in and asked if she wanted to go grab some lunch. She accepted, and they made their way to a nearby deli.
As they chatted over sandwiches and fries, they found that they had a lot in common. Both had a passion for their jobs at the middle school, and both were in a relationship with their significant others. They exchanged phone numbers and agreed to meet up again one day.
Their conversations turned from professional to personal as they shared more about their lives. One night, Mark opened up to the seventh grade math teacher about his own struggles in his relationship. She revealed that she couldn’t have kids, but not by choice. She confided in him that her husband had kicked her so hard during an argument that she was left unable to conceive.
James had always trusted his wife, Cindy. They had been married for six years and had built a life together that he cherished. He worked long hours to provide for her, while she worked in the school system. However, one day, something changed.
As James was using Cindy's phone during a evening program at the middle school, he noticed a message notification from a man named Mark. Curiosity got the better of him, and he read through their conversation. It was full of flirty messages and details about a hotel room they had booked together the past weekend. James was devastated. His heart felt like it had been shattered into a million pieces.
He knew he had to confront Cindy, but he didn't know how. So he called the head custodian on the school emergency phone that was provided by the school district, he didn’t get a answer so he waited a few minutes and he picked up her phone again and sent a message to Mark, pretending to be Cindy. "I no where you work," he typed. "I'm coming to kill you if you don't tell me what you were doing with my wife at the hotel."
Mark was furious. He replied immediately, saying “who is this”, James says “this the husband of the wife you was with in the hotel room last weekend boy”, Mark saying “how did you get this number”. James “tell me or it’s going to get bloody Mark”. Well let’s get bloody “yes I was with your wife and I left her with a smile on her face” said Mark. James felt numb. He didn't know what to do. He spent the next few days thinking and planning his next move. And then, suddenly, Cindy was gone.
No one had seen or heard from her since that fateful weekend. James and Mark was questioned by the police, but they both had an airtight alibi. James didn't do it. He loved his wife too much to ever harm her.
In the end, no one ever found out what happened to Cindy. Some speculated that she had left to be with Mark, while others believed that James had killed her. But James knew the truth. His wife had betrayed him, and it was a betrayal he could never forgive. He would spend the rest of his life haunted by the memory of her infidelity and the fact that he had been unable to save their marriage.