PART 2 — SHE DIDN’T CONFRONT HIM
That evening, Derrick came home at 7:18.
Simone was in the kitchen preparing dinner.
She heard the front door open.
“Hey, beautiful,” Derrick called.
Simone turned around.
For a second, she almost laughed.
Beautiful.
He still had the nerve to call her that.
“Hey,” she answered.
He kissed her forehead.
She allowed it.
“How was your day?” he asked.
“Busy.”
“Mine too.”
She smiled.
“I’m sure.”
Derrick never noticed anything unusual.
That was his first mistake.
His second mistake was believing Simone was too emotional to think clearly.
Over the next few days, Simone became an actress.
She cooked.
She smiled.
She asked about his work.
She kissed him goodnight.
She never mentioned the camera.
Instead, she started collecting evidence.
She downloaded months of security footage.
She backed everything up.
Then she searched the shared computer.
That’s when she found the name.
Amber Collins.
There were emails.
Hundreds of them.
Some were romantic.
Some were angry.
Some were plans.
Derrick had told Amber that he was “working on leaving his wife.”
Amber had called Simone “the wife”.
As though she were nothing more than an obstacle.
Simone stared at the screen.
She didn’t cry this time.
She opened a new folder.
DIVORCE.
Inside, she placed every piece of evidence.
Then she began researching the law.
The house was hers.
She had purchased it before the marriage.
Much of the money in their savings came from an inheritance.
Her income was considerably higher than Derrick’s.
And now she had evidence of his affair.
Two days later, Simone sat across from Patricia Patterson, one of the most experienced divorce attorneys in the city.
Patricia watched the footage.
Then she read the messages.
Then she looked at Simone.
“You’re sure you don’t want to confront him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Simone looked down at her hands.
“Because if I confront him now, he gets time to destroy everything.”
Patricia nodded.
“Good.”
She closed the folder.
“Then don’t warn him.”
Simone stared at her.
“What happens next?”
“We prepare.”
And they did.
Simone opened a separate bank account.
She protected her personal assets.
She changed important passwords.
She removed sentimental belongings from the house.
And she waited.
Every Tuesday.
Every Thursday.
Derrick brought Amber into their home.
And every time…
Simone watched.
Not because she enjoyed it.
But because she wanted the truth preserved.
Then Patricia gave her the date.
Saturday. 10:00 A.M.
“That’s when he’ll be served.”
Simone looked at the calendar.
For the first time in weeks, she smiled.
