I Hid on Back Seat of My Husband's Car Only to Learn His Dark Secrets – Story of the Day

A cheating husband gets far more than he bargained for when he discovers his mistress in the shower after arriving home with his wife. He devises a plan to try and keep both women in his life, only for it to backfire on him badly.

The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the suburban landscape as Daniel and Elizabeth drove home from their shared workplace. The dull hum of the car engine provided the only background noise as they navigated through the familiar streets.

They had been married for seven years, co-owners of a small, successful business for three of those. Their life together had a routine, a predictability that was both comforting and, at times, suffocating.

As they approached their cozy home, Daniel couldn't help but feel a peculiar unease gnawing at the edges of his being. There was something different about this Friday evening, something in the air that made him subtly uncomfortable.

"Did you remember to pay the electricity bill today?" Elizabeth asked, breaking the silence.

"Of course I did," Daniel replied, trying to sound nonchalant, but his voice wavered ever so slightly. He had forgotten to pay the bill yet again.

Their conversation ended as abruptly as it had begun, and they arrived home in silence. Daniel parked the car in the driveway, and they both stepped out and trudged to the front door. They entered their house, a place that was meant to be a sanctuary but had recently become more like a pressure cooker.

"Is it me, or is it warmer in here than usual?" Daniel asked, unbuttoning his shirt, tugging off his tie, and shrugging off his jacket as they walked through the door and into the living room.

"I don't know, maybe the thermostat's acting up again. I'll check it later," Elizabeth replied.

The house seemed eerily quiet, and Daniel's unease grew as they ascended the stairs to their bedroom. The sound of running water then became apparent, and he stopped abruptly on the upstairs landing.

"Did you leave the faucet running?" he asked, his voice tinged with concern.

Elizabeth looked puzzled. "No, I haven't been in there since this morning. You know how I don't like wasting water; I'm very careful about closing the faucets."

Daniel rolled his eyes scornfully, but his heart was thumping, and he realized the source of his unease—the sound was coming from their en suite bathroom.

"Maybe I left it running then," he ventured and looked confused. "Ah, honey," he continued, thinking as quickly as he could, "I went and left my laptop bag in the backseat of the car; please, could you go and fetch it for me?" he asked imploringly.

"Why don't you go and fetch it yourself, Daniel? I'm not your servant," Elizabeth replied coldly.

"Ah, please, my babe, I am so exhausted, I just can't face walking out there again. I beg you. I'll make it up to you. I have a special treat in mind for tonight!" Daniel ventured with a twinkle in his eye.

Elizabeth looked her husband up and down. "I'm a little worried about you," she said. "This forgetfulness is not good. You know how risky it is to leave anything valuable in plain sight in the car. Really, Daniel, I don't know what's got into you. You've been acting really oddly for a while now. Distracted and distant, what's got into you?"

"I know," Daniel said with a sigh. "You're right, honey. I think I've been so stressed with what's happening at work: the drop in sales and all that. I'm really worried about the business."

"It's not that bad, Dan. We'll figure it out. We've hired the extra sales agents, we've worked out a strategy, now we just need to be patient and see it through," Elizabeth replied.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right. I'm just so tired. Hey, I have an idea for tonight. We don't we just Netflix and chill? We can order take-out and have it delivered. Let's just crash on the sofa and veg out, maybe even for the whole weekend!" Daniel offered.

Elizabeth softened a little, "Hmm, not a bad idea, actually. The thought of cooking tonight was killing me anyway. Okay, let's see. I'll go and get your laptop, and then we can talk about it after I've had a shower.

"Great," Daniel shot back, "thanks, babe." As Elizabeth descended the stairs, Daniel darted into the master bedroom, and his heart dropped like a stone. Steam filled the air, drifting in from the en suite, and a faint fragrance of lavender wafted through the room.

Daniel stepped quickly into the bathroom, and there, behind the frosted glass shower door, stood a woman, her silhouette softened by the mist. She was humming a melodious tune, oblivious to Daniel's arrival.

A sense of disbelief washed over the man. He knew the woman's shape and voice all too well, but the sight of her here was inconceivable. It was Sophia, his mistress, a passionate secret he had been harboring for months.

"Sophia!" Daniel called out in surprise.

"Daniel, is that you?" Sophia's voice sang out from behind the glass door flirtatiously.

He couldn't find words to respond, frozen in the doorway, his mind a whirlwind of fear, anger, and desperation.

Sophia drew the sliding door open, stepping out of the shower with a seductive sway of her hips, the water droplets glistening on her porcelain skin. She was a striking woman with a beauty that left no man unmoved, and she knew it.

"Surprise, handsome!" she said, her lips curling into a mischievous smile. "I thought I'd come over and spend the weekend with you! Maybe we could see it as a trial run for moving in together?" she said.

As her words hung in the steamy air, her eyes met Daniel's, and they widened in shock as she absorbed the gravity of his reaction.

"Daniel, what's wrong?" Sophia asked, her voice now laced with concern.

He finally found his voice, though it came out as a whisper. "What the hell are you doing here, Sophia? What were you thinking? How could you sneak into my house behind my back like this?"

Sophia's face contorted with confusion. "What are you talking about? I thought you'd be thrilled. And I didn't sneak in. You showed me where the spare key is hidden."

Daniel took a step back, his gaze darting around the bathroom, searching for a way out, an escape from the nightmare that was unfolding before his eyes. But there was no way out, and the walls of the room seemed to close in on him.

"I'm married, Sophia!" he blurted out, the words heavy with guilt. "I have a wife, Elizabeth, and she'll be back at any minute. I can't believe what a disastrous situation you've created here!"

Sophia's eyes widened, her mouth agape. "Married? Married, Daniel! What have we been doing all these months? A disaster I've created? You bastard! You created this situation. I can't believe it!"

"Believe me, Sophia, I never meant for it to go this far," Daniel pleaded. "I can't let Elizabeth find out about us right now. We'll figure this out. I'll explain everything to you, I promise. I am going to leave her and be with you. I just have to tie up all the details. Please, I love you so much. I want to be with you only. But, now, please, you have to hide."

Sophia shook her head in disbelief. "This is insane, Daniel! What kind of a mess have you gotten me into?"

"I've gotten us into?" Daniel almost yelled back. "You show up unannounced in my shower, and now it's my fault? What the hell, Sophia! How could you do this?"

"You were the one who said you wanted to spend more time with me, so here I am! I thought this would be a nice surprise. But now, now you tell me you're married?" Sophia challenged.

She retreated back into the shower, the water still running, and slammed the door closed. Daniel's mind scrambled to come up with a plan. He couldn't let his wife discover the woman he had been deceiving her with for months. He rushed out of the bathroom, his heart racing, to stop Elizabeth.

He heard the front door closing and moved quickly to the top of the stairs. Panic coursed through him as he realized that he had to keep Elizabeth away from the bedroom, at least until he could unwind this disastrous situation.

Elizabeth looked up the stairs at her husband. "Daniel," she said sternly, "your laptop is not in the car. I looked in the trunk, too. Where did you leave it?"

Daniel looked confounded, but it had nothing to do with his laptop. "What's the matter with you?" Elizabeth asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Ah, ah, honey, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry! I did leave the faucet running. It's a mess. The whole bathroom is flooded. Oh, what a terrible mess. I'm so sorry! Don't come up here, don't come up!"

Daniel plodded down the stairs beside himself in desperation. "Daniel, calm down," Elizabeth implored. "We'll figure this out, okay? Just calm down."

"I flooded the bathroom!" Daniel said, his eyes flitting around in feigned shock. "I'll clean it up, but don't go in there. I'll clean it up, don't worry. Let's just sit down on the sofa. I think I'm in shock."

Daniel took his wife by the hand and led her toward the large, comfortable sofa in the living room, trying to distract her. The guilt and fear of his affair with Sophia being discovered gnawed at him like a rat feasting on carrion.

His mind raced as he tried to figure out how to extricate himself from this predicament.

Meanwhile, inside the shower stall, Sophia's patience wore thin. She couldn't stay hidden forever, and her anger grew with each passing second. She was determined to confront Daniel and demand to know why he had kept his marriage a secret from her.

"What's going on, Daniel? You're acting very strangely," Elizabeth asked.

"I must have lost my laptop!" Daniel said, knowing very well that he had deliberately left it at the office for the weekend. "And I left the faucet on this morning. I must be losing my mind! Our whole bedroom is ruined. Ruined! We'll have to go out now, and I'll call in a plumber, or a handyman, or a home service company, or something, to fix it. But we can't stay here tonight. Let's go check into a hotel! That will be nice. Let's go spend the weekend in a nice hotel!"

"Daniel, Dan, please, you're scaring me now. You're being hysterical," Elizabeth said calmly. "Are you sure the bathroom and bedroom are flooded? I don't see any water leaking from upstairs. If you'd left the faucet running all day, water would be streaming down everywhere. I'm going up to take a look."

Daniel reached across and took Elizabeth's hands, his eyes filled with deceit. "I'm so sorry, Elizabeth. I've been under a lot of stress lately, and I didn't want to burden you with it. But I promise everything will be okay. Just don't go up there."

Elizabeth nodded, her expression softening. "I worry about you sometimes, Daniel. You can always talk to me, but I'm going to have a look. Just relax, okay?"

Before Daniel could argue further, Elizabeth left him and started up the stairs. Daniel followed like a lost puppy, scampering behind her with continued yaps trying to discourage her from going further.

Elizabeth continued up, insistent on seeing the bathroom for herself. At the same time, Daniel tried his best to deter her, all the while his mind racing for a solution to this impossible situation.

In the bathroom, Elizabeth found no sign of flooding or any other issue. The floor was slightly damp, however, as was the bath mat. The air was filled with the lingering scent of lavender from the shower soap, and the extraction fan whirred loudly, having done a good job of sucking out the steam.

Elizabeth turned to Daniel, a hint of suspicion forming in her eyes. "See, Dan, there's no flooding at all," she said, her voice a mix of concern and doubt. "Are you feeling all right?"

Daniel played along. "I must be more stressed than I thought. Maybe I'm seeing and hearing things. I could have sworn the whole place was flooded. Maybe I left the faucet on just slightly; that's why the floor is wet?" he suggested, his eyes darting around the space for any sign of Sophia.

Before he could stop her, Elizabeth popped open the shower door. The stall was empty, save for a spray of water droplets on the tiles.

"Maybe I left the shower on?" Daniel ventured. "Really, I don't know what's wrong with me. I feel like I'm losing my mind! I think I need a stiff drink to relax. Let's go downstairs and get a drink, honey."

"Fine, you go and fix yourself a drink," Elizabeth said. "Sit down and relax, okay? You can order in—I feel like pizza. Just take it easy, Daniel, please; this is not normal behavior."

"Okay," Daniel agreed. "I'll go and relax with a drink and order food. You have your shower, then. Come and join me as soon as you're done, okay?"

Elizabeth nodded and turned on the shower, very curious about Daniel's conduct. She began to undress. As she did, her eyes fell on a toiletry bag perched on top of the towel rack, a bag she had never seen before. She reached for the bag and unzipped it.

The moment she laid eyes on the contents, her stomach dropped, and her eyes widened in shock. Her fingers trembled as she inspected the toiletries inside: a toothbrush, a razor, a collection of skincare products.

It was clear that these items belonged to another woman. Another woman who had no business being in Elizabeth and Daniel's bathroom.

The pieces of the puzzle fell into place, and Elizabeth's heart constricted as she realized the truth. Another woman had been in their home, and this explained Daniel's odd behavior. She had felt the ructions in their marriage but had thought it was just a passing phase.

She had always thought their marriage was solid, that they were inseparable, but now she was confronted with undeniable evidence to the contrary.

A myriad of emotions surged through Elizabeth as she stood there, holding the toiletries bag in her hand. Anger, betrayal, and a profound sadness mixed with disbelief washed over her, leaving her paralyzed in the bathroom.

Meanwhile, before retreating downstairs, Daniel had padded quickly down the upstairs hallway. He threw open the spare room door, and there stood Sophia. Draped in nothing but a towel and distress, she turned to confront the man who had been deceiving her.

Daniel stepped over to this woman hiding in his home, threatening to unravel his marriage.

Sophia stood firm, her posture a mixture of defiance and frustration, her eyes piercing Daniel's. She folded her arms in anger. "So, you've finally decided to come clean, have you? Tell me, Daniel, what do you expect me to do?" she challenged.

Daniel knew he had little room for evasion now, and he sighed heavily, choosing his words carefully. "I have to admit, Sophia, I never expected to find myself in this predicament. I never wanted to get caught up in a mess."

Sophia's voice was sharp and unforgiving. "You made this mess. You're the one who put me in this compromising position, Daniel. I thought we meant something to each other."

Daniel nodded in guilt and regret. "We do, Sophia. I never meant to hurt you. I want to make things right, but it's complicated. I couldn't leave her yet, I have to work it out carefully."

She leaned forward, her voice lowering threateningly. "Complicated? Do you think this is only complicated? This is way more than complicated now. You've been lying to me for months, Daniel. You made me believe we had a future together."

Daniel tried to reach out and touch Sophia, but she pulled away, her anger unabated. "Sophia, I promise you, I will make things right, but we have to be patient," Daniel said.

Sophia's eyes narrowed skeptically. "Patient? What's your plan, Daniel? How are you going to make things right for me?"

He hesitated for a moment, contemplating his words. "I'm planning to divorce Elizabeth, but not yet. I need to find the right time, a way to do it without causing too much damage."

Sophia's anger flared once more. "Divorce? You're going to divorce her? After all this time, you're finally going to end things with her?"

Daniel nodded in desperation. "Yes, but it's not that simple, Sophia. We have a business together, a life we've built. I need to make sure it doesn't all crumble."

Sophia scoffed, her voice dripping with disdain. "So, you want me to wait in the shadows while you figure out your life, while you figure out if you want to be with me or her and stop your world from crumbling?"

Daniel reached out again, feigning sincerity. "Sophia, please understand, I'm doing this for us. I promise I will make things right between us, but I need time. I can't lose everything and have nothing left for you."

She shoved his hand away. "Time? You've had months, Daniel, and you've done nothing. I won't be kept secret any longer. I deserve better than that. Either you tell your wife about us now, or I will," Sophia demanded.

Their argument raged on for a minute more, with Daniel attempting to placate Sophia, and she, in turn, making it clear that she would not settle for the role of the other woman any longer. The room was filled with tense exchanges and the weight of Daniel's deception.

"Please keep your voice down, Sophia," Daniel hissed, trying to hatch a plan in his mind to flush Sophia from the house. He had to get her out without Elizabeth discovering her presence. He implored her to hide in the closet while he devised a strategy.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth stood numb in the shower, allowing the hot water to cascade over her, offering a temporary respite from the storm that was about to descend upon her life.

Back in the spare bedroom, Daniel rushed to the closet, pulling open the door and urging Sophia to stoop inside. She finally complied reluctantly, her eyes locked angrily on her deceiver.

"I'll come up with a plan to get you out without Elizabeth seeing you," he whispered. "Then, I'll end it with her and make this up to you so we can be together."

Sophia crouched down in the closet and nodded reluctantly. "You'd better, Daniel. I won't stay hidden forever."

As he closed the closet door, he knew that the next steps would be crucial, fraught with risk and uncertainty. The consequences of his actions were beginning to become apparent, and his future was teetering on the edge of a precipice.

Daniel tramped down the stairs to the kitchen and busied himself with fixing a stiff whiskey and soda, trying all the while to regain his composure and figure out his next move.

He had no idea that Elizabeth was piecing together the truth. The burden of his deceit and the potential unraveling of his marriage hung in the balance a few feet above his head on the next floor.

Elizabeth finally stepped out of the bathroom and pulled on a sweater and pair of jeans, her face a mask of controlled emotions. She held the toiletries bag in her hand and was about to descend upon her husband when something caught her eye on the bedroom floor.

There, she saw further tell-tale evidence that the threat to the sanctity of her marriage was closer to hand than she originally suspected. A trail of wet footprints led to the bedroom door. She followed them out and then down the hallway to the closed spare room door.

She opened the door quietly and glanced down at the floor. The footprints went one way in the room, towards the window, and then backtracked and seemed to come to an end in front of the closet.

Elizabeth studied the closet door for a few seconds, and then she picked up the final damning piece of evidence: The small triangular corner of one of her favorite pink bath towels peeked out from the bottom of the closet door. And as she watched, as if by magic, the sliver of fabric slowly disappeared from the inside.

As the daylight outside began to falter, casting the spare room towards darkness, Elizabeth considered her options. The room was now the eye of the storm, the temporary refuge before a gathering tempest of secrets and betrayals would tear at the foundation of Elizabeth and Daniel's married life.

Elizabeth stood in front of the closet door, trembling as she confronted the terrible possibility that her husband's lover was hiding within.

Her heart ached as she reached out for the door handle. Her hand trembled as she prepared to swing it open. She hesitated for a moment, her emotions on the edge of a precipice.

She had always believed in her marriage, in the vows they had made to each other, but now those convictions were being shattered before her eyes.

She just couldn't bring herself to open that door, however, and in despair, she sank down on the floor in front of the adjoining door, tears falling unchecked. She felt like the ground had been ripped out from beneath her, leaving her adrift.

She began to speak, revealing her heartbreak and disappointment to the empty air around her. "I can't believe it has come to this," she said. "I thought I had the perfect marriage, the kind they write about in books and depict in movies. But now, it feels like I'm living in a nightmare."

Her voice quivered as she continued, "We've had our problems, as all marriages do. But I really tried, you know. I read those self-help books to keep the spark alive. I tried to make myself more attractive—the constant hair-dos, make-up, even some Botox. I considered plastic surgery, for god's sake. I did everything I could to try and fulfill his every need and wish. I thought we were in this together, that we were a team."

Elizabeth's gaze remained fixed ahead as if she was addressing the phantom of the woman who had invaded her marriage. "But apparently, it wasn't enough. I guess there's always someone younger, more attractive, more sexually adventurous, someone who can give him what I couldn't."

She lapsed into ponderous silence, the weight of her words settling around the room like the ash from a fire. The room seemed to hold its breath as she continued. "I guess it's all over now. I give up."

And then, the closet door swung open slowly, revealing the crouched figure of Sophia inside. The woman had listened to every word Elizabeth had uttered, and now they were side by side in shame, trapped in turmoil.

Sophia's eyes were red-rimmed, her face lined with sorrow and regret. She had been silent throughout Elizabeth's monologue, a witness to the unraveling of a marriage she had unwittingly wrecked. "I'm so sorry," was all she said.

Tears welled in Elizabeth's eyes as she acknowledged the truth. The woman she had envisioned as a threat, as a rival, was as much a victim in this tangled web of deceit as she was.

The depth of their shared pain began to register, and Elizabeth felt a surge of compassion for the woman who had unwittingly played a role in the disintegration of her marriage.

"You have nothing to apologize for," Elizabeth said, her voice filled with a mix of sorrow and understanding. "We're both victims of his lies."

The two women, bound now by shared heartbreak, sat in silence for some time, their tears mingling.

"What do we do now?" Sophia eventually asked.

"I have an idea," Elizabeth said, wiping away the last of her tears.

Daniel sat downstairs on the sofa, flipping through the Netflix selections and taking nervous sips of his whiskey. The room was filled with a tense silence.

His mind was a whirlwind of confusion and anxiety, his thoughts torn between his wife, who was still in the shower—so he thought—and his mistress, hiding in the spare bedroom. Daniel felt like a puppeteer, trying to pull on the fraying strings of his unraveling life.

As he scrolled through the streaming options, his thoughts were interrupted by a sudden, unexpected touch. A hand covered his eyes from behind, and a playful voice murmured, "Guess who?"

Daniel's heart raced, the touch sending rivers of sensation through his body. But he tensed up immediately; he knew that voice, and when the hands were removed from his eyes, he turned around to see Sophia behind him.

She wore a sexy, short, tight-fitting, low-cut dress that accentuated her figure. Her entrance was a provocative display designed to catch Daniel's attention, and it did, but he was not amused. He latched her with an expression of fury and fear.

"What are you doing?" he hissed, his voice a low, angry growl.

Sophia stepped around in front of her lover, her demeanor a mix of seduction and determination. "I'm not hiding in the shadows anymore, Daniel. I'm tired of being a secret."

The man clenched his jaw, his anger simmering. "You can't just walk around like this. What if Elizabeth sees you?" he spat.

Sophia's eyes flashed with defiance. "That's the point, isn't it? I don't want to be a secret anymore. If you love me and want to be with me, then we should all have it out right now. You say you want a divorce; well, ask for it now when your wife comes down those stairs."

Daniel's nostrils flared, his voice cutting with rage. "Are you out of your mind? This is not the time or the place. We need to be discreet. You can't just storm into the open like this."

Sophia crossed her arms. "I've been discreet for long enough, Daniel. And I deserve better than this. Make up your mind. Is it me or her?"

The tension between them escalated as they grappled with the standoff. Daniel knew he had to think fast to prevent a confrontation that could reveal the truth to Elizabeth.

"I have an idea," he said, his voice strained. "Wait here for a moment, and I'll come up with a plan. We need to leave the house and go somewhere more private."

Sophia nodded. "Fine, but make it quick, Daniel. I've waited long enough," she said.

He turned and made his way to the kitchen. His plan involved fixing himself another whiskey, this time without the soda. He downed it in a shot and tried to pull himself together.

He stepped back into the living room, within range once again of Sophia's blistering glare.

"Okay," he said, "I'll do it, I'll ask for a divorce. But you can't be here. Let me drive you to your place, then I'll come back here, end it with Elizabeth, and then I'll pack some of my things and come over to you, and we can work out the details."

Sophia nodded with a smile and stepped over to clinch Daniel in a quick embrace. They prepared to leave the house. As they headed for the front door, Daniel grabbed a blanket from the sofa and handed it to Sophia. He fetched the car keys off the kitchen counter and handed those over, too.

"Hide under the blanket in the back seat of the car," he instructed. "We don't want Elizabeth or any of the neighbors to see you. I'll be out in a minute. I need to tell Elizabeth I'm going out. I'll say that the delivery service is down, and I have to go out and get the pizzas myself."

Sophia accepted the blanket with a nod and disappeared out the front door while Daniel trudged upstairs. "Honey?" he called out halfway up.

There was no answer from the bedroom. Daniel stepped into the bathroom, which was steamy but silent. "Honey, are you in here?" Daniel called out again. When there was still no answer, he moved down the hallway and checked the other bedrooms; his wife was nowhere to be found.

"What the hell?" he said to himself. "Where's she gone?" He was gripped with panic. Maybe she went out to the car? He thought to himself, bolting back down the hallway. Man, why is this all going south on me now? He thought with pangs of self-pity. Women!

Dashing out to the car, Daniel looked in through the back window and could see the figure hiding under the blanket as instructed. Elizabeth was not out there, he was relieved to discover. But then, where is she? the man wondered.

He jumped into the driver's seat and announced: "I can't find her, damn it! I don't know where she is, the stupid woman. This is really messed up. Just stay hidden until I figure this out." He looked back and got a nod from the blanketed figure in the back.

"I can't just drive away without telling her where I'm going. And I'll tell her it's over, okay, trust me. Maybe she went to put on some laundry in the garage!" Daniel added suddenly, frantic in thought and deed. "That must be where she is!"

He hopped out of the car, at the same time pressing the button on the remote control on the car key bunch that Sophia had left on the front seat for him to find.

The garage door bumped open slowly, revealing the empty washer and dryer in the far back corner, but no Elizabeth. "Damn it all to hell!" Daniel said with frustration, closing the door again and getting back in the car.

"Where is she, that damn woman?" he spat with vengeance. "Maybe it's just as well that I'm going to end it all now and leave her," he said more to himself than his lover. "I just can't stand her anymore. She's driving me crazy at work, too. I'm making a plan to buy her out of the business or get rid of her some other way. Yes, this is for the best. Okay, I'm going to do it, Sophia," he said, looking back over his shoulder at the bundle under the blanket.

There was no movement from the back seat, but at the diver's window, something suddenly loomed like a phantom. It was dressed in a figure-hugging black dress and almost startled the pants off Daniel. He jumped in his seat and pressed the electric winder button, revealing Sophia at the window: arms folded, defiant, triumphant.

Turning pale and feeling sick to the stomach with shame, Daniel twisted slowly in his seat and watched as his wife Elizabeth rose to a seated position from beneath the blanket.

His first reaction at being caught out in such a spectacular fashion was to lash out in anger, as before. "What's going on here?" he yelped. "What do you two think you are doing tricking me like this?"

Elizabeth said nothing. A tear trickled down her cheek, and she looked at her husband sadly. "I've known something was off with you for some time now; my only regret is that I doubted myself instead of you. I wish I'd said something or acted sooner on my instincts," she said.

"Wait, both of you, just wait. I can explain everything," Daniel began.

Sophia laughed. "Explain?" she retorted. "You've done enough explaining for one day. Now it's our turn to explain some things to you."

"That's right, Danny boy, the time for your smooth talking is now well and truly over," Elizabeth added. "You'll be getting that divorce you want, no doubt about it. But thanks to Sophia's evidence, and—" she held up the phone that had been in her hand the whole time, "my recording of everything you said just now, I will take you for everything you have, including the business."

"Look, Elizabeth, let's not overreact here. We can all sit down like grown-ups and work this out. It's a simple misunderstanding," Daniel said.

Now, it was Elizabeth's turn to laugh. "A misunderstanding?" she echoed. "Sophia, did you misunderstand my husband's intentions in any way, perhaps?" she asked.

"Nope," Sophia said. "I understood him perfectly. He said he loved me and wanted to divorce you and be with me. But I want nothing more to do with this man ever again. He is dead to me."

"That's pretty much what I heard, too," Elizabeth said. She stepped out of the car and stood where Sophia had been moments before, looking down on Daniel.

"You have your divorce, Daniel. I'll get our business lawyer to draw up the papers. I'm sure she'll be happy to do that. I hope you can afford her with what little you'll have left when we're through."

Daniel said nothing; he just stared straight ahead, hands on the steering wheel. "Okay," he said after a while, "I'll just go inside and pack a bag of things. I'll go and stay with my brother for a few days while you all calm down, and then we can figure things out."

"I'm very calm right now, Daniel. Don't worry about that," Elizabeth said. "And I'm sure your brother can lend you some clothes. I'll be sending your personal things in due course. Although, since I'm feeling quite generous, you can keep the car for now. You can always live in it if your brother doesn't help you."

"Elizabeth, please don't do this," Daniel begged.

"It's done, Daniel. Goodbye," Elizabeth concluded. She took Sophia by the hand. "How about a drink?" she suggested. Sophia smiled warmly, and the two stepped hand-in-hand towards the front door.

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