But I wasn’t laughing now.

His smile faded. “I’m sorry. Nothing’s damaged, I promise.”

He kissed my forehead and left.

Something shiny caught my eye.

I stared at the half-empty closet, remembering Hannah’s warning. For the first time, I wondered whether the missing clothes and those mysterious women were connected.

A couple of days later, I was resting on the living room sofa when I accidentally knocked my phone onto the floor.

As I carefully leaned down to retrieve it, something shiny caught my eye beneath the sofa. It was a small gold earring with a green stone.

“Where’d you find it?”

I picked it up and examined it. It wasn’t mine, and Hannah certainly didn’t own anything like it.

My daughter’s warning immediately came back to me.

When Wesley walked into the room, I held up the earring.

“Do you know whose this is?”

He stopped. For a split second, his expression changed.

Then he shrugged.

His expression changed.

“No idea. Where’d you find it?”

“Under the sofa.”

“Maybe one of Hannah’s friends lost it. Or someone who visited.”

“Wesley, Hannah’s friends are twelve. They don’t usually wear jewelry that looks this expensive.”

“Well, I don’t know, honey.”

I showed Hannah the earring.

He quickly changed the subject, asking whether I needed anything from the kitchen.

That evening, I showed Hannah the earring. “Have you ever seen this before?”

She shook her head.

“Maybe it belongs to one of Dad’s girlfriends.”

“Hannah…”

I opened my mouth to defend Wesley, but the words wouldn’t come.

I began paying closer attention.

Instead, I looked down at the unfamiliar earring in my palm. For the first time in fifteen years, I was beginning to wonder whether I really knew my husband.

Over the next few days, I began paying closer attention to Wesley.

He was spending an unusual amount of time in the garage.

Before my accident, we’d never bothered locking it. Hannah kept her bicycle there, and I occasionally went in to get gardening tools.

He changed the subject.

Now the door was always locked. Sometimes I heard hammering and drilling coming from inside.

“What are you building out there?” I asked one afternoon.

“Just working on a little home improvement project.”

“What kind of project?”

“Nothing exciting, honey. You’ll see.”

I decided to test him.

He immediately changed the subject.

The following afternoon, I decided to test him.

“Wesley, could you help me find a screwdriver? I need to tighten the handle on my jewelry box.”

“Sure! I’ll grab one.”

“I’ll come with you. I’m not sure which size I need.”

He laughed nervously.

He shook his head. “No, you stay here and rest. I’ll bring the whole toolbox.”

“Wesley, I broke my pelvis, not my ability to recognize a screwdriver.”

He laughed nervously, but still insisted on going alone.

Later, while walking past the garage, I spotted a shopping bag beside the door. Inside were scraps of beautiful fabric.

That night, I lay awake.

One piece was almost identical to the material of my missing blue dress. I stared at it, remembering Hannah’s story about women arriving with enormous bags.

Had Wesley been letting another woman wear my clothes?

The thought made my stomach twist.

That night, I lay awake beside my sleeping husband. Fifteen years together, and suddenly I didn’t even know what he was doing in our own garage.

I couldn’t ignore everything.

What else was he hiding from me?

Over the next few days, Wesley continued being the perfect husband.

He cooked dinner, reminded me to take my medication, and helped me whenever I needed to move around. Sometimes, watching him carefully arrange pillows behind my back, I felt terrible for suspecting him.

I came up with a plan.

But then I’d remember the missing clothes, the strange earring, and that locked garage.

I couldn’t ignore everything Hannah had told me.

I didn’t want to accuse Wesley without proof. But I also didn’t want my daughter believing that her mother was too afraid to face the truth.

So I came up with a plan.

“I’ll be careful.”

One afternoon, while Wesley was making lunch, I casually mentioned an evening gathering at the hospital for recovering patients.

“That sounds nice,” he said. “I’ll drive you.”

“No need. My doctor cleared me for short drives, remember? I’ll be careful.”

He hesitated, then nodded.

That should give him plenty of time.

“What time will you be back?”

“Probably around ten.”

That should give him plenty of time to reveal whatever he was hiding.

Hannah overheard our conversation.

Later, when Wesley went upstairs, she approached me.

Hannah overheard our conversation.

“Mom, are you going to investigate?”

I sighed.

“Yes, sweetheart.”

Her eyes widened.

“Just don’t do anything embarrassing, Mom.”

“Sweetheart, I’m forty years old. Embarrassing you is practically my job.”

“Just don’t do anything embarrassing.”

She rolled her eyes.

I smiled, but inside, I was terrified of what I might discover.

That evening, I put on comfortable pants and a loose sweater, grabbed my purse, and kissed Hannah goodbye.

“Have fun at your meeting, honey,” Wesley called from the kitchen.

“Thanks, sweetheart!”

I felt a little guilty lying to him. Then I remembered the unfamiliar earring and my missing shoes.

I felt ridiculous.

I drove to the neighboring block and parked where I could see the road leading to our driveway.

Sitting there, spying on my own husband, I felt ridiculous. Fifteen years of marriage, and I’d apparently become a private detective with a bad hip.

About twenty minutes later, a car pulled up outside our house.

Three women.

A middle-aged woman stepped out carrying an enormous tote bag. Wesley appeared almost immediately and helped her carry it toward the garage.

Five minutes later, another woman arrived with a long garment bag.

Then came a third, struggling with a large plastic storage box.

I stared through the windshield in disbelief.

He hugged one of them.

Three women. In one evening.

Wesley greeted them like old friends. He even hugged one of them.

My stomach dropped. What kind of man invited three women over while his wife was supposedly at the hospital?

I waited another fifteen minutes, hoping someone would emerge with an explanation written on a giant sign.

Nobody did.

I heard women talking.

Finally, I’d had enough.

I drove home, parked quietly, and approached the garage, moving carefully so I wouldn’t aggravate my injury.

The main door was closed, but the side door hadn’t latched properly.

Inside, I heard women talking and laughing.

Then Wesley spoke.

“Trust me, Wesley.”

“No, no! My wife would never wear something like that!”

A woman answered confidently.

“Trust me, Wesley. I know what I’m doing!”

I froze.

Were they seriously discussing another woman’s wardrobe? In my garage? With my missing clothes?

“Really, Wesley?”

I imagined Wesley handing over my favorite blue dress as if it were some kind of romantic gift.

That was the final straw.

I grabbed the handle, pulled the door open, and stepped inside.

“Really, Wesley? And what exactly would your wife never wear?”

The garage went completely silent.

Three women stared at me.

Wesley spun around, his eyes widening.

“Honey?! What are you doing here?”

“That’s what I’d like to ask you!”

Three women stared at me.

One had a measuring tape around her neck. Another sat behind a sewing machine, while the third held a piece of fabric against a mannequin.

The garage went silent.

I blinked. That wasn’t quite what I’d expected.

My eyes traveled around the garage.

There were boxes of colorful fabric, sewing supplies, and several half-finished dresses hanging from racks.

Then I spotted my favorite blue dress.

And along the opposite wall stood nearly every pair of shoes I’d been searching for.

“There goes the surprise.”

But the strangest sight was the furniture.

Half-built wooden shelves covered one wall, while several tall cabinets stood nearby.

Wesley was holding an electric drill.

For several seconds, nobody spoke. Finally, my husband lowered the drill and sighed.

“Well. There goes the surprise.”

“I’m a seamstress.”

I stared at him.

“What on earth is happening here?”

The oldest woman stepped forward.

“I’m Patricia. I’m a seamstress. This is Olivia, our designer, and Denise, who helps with the sewing.”

“Hello,” I managed.

“Your husband hired us.”

Patricia smiled awkwardly.

“Your husband hired us to create a collection of custom-made dresses for you. We were hoping to finish them before you found out.”

I looked at the mannequins, then back at Wesley.

“Dresses? For me?”

He nodded sheepishly and gestured toward the unfinished cabinets.

There was no affair.

“And I was building you a walk-in closet.”

I stared at him, speechless.

Patricia glanced around the room, taking in the scattered tools, unfinished shelves, and sawdust covering the floor.

“Technically, it’s more of a walk-in construction site at the moment.”

“Would you like to see?”

The women chuckled. I suddenly understood.

There was no affair.

My husband had been planning a surprise, and I’d just barged in like a jealous detective. I wanted the floor to swallow me whole.

Olivia approached me and gestured toward the mannequins.

“I’ve seen this dress!”

“Would you like to see what we’ve been working on?”

I nodded, still struggling to process everything.

The first dress was an elegant emerald-green evening gown. The second was covered in delicate pink flowers.

I gasped. “I’ve seen this dress before!”

Wesley smiled.

“That’s where it went!”

“You stopped to admire something similar in a shop window a few months ago. Remember?”

I did. I hadn’t realized he’d even been paying attention.

“Your husband showed us photographs of you in your favorite outfits,” Olivia explained. “And we borrowed your blue dress to get the measurements right.”

“So that’s where it went!”

“Remember?”

I turned toward my missing shoes.

“And these?”

Wesley scratched his head.

“I needed to figure out the shelf sizes. Some of your heels are surprisingly tall. Apparently, your boots need more headroom than our daughter.”

I laughed despite myself.

“There’s one more thing.”

Then I remembered something.

“Wait. There’s one more thing.”

I opened my purse and took out the mysterious green-stoned earring. “Does this belong to anyone?”

Patricia gasped. “Oh, thank goodness! I’ve been looking for that everywhere!”

Suddenly, every suspicious detail made perfect sense.

“You look so relieved!”

Patricia tilted her head.

“Goodness, dear. You look so relieved! What did you think we were doing? Running some secret criminal organization?”

I glanced at Wesley. He raised an eyebrow.

The women looked between us. Then Patricia’s eyes widened.

“Oh, honey. You didn’t think—”

“What did you think?”

She burst out laughing.

I covered my face. Apparently, my detective career had ended before it even began.

Wesley asked the women to give us a few minutes alone.

Once they’d stepped outside, he helped me into a chair and sat beside me.

“You know, I never really understood your obsession with clothes. I always thought you had too many dresses and shoes.”

“I remembered how happy you looked.”

I smiled faintly.

“You once said I could open a department store in our bedroom.”

He chuckled, then grew serious.

“But when you were in the hospital, I kept thinking about how close I came to losing you.”

He looked toward my blue dress.

“I kept thinking.”

“One evening, I walked into our bedroom and saw that hanging in the closet. I remembered how happy you looked the last time you wore it.”

He took my hand.

“And I realized I’d spent years making fun of something that brought you so much joy.”

I gasped.

“I don’t need expensive gifts.”

“So I thought, why not give you a proper place for all those things? And some beautiful new dresses to go with it?”

He squeezed my hand. “Life’s too short to spend it telling you that you don’t need another dress.”

Tears filled my eyes. “Wesley, I don’t need expensive gifts.”

“I know,” he whispered with a smile. “But I wanted you to have this one.”

I leaned forward and hugged him.