I came home from a long business trip — the kind that leaves you aching for your own bed, your own space, your own peace. All I wanted was to kick off my heels, slide under the covers, and fall asleep on my favorite pillow.
Instead, I found lace.
Not mine.
A delicate, unfamiliar pair of panties, smugly perched on my side of the bed.
I didn’t scream. Didn’t cry. Didn’t storm out into the night.
I stood there, staring, like the breath had been quietly knocked from my chest.