The Night My Husband Cheated, His Clock Stopped Ticking

Diana's POV

I've been able to see clocks above people's heads since the day I was born. As long as the hands keep moving, the bond between us is still alive.

Once the hands spin backward and stop at zero, that bond is finished.

When I was seven, the clock over my best friend's head just stopped one day. She drowned in the reservoir the next morning.

When I was fifteen, my grandfather's clock started ticking backward, slower and slower, until it stopped completely. He died peacefully in his sleep that same night.

When I was eighteen, my father, a drunk who lied about everything, slammed the door on his way out. I watched his clock vanish completely and knew right then he was never coming back.

Ever since, clocks scare me. I'm always afraid of watching someone I love get taken away from me.

So I keep my head down, holding on tight to the quiet, stable life I've fought so hard for.

Then tonight, I watch the clock above Marcus Hargrove's head start spinning backward.

What scares me even more is Willow's clock doing the same thing.

While I'm still trying to figure out why, the storm hits that night. He walks out on his daughter while she's burning up with fever and having convulsions, and runs straight to another woman.

His clock jumps back another notch.

That night, Marcus comes through the door, kicking off his shoes and loosening his tie, looking worn out.

"Man, work kicked my ass today."

I'm carrying his dinner out from the kitchen, about to ask how his day went.

Then I see the clock above his head slowly turning backward, and I freeze mid-step.

It feels like something grabs my heart and squeezes. I can't breathe right.

"What's wrong?" Marcus notices my face has gone pale and frowns.

"Nothing... it's nothing." I force the shaking down and set the plate on the table.

I can't believe it.

Marcus and I have been married five years.

We dated, got married, had Willow. I really thought we'd grow old together.

Just yesterday he hugged me and said once things calm down at work, he'll take me and Willow to Maui.

Just last month, on our anniversary, he put a custom-made necklace around my neck himself.

So why?

Why does a clock that's been running fine suddenly start going backward?

Right then, his phone lights up on the table.

He grabs it almost like a reflex and flips it face down, then practically flees into the bathroom. "Gonna hit the shower, I smell like the office."

I stand there, staring at the phone on the table.

In five years, I've never once gone through his phone.

Because I trust him. Because he's always made me feel safe.

But tonight, that clock wipes out whatever reason I've got left.

I walk over, pick it up, and unlock it with his birthday.

The screen is still open to a text thread with Paige Sutton, the intern he's been mentioning more and more lately.

I read what she'd sent him. "Thanks for helping me pick out furniture today, Marcus. You've got a good eye."

"My ankle's still kind of messed up. Think you can still pick me up for work tomorrow?"

Then I open Instagram.

Paige posted something half an hour ago.

"So glad I've got you looking out for me in this city. Feels like home already."

The photo shows two cups of coffee and two hands laced together on the table.

I know that ring on his hand better than anything. I'm the one who put it there.

I feel the blood go cold in my veins.

Anger, disbelief, everything hits me at once like a wave I can't get out from under.

Working late?

So working late means helping some new intern shop for furniture?

Means flirting with another woman?

My best friend warned me about this once.

And I'd told her, so sure of myself, that I trusted my husband.

Guess I jinxed it.

The water in the bathroom shuts off.

Marcus walks out toweling off his hair, and the second he sees me holding his phone, his face changes completely.

"Diana, what the hell are you doing? Who said you could go through my phone?"

He snatches it out of my hands. Something flickers across his face, panic maybe, but it doesn't last long before anger takes over.