The sun was setting over the quiet neighborhood, casting a warm glow over the houses and trees. Inside one of the houses, a young woman named Sarah sat nervously at her kitchen table, staring at the envelope in front of her. She had been dreading this moment for weeks, ever since she found out the truth about her husband.

Sarah had been married to Mike for five years, and they had always been happy together. But recently, Sarah had noticed that Mike had been acting strange. He was distant and distracted, and he was spending more and more time away from home. She had tried to ignore it at first, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Today, she decided to do everything possible to try and get some answers.
She took a deep breath, and opened the flap of the envelope. As soon as she touched the edge of the paper with her finger tip, she felt an intense surge of fear course through her body. The letter read:

Dear Mr and Mrs Walker,

If you are receiving this letter, then I am so sorry to inform you that your marriage is over. I regret having to tell you such harsh words, but there is nothing else that I can say in regards to your divorce.

Divorce?

Sarah blinked and tried to process what she just read right before she kept reading the letter.

We are very saddened by the news.

In fact, we are extremely disappointed to learn that you both have decided that you would like to end your marriage, and not only that but also separate completely. We will be conducting an investigation into this matter on behalf of our firm.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read our letter. If you need anything else, please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,
The office of the firm, Morgan & Smith

"What...the hell..." Sarah muttered under her breath, unable to believe what she was seeing right now. Her hand moved up to her mouth, and she began trying to wrap her head around what was going on. Tears streamed down her cheeks without her permission.
This realization hurt her heart almost as much as the news itself, but she managed to keep herself composed. She refused to believe that her wonderful husband would do such a thing. After all, she knew he loved her.
She didn’t know how to react at first, thinking her marriage was on its way to a happy end.
They would go out together every night; they would watch movies together; they would go hiking every weekend.

They hadn’t spoken much lately; their schedules were pretty crazy these days. And most importantly, Mike would stop being so cold to her. That would explain why he was spending so much time in a small office building. And, besides, if he was cheating, wouldn't he have told her by now?

He acted as if nothing had happened, like it didn’t matter to him.

When she finally confronted him about it, he told her that his work needed more focus and that he couldn't afford to leave town. She thought that this meant she could spend less time with Mike, though it seemed unlikely since Mike's business seemed to be going well. Maybe he had finally made some sort of friend here in Chicago?
But even more worrying was the fact that Mike was still living with her.

Sarah knew what she needed to do.
When Mike returned, Sarah would act as if nothing happened. She pretended like everything was perfectly fine, despite her worries. However, as soon as Mike was gone again, she began to wonder whether or not he was cheating on her with someone else.

So when her friend's sister called, asking if there was any chance Sarah could come over for dinner on Christmas Eve, Sarah didn't hesitate to agree. The whole day seemed tense.

She thought that this meant she could spend less time with Mike, but it wasn't as if she could force a relationship between them.

But then came this horrible day.

He looked terrified, as if she was the devil himself, and he just wanted nothing more than to run far away from here. Why did she want to make his life so miserable?

There were tears in his eyes too, but they were tears of anger rather than sadness. A few seconds passed when Mike finally spoke.
"So..." he said, sounding like he was struggling to control himself. "This is it."

Why did she have to go and fall pregnant?
Now Sarah understood why Mike was acting so distant. He didn't want to be a father.

It sounded like a lot, but Sarah knew better than to let her emotions rule her thought process. Sarah was confused and hurt and angry, but not surprised. When Mike had found out Sarah had discovered the truth about his past, he had immediately tried to cover up the whole thing by pretending that nothing was wrong. That way, he could keep lying. Sarah thought that this time would be no different. But as soon as Mike had left, Sarah started questioning everything she believed about her husband.

"Sarah," Mike called her, "I have to tell you..."
Her entire body stiffened, tears began rolling down her cheeks. "Mike," she whispered. The letter fell from her hands and onto the floor.
"No." She shook her head violently back and forth, trying not to listen to the sound of the letter falling.

"I'm sterile." Mike confessed.

There were only two words on the page; the one thing she hadn't wanted to see.

"It's nothing. You didn't do anything wrong." She forced a smile, but it fell almost immediately. "You didn't deserve this." With that, she stood up and walked into the hallway, leaving her husband behind.

As Sarah headed for the door, Mike grabbed her arm. "Sarah…"
"Don't touch me!" she snapped at him angrily. She tore her arm away from his grasp before slamming the door behind her. Mike sat down heavily on the bed, rubbing his chest. He hadn't meant to hurt her.

What made her think that she could possibly be able to fix things with Mike? She wasn’t sure. Maybe she had hoped that the two of them could work through their issues. But after everything he had done to her, she couldn’t help but think that there was no way that they could fix it.
The worst part about it was that Mike didn’t look regretful in the least.

He acted as if nothing had happened, like it didn’t matter to him whether or not she forgave him. Of course it mattered! How could she forgive him if he cheated on her like this?

《•○•》

She decided she would confront him about it once a week; after their appointment she'd find him in the waiting room, talking to people and making small talk. If he denied anything, then maybe he really didn't want to get caught.
The sessions went normally for another week until Sarah finally came to the last session. As always, the therapist had asked about his personal life. Mike, who usually answered honestly, said that he wasn't seeing anyone and that he wanted to spend time with his family.

All he wanted was to protect her from the world. If it wasn't for him, he wouldn't have needed to worry about money or anything like that. Instead, he had to deal with the consequences of his decisions every single day. No matter how much he loved Sarah, it was becoming harder and harder for him to keep loving her.

The doctor asked about Sarah, too. They discussed how she seemed to be doing mentally, and the doctor suggested that perhaps she should see a psychiatrist. The next day, she met with a psychologist. After discussing several other possibilities, the psychologist suggested Sarah visit a professional dating counselor, who specialized in couples therapy. It sounded easy enough, but there were still many things that troubled her about being with Mike. So Sarah agreed, albeit reluctantly. When the session ended, Mike looked nervous. She wished she could make it all better, but it wasn't as if she could force a relationship between them. Besides, if she did it, then maybe it would solve most of her problems.
On the morning of the appointment, Sarah got ready as usual. As she headed towards Mike's car, a thought occurred to her. She turned around and headed back inside. There were two women standing near the entrance. One of the ladies was smiling brightly while the other frowned. They both glanced at Sarah briefly before looking away when they realized that she was watching them. Sarah walked up to the lady in the middle.
"Can I help you?" she asked, politely.
"No, we're just here to pick up our child," the lady said with a smile. She handed Sarah a picture of her daughter. "We'll see you later."
They hurried outside without another glance in Sarah's direction.

Something didn't sit right about that whole encounter. She shrugged it off, however, deciding that she'd have plenty of time to think about the situation after her appointment with the therapist.

When they arrived at the appointment place, the therapist greeted Sarah cheerfully and introduced herself as Karen. She led Sarah into an empty room and showed her some basic steps to getting started with a session. The therapist was very friendly, but she kept asking questions which made it hard for Sarah to form answers. Every time she attempted to answer a question, she would stutter, and no matter how hard she tried to remember what they talked about, she couldn't recall a single thing. Finally, when she couldn't take the questions anymore, she simply left the room, telling the therapist that she didn't feel comfortable with continuing their conversation. Her head was spinning as she got into the car and drove home. Everything had gone horribly wrong, and now she was trapped in a marriage that was starting to become increasingly difficult.
Sarah spent the rest of her weekend avoiding Mike, although he eventually managed to track her down. His face was covered with red and puffy eyes, and he held a bottle of beer tightly in one hand. As soon as she saw him, she broke into a run and threw her arms around him.

It broke her heart, because she hated that he had taken advantage of her feelings. If he had only stayed single, perhaps this whole mess wouldn’t have happened.

《•○•》

She had made him swear not to speak to anybody, but she had no idea how he would react when she told him the truth. “Yes,” Sarah said simply. “I understand. Thank you.” She hung up the phone, her heart beating furiously against her ribcage. The last thing she needed right now was Mike finding out about this. He already blamed himself for the accident, and she didn’t want him to feel guilty anymore.
So instead of talking to Mike, she called Sam.

She was relieved when he picked up on the fourth ring. “Hello?”
“Hi Sam. It’s Sarah. Can you meet me somewhere later?”
Sam was quiet for a moment. When he spoke, his voice sounded hesitant. “I don’t really think I should, Sarah…”
“Please, Sam.” Sarah pleaded. “Please, I need you to come.”

Dear Mr and Mrs Walker,

If you are receiving this letter, then I am so sorry to inform you that your marriage is over. I regret having to tell you such harsh words, but there is nothing else that I can say in regards to your divorce. We are very saddened by the news.
Unfortunately, we were unable to find any evidence tying both the parties to the crime scene. If there were any, then they seem to have vanished without trace. In addition, both parties have sworn not to discuss this incident ever again, or to speak of the police to anyone except each other. So if the two of you would like to contact us, we will happily receive your letters.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely yours,
J.C. McAdams
Deputy Detective
Department of Investigations
Police Department

Sarah slowly slid out of the chair, tears streaming down her face. This whole situation had been devastating for her. Her marriage had seemed to be going well – well enough that she wasn’t too worried about the fact that she no longer had a job. After all, working for the police is hard, but at least her husband has given up his own job. And now they’re separated? This is all because of a stupid accident!
She picked up her phone and dialed the number for the department, hoping that someone would answer so that she could yell at them until her voice went hoarse. They weren’t allowed to send people to investigate crimes if they didn’t find any evidence! But when the line finally picked up on the fifth ring, she realized she wouldn’t get anything out of yelling. “McAdams,” a gruff voice growled into the phone. “What are you calling my office about now?”
“Um…” Sarah faltered. She didn’t want to bring bad luck, but her mind was clouded with confusion and disbelief.  “Did you send somebody to investigate the car crash?”
“We did,” McAdams sighed. “But unfortunately, there’s nothing left. There aren’t even any footprints or tire tracks leading back into the woods. Whoever did this was a pro.”
“But…” Sarah trailed off, trying to wrap her head around what was happening.  “Then who did I just talk to? Did he say anything to explain why nobody found anything?”
“You just talked to a policeman, Ms Walker,” McAdams said. “A policeman who wants to help solve the case. Don’t you understand? You were lucky – we’ve never had an accidental death before.”
It sounded like a lot, but Sarah knew better than to let her emotions rule her thought process. Besides, there was one thing she knew for sure; if she got involved with investigating this, Mike wouldn’t know.

Sometime during the night, Sarah woke up to find herself shaking. Her hand was shaking violently as she clutched onto her phone, desperate for some kind of answer. Finally, after reading through hundreds of texts and dozens of calls, Sarah found an answer she desperately needed. A message popped up.
'Hey Sarah, I'm sorry but I can't talk right now. I will explain everything later, but right now I need some space.'

So Sam pulled it off.

Sarah let out a sigh of relief.

All the stress, the worry, all of the love that had built up in the past few months.
This was the end.
It was finally over.
There was only one thing left that Sarah wanted to do. One thing that she had been putting off doing for what seemed like forever.
She picked up her cellphone, dialed the number that she knew by heart, and pressed the phone to her ear. It rang once before going straight to voicemail. It went on ringing until it was cut off by a woman's voice.
"Hello? This is Karen, who is calling please leave a message after the tone."

"I shouldn't have done it,” Mike said, his voice cracking slightly. He paused for a long time. “But she wouldn't listen to me. She was so mad. She said she didn't want to be treated like shit anymore. Well, guess what? She does! I didn't want her to say these things to you, Karen, because they were true. But I couldn't do anything. She was right, though. Even after I explained everything, she still blamed me for everything. And then there were the rumours... The police kept coming after me and harassing me... I didn't tell you about any of that because you deserved better than that and I didn't want anything else to happen to you either. You must think badly of me." Tears streamed down Sarah's face as she listened to Mike talk. When he stopped, she walked past them into her bedroom. She knew that he was going to leave, but that knowledge didn't stop her from crying.

《•○•》

"Sarah! What are you doing home? Are you okay?" Mike pulled his arms away and examined her, as if to check to see if she was injured. Sarah shook her head quickly. She couldn't tell him yet, she needed to figure this out first.

However, she still couldn't help but feel upset. If Mike really cared for her, why did he lie? Why did he do this to her? Was she too good to deserve someone like him?
Before Sarah knew it, she had fallen asleep again. This time, however, she dreamed of being back at home, sitting on the couch with her husband and watching movies. They were cuddled up against each other, laughing over something or other. Sarah smiled softly and rested her head against Mike's chest. Just then, she heard something that she hadn't heard in a very long time.

Mike laughed quietly.

Then the dream turned into nightmare.

"Hey, baby. Did you miss me?" he asked, trying to break the silence. Sarah nodded her head slowly. The tension in the air was obvious, and Sarah felt sick.
"Do you… want to talk about this?" Mike took her hands into his own, squeezing them lightly. Sarah bit her lip before nodding.
"Mike, do you… do you love Karen?" Mike stared blankly at her, obviously shocked. For a few moments, neither spoke. Then, he took a deep breath and nodded his head.

In addition to being saddened, we are also greatly upset that you would wish to separate. This will be the final letter that I will be sending to notify you of our termination.
We deeply apologize for any inconvenience or inconveniences which may have been caused due to your divorce.

Sincerely,
The office of the firm, Morgan & Smith

Sarah couldn't sleep thay night. Ever since that incident with Mike, she lay awake listening to the sounds of traffic outside. Eventually, she heard voices outside Mike's room. When she peeked from the doorway, she saw Mike standing in front of Karen, his back facing her, talking quietly to her as she listened intently. She watched the way that Karen's shoulders dropped. Whatever they were saying to each other, Sarah had never seen Mike look so miserable before.

"She's not good to us. She… she treats me weirdly sometimes. She asks questions I can't answer, and doesn't even listen to my answers when I'm not giving them to her. I don't know what to do. Do you think…"
Before Sarah could finish, Mike interrupted her. "It's fine, darling. We'll figure this out. Come on, let's go to your room so we can talk properly."
After helping Sarah clean the dishes, Michael carried her into her bedroom. Sitting down on the bed, he gently ran his fingers through her hair.
"Tell me what is happening, sweetheart," he whispered softly. "Please."
With shaky hands, Sarah opened the envelope that was sitting on the desk. Inside was a divorce settlement, stating that Mike's shares would revert to her when he died. Sarah closed her eyes, fighting tears. Mike had never cheated on her, or even hinted that he did, so why would Karen assume that he was? This was her fault. The whole mess was her fault. If only she hadn't fallen in love with someone so selfish.
"Sarah…" Mike started hesitantly. "What has happened?" Sarah sighed and shook her head.

When the doctor pressed further, Mike admitted that he might have cheated on Sarah, but he refused to give any details.

"Yes, of course. Why do you ask?" Sarah hesitated for a moment before sighing.

But eventually, he nodded his head sadly and said he understood. Then, without another word, he hung up the phone.
After he left the house, Sarah felt terrible.
At first, she didn’t want anything to do with him; after all, she still loved him and wanted him back. However, after he asked her this question again, it suddenly dawned on her what was really happening.
Mike was cheating on her, and he hadn’t told her.

She could hear faint shuffling noises on the other end of the line.
"Yes, I see. May I ask why?"
Sarah closed her eyes, trying to keep calm.

Sarah rubbed her belly, trying to stay calm for the sake of her baby, nearing her 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

But now, six months later, after hearing those words from her ex, she realized how wrong she was. It seemed like things were finally going right for them.

《•○•》

A

s much as Sarah wanted to stay silent, she also needed answers. So, while her husband slept soundly next to her, she crept into her bathroom and opened her laptop. She typed in a few keywords into her browser before typing in 'Mike' and 'Ex'. Within seconds, she had read countless articles, videos, and pictures explaining exactly how she had discovered that her husband was unfaithful.
But when she saw pictures of her beautiful husband kissing someone else, Sarah felt sick to her stomach. The more she read, the more disgusted she got. And now she just felt betrayed. How long had Mike been hiding this from her? And why did he hide it from her in the first place?

"Hello, this is Mr Peter Anderson speaking," a man said on the other line.
Sarah swallowed hard. "I'd like to talk to my husband's attorney."

It all started when he announced he was getting a divorce. Mike called Sarah in tears, asking if she wanted him to leave.

She was shocked by his response.
Sarah let out a sigh of relief, knowing that Mike would never break a promise.

Her husband was having an affair.

It wasn't until Sarah went to bed that night that she finally realized what was happening.

Sarah's hand trembled slightly as she reread the words. She put down the letter, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, before grabbing the telephone and dialing the number printed inside.

Dear Miss Sarah,

Your husband, Mr Mike, has passed away due to sudden cardiac arrest. This may seem sudden to most people, and I apologize if that's what it sounds like, but there are no easy ways to say goodbye to someone. In this case, he died peacefully. If he loved you very much, then please continue to cherish him. It is our job to help those who love us pass on.

Sincerely yours,
Mr Peter H. Anderson

P.S. Please accept our condolences. We are doing everything we can to make sure you receive these letters safely.

Sarah's water broke, tears were streaming down her face now. "Please! God! Please don't let him be dead! I need him! I need my husband!" She collapsed onto the ground, sobbing loudly. "He can't be gone!" she shouted.

A neighbor called an ambulance.

Sarah had suffered post-partum depression and had twins. The baby boy was named Micheal, and the baby girl Michelle.

Sarah had been diagnosed from manic depression and bipolar disorder. Sam took the blame from the car crash Mike caused, and Karen was the psychiatrist who diagnosed Sarah's mental condition. Mike was indeed infertile, and Sam was the father of the twins, Sarah being unable to tend to the needs of the twins due to her declining mental health, and orchestrated the death of her husband. The twins have been given for adoption, and the one who adopted them was a former attorney who worked for Morgan & Smith.