Melinda discovered two plane tickets in her husband’s briefcase, one with his name and the other with an unknown woman’s name, making her suspicious for the first time in her marriage. But she never expected what would happen when she arrived at their destination.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I know I promised this weekend would be solely for us, but I have to leave again. It was completely unexpected. I couldn’t say no to my boss,” David told Melinda when he arrived home Friday night. Melinda’s shoulders shrugged in defeat as she sat in the kitchen.

She had been so excited about their plans to walk around the beach in their town of Westport, Washington, especially because her husband traveled so much for work. She missed him terribly, but she had to understand. She also had a career, but it was much stabler and involved no work trips.

“It’s okay, darling. Next time, I guess,” she answered, approaching to give him a kiss.

David grabbed her arms, urging her to shush and let him explain. But Melinda finally yelled, “TELL ME THE TRUTH RIGHT HERE AND NOW!”
“I’m going to pack my bag and briefcase for tomorrow,” David said, returning the kiss.

“You want me to do that for you?”

“No, I can do it. You’ve already worked so much making our dinner. It smells wonderful, by the way. I’m going to pack, take a shower, and we can eat and talk. Alright?” he said and walked to their bedroom.

Melinda agreed. Her food smelled terrific. At least we’ll have a nice dinner, Melinda thought to herself She was disappointed, but there was nothing they could do about it.

As she heard the shower in the bathroom start, she decided to check his briefcase because he would forget things all the time. She made sure his wallet was there and rearranged the rest of the contents of the briefcase. That’s when something caught her eye.

There was a plane ticket peeking out of the side pocket. She grabbed it to place it over the rest of his things so it wouldn’t get lost, but to her complete shock, there were two tickets. One had his name: David Sherburne, but the other featured a woman’s name: Annamarie Simmons.

Melinda froze with the tickets in her hand. She read further and saw that the tickets were to Miami, Florida.

What kind of business did David have in Miami? Who was this woman? He usually traveled alone, or at least, that’s what he always told her. Why were there two tickets? Why did he lie to her? But the worst question that passed through her mind was: Was he cheating on her?

Suddenly, the shower stopped in the bathroom, and Melinda unfroze from her spot. She placed the tickets back where she found them in the briefcase and exited the bedroom. When her husband came out for dinner, she acted like nothing was wrong, but the wheels in her mind were turning. She had to do something about this situation. But what?

Sunday morning in Miami, Florida.

Melinda arrived in Miami not knowing exactly what her plan would be. David left early Saturday morning, and she had spent the entire day thinking about the situation. Finally, she searched through his Google history and email – she knew it was wrong to spy on him, but she was desperate – and discovered that he had booked a room at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Her suspicions got even worse. David could be cheating; perhaps, he had been cheating all along. His business trips might have been a ruse this entire time.

“No, I can’t think like that,” she told herself, but still, she booked herself a ticket to Miami, reserved a room at the same hotel, and hoped to find David there. She needed to see the truth for herself.

The taxi left her at the hotel, and she checked in as quickly as possible. She had no idea what room David had been given, but she decided to visit the pool area and walk around the beach, hoping to catch him in the act, so to speak.