Though Dave had suggested waiting for the right moment was our best option for now, my nerves refused to cooperate.
I couldn’t sit still, pretending to be calm while Nicole, the man whom I suspected to be the one in the picture, moved freely around the house.
He was completely unaware that I suspected him, and I want to take advantage of his unawareness.
My hands were already fidgeting with the edge of my blouse, my brain spinning faster than a tornado.
Patience was not my strong suit. Especially now, and definitely not with this.
Every second I sat there felt like it was stretching into an eternity.
My mind kept going back to those photos that Caroline showed me.
The pictures taken from that specific angle were deliberate, hiding the man’s face but leaving his unmistakable collarbone in full view. And the hickey.
The faint but undeniable mark that made my stomach twist into knots.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Every time I tried, my thoughts got tangled. "What if we wait too long? What if he notices something and covers it up?" I muttered under my breath. "We need proof, and we need it now."
I kept replaying Dave’s words in my head.
He had been calm, calculated, telling me that waiting might be the safer option.
But safer? Safer meant Nicole could slip further under the radar.
Safer meant the moment could pass, and we’d lose our chance to confirm my suspicion.
I paced the room, back and forth, trying to distract myself, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart, but it was useless.
Every little noise, the creak of the couch, the distant hum of the air conditioner, the soft murmur of voices somewhere down the hall, made me jump in between the intervals.
My thoughts raced ahead to every possible scenario, every eventuality, every stupid thing that could go wrong.
And then, like a tiny spark in a dark room, an idea hit me. What if I checked for myself?
Quietly. Discreetly. No one had to know.
No alarms, no risks of confrontation with Nicole or drawing attention to myself.
My pulse spiked at the thought, both from fear and excitement. It was risky, yes. But the payoff... the payoff would be worth it.
I swallowed hard. "Okay," I whispered to myself, trying to steady my shaky hands. "I can do this. It’s just a quick look. Nothing more. Just... proof. That’s it."
I could feel the tension coiling in my shoulders like a spring, ready to snap.
Every muscle in my body was alert, wired for either flight or fight.
My palms were clammy, my knees weak, but determination drove me forward.
I couldn’t sit here, pretending I didn’t know, pretending I didn’t feel the tension clawing at me from the inside.
I needed certainty, and waiting for Dave or anyone else to act would only prolong this unbearable anxiety.
I looked at Dave, who was now talking to Josh outside our room.
The door was half open, revealing his unreadable expression, pretending to scroll through his phone.
His gaze flicked up briefly when he sensed my restlessness.
His expression changed as if he could read my mind. As if he knew what was going on in my mind. Like he could straight look into my eyes and know my idea about seeing that mark on Nicole.
He gave me a ’you’re thinking too much’, and then gave a ’why don’t you let me handle it?’ look.
I shook my head, almost violently.
Not when I could feel the truth so close, right at my fingertips.
Waiting was like letting sand slip through my fingers; if I hesitated, it would be gone forever.
Every rational part of my brain screamed at me to stop.
You don’t know what could happen.
You could get caught. Nicole could...
But the louder, more insistent voice in my chest drowned it out.
I was the one who wanted proof. The one that refused to sit idle while the man in the picture walked freely through the house, unchallenged, untouchable.
For Caroline’s sake...that was the only reason any of this even mattered.
I thought about the photos again. Caroline had shown them to me carefully, as if the slightest detail mattered. And it did.
The angle, the framing, the hickey on that collarbone... it was deliberate, undeniable. A mark that could ruin Nicole if it could be confirmed.
And confirmation was everything.
My hands twitched as I imagined seeing it for myself, just a glimpse of that faint reddish mark that would make all my suspicions real.
My stomach twisted into anxious knots at the thought, a mixture of excitement and fear tangling together until I felt almost dizzy.
I paced, my bare feet whispering against the carpet, trying to burn off some of the tension.
But my thoughts kept looping, circling back to the same idea: waiting was dangerous. If I didn’t act, Nicole might cover it up, hide it, erase the proof before anyone could see.
Every possible outcome flashed through my mind. I imagined Nicole noticing me snooping, the confrontation, the lies, the anger.
My heart hammered so hard I thought it might burst through my ribs. But I shook my head and told myself: the payoff outweighed the risk.
A small spark of courage ignited inside me.
That was the plan. Just one look.
One confirmation. No alarms, no shouting, no confrontation. Proof. That was all I needed.
I swallowed, trying to calm the rapid fluttering in my chest. "I can do this," I whispered to myself. "It’s just a quick peek. Nothing more. Just... proof. That’s it."
I took a deep breath and let my mind run through the steps.
Open the door quietly. Peek. See the collarbone. Retreat. Done. Simple. Clean. Efficient. Safe enough.
First, I needed to get out without Dave getting to notice me.
I glanced at Dave again.
He was standing near the door, casually scrolling on his phone, while Josh kept updating him on something.
Though his gaze was focused on his phone and his ears on Josh’s words, I could still feel his gaze on me in between those talks.