On Valentine’s Day morning, Kate stepped outside expecting a sweet surprise. But what she found was far from a romantic gesture. Her car was covered in hundreds of pink paper hearts, fluttering in the wind like a love-struck teenager’s confession. At first, her heart swelled with hope.
Had Brandon done this? After all these years?
Her hands trembled with excitement as she reached for one of the hearts. But as she read the message inside, her stomach dropped.
Your husband is a liar.
Her fingers tightened around the note. Confused, she tore another heart from the car.
Brandon only loves me.
Her breath caught in her throat. She ripped another one away.
He’ll never tell you the truth.
Kate’s hands shook as she yanked the hearts off one by one. Each message was worse than the last.
You deserve to know.
He was with me last night.
Ask him about the woman he’s been seeing.
A cold wave of nausea washed over her. The glue holding the hearts to her car was thick and stubborn. With every note she peeled away, an ugly smear of adhesive remained on the paint. Her pristine car, once a symbol of normalcy, now looked like a vandalized billboard screaming her husband’s betrayal.
The sound of whispers reached her ears. Neighbors peered from their windows, watching her, murmuring to each other. They had seen the display before she had. They had already pieced the story together before she could even process it.
Swallowing hard, she forced herself to look up at her house. There, in the window, stood Brandon. He had been watching her the entire time.
Kate’s fingers clenched into fists. She ripped off one final heart.
He’ll never choose you.
Tears blurred her vision. She spun around and stormed back inside, slamming the door behind her. Her pulse pounded in her ears as she marched into the kitchen, where Brandon sat at the counter, scrolling through his phone like nothing had happened.
She threw one of the paper hearts onto the table. “What the hell is this, Brandon?”
Brandon barely looked at it. “What are you talking about?”
Kate let out a bitter laugh. “You saw me out there, didn’t you? You saw the hearts all over my car. They’re saying you’re cheating. That you’ve been with another woman. And you’re telling me you don’t know anything about this?”
Brandon finally picked up one of the hearts, read the message, then shrugged. “It’s probably a prank,” he said, taking a sip of coffee. “Must be some stupid kids messing around.”
Liar.
Kate knew that tone. That calm, even voice he used when he wanted her to second-guess herself. He had done it for years, making her feel like she was overreacting.
Not this time.
She spun on her heel and stomped into the living room, heading straight for the security monitor. Her fingers flew over the controls as she rewound the footage from the night before.
And there she was.
Linda.
Their neighbor.
At 3 a.m., under the dim glow of the streetlights, Linda was gluing the hearts onto Kate’s car.
Kate’s stomach twisted. Linda? Brandon and Linda?
Memories flooded her mind. The way Linda always seemed to be outside when Brandon left for work. The way she lingered in their conversations a little too long. The way she smiled at him.
If Brandon wasn’t going to tell her the truth, she knew who would.
Kate stormed out the door and banged on Linda’s front door so hard it rattled.
A few seconds later, Linda opened it. Her face was puffy, her eyes red like she’d been crying. Like she knew this moment was coming.
Kate’s voice was sharp. “How long?”
Linda swallowed hard. Her lip trembled. “Twenty years.”
Kate’s world tilted. “You’re lying.”
Linda let out a shaky breath. “I wish I was.”
Kate searched her face, waiting for her to take it back. To say it was all a cruel joke.
But instead, Linda whispered, “He told me he’d leave you. Over and over again, for two decades. He said he just needed the right moment. He told me you weren’t well… that you couldn’t handle a divorce. That he had to stay because he felt sorry for you. I can prove it.”
Kate’s stomach churned. Twenty years? Had she really been blind to this for that long?
She turned and walked away, her mind racing. She needed to hear Brandon’s side before she saw Linda’s proof.
Back at home, Brandon was still on his phone, as if nothing had happened.
“Linda just told me everything,” Kate said, arms crossed, her eyes locked onto his.
Brandon didn’t flinch. “She’s lying. She’s obsessed with me. She’s been coming onto me for years, but I never—”
“Prove it.”
He blinked. “What?”
“Prove it, Brandon. Because she’s got twenty years’ worth of stories. She told me you needed the right moment to leave me. You’re saying she’s lying? Then prove it.”
Brandon exhaled. “Kate, I don’t have proof because there’s nothing to prove.”
Kate scoffed. “Convenient.”
His expression didn’t change. No panic. No anger. Just that same infuriating calm.
She didn’t say another word. She turned and walked straight back to Linda’s house.
Linda opened the door before Kate could even knock. She had been waiting.
“Show me the proof,” Kate said. “If you have it, he’s yours.”
Linda didn’t hesitate. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her gallery before shoving it into Kate’s hands.
And there it was.
Photos. Videos. Messages.
A picture of Brandon at a hotel with Linda, their hands intertwined across a candlelit table. A video of him slipping into her house at night. Text messages where he promised her he’d leave Kate. That they would be together soon.
Kate’s legs felt weak, but she forced herself to stand tall.
She handed the phone back. “Thank you.”
The next morning, she decided to file for divorce.
But then, something happened.
Brandon fought back. He hired lawyers. They investigated Linda’s so-called proof. And they uncovered something shocking.
The messages? Fabricated using AI. The videos? Doctored footage. The photos? Digitally altered.
Linda had spent twenty years building an illusion. An obsession.
And just like that, the truth shattered her lies.
Kate dropped the divorce.
That night, as she sat in the dimly lit living room, she whispered, “I’m sorry, Brandon. I should’ve believed you.”
Brandon exhaled, setting down his glass. “After all these years, do you really think I could do that to you?”
Kate swallowed. “I don’t know what to think anymore.”
“I love you,” he said, taking her hand. “I always have.”
Kate nodded. “I know.”
But at night, when Brandon slept beside her… she still wondered.
What if the lawyers were wrong?
What if, buried in Linda’s lies, there was one single truth?
