While the wife was hauling heavy grocery bags home and taking care of the children, the husband and his mistress were carefree on the beach; but the vacation came to an abrupt end the very moment a message with photos arrived on his phone, and he froze in horror 

The husband was lying on his side, lazily staring at the sea. Beside him, the mistress was stretched out. She wore sunglasses, her skin glistened with sunscreen, and a faint smile constantly played on her lips—the smile of someone who always gets away with everything. She turned toward him, propped herself up on one elbow, and, without removing her glasses, asked mockingly:

“And your wife… that brainless woman didn’t suspect a thing?”

He smirked as if it were a ridiculous question and shrugged.

“No. It doesn’t concern her.”

“How does it not concern her?” she tilted her head slightly. “She’s at home, right? And you’re here with me. She really didn’t feel anything?”

He stretched as if the conversation bored him and replied in a calm, almost lazy voice:

“She doesn’t have time for that. She’s always busy. Everything is scheduled: daycare, homework, cooking, laundry. She thinks that’s what life is. And that everything between us is fine.”

The mistress gave a quiet snort.

“Convenient. A wife like that is a dream. She carries everything on her shoulders while you relax. But tell me…” she slowly took off her sunglasses and looked him straight in the eyes. “When are you finally going to divorce her?”

He didn’t look away, as if he had long been prepared for that question.

“Soon. Very soon.”

“How long have you been saying that?” she laughed. “A year? Two? I’m not twenty—I can’t wait forever.”

“I said soon,” he replied more sharply. “I need to do everything the right way. Without scandals.”

The mistress narrowed her eyes.

“Of course. So she keeps enduring everything and staying silent, right? You know she won’t leave.”

He was about to answer, but at that moment another thought flashed through his mind. At home, his wife really did carry everything alone. In the mornings she dragged heavy bags from the store, during the day she endlessly solved the children’s problems, and in the evenings she fell asleep without even managing to eat properly. And he had become so used to it that he no longer noticed. It seemed normal to him.

The mistress stretched, adjusted a strand of hair, and said almost gently, but with a chill in her voice:

“Alright. I’m going to buy some water. You stay here—don’t get bored.”

She stood up, took her beach bag, and walked toward the café. The husband remained under the palm tree. He looked at the sea, then at his phone lying next to him on the towel.

And at that very moment, a message arrived. From his wife.

At first, he didn’t even tense up. He thought: something about the kids again, more problems. He opened the chat, already prepared to sigh irritably. But there was only one photo.

He tapped it—and was horrified by what he saw  Continued in the first comment 

The photo was a screenshot of a conversation. And he immediately knew whose it was. The number was familiar.

It was the mistress’s chat. With another man.

His fingers instantly turned cold. He read the first line—and couldn’t believe it.

“Don’t get attached. I’m with him only for the money.”

He blinked. Read it again. Then scrolled down.

“This bald guy thinks I love him. I don’t care at all. The main thing is that he pays and drives me around. I have no intention of living with him.”

His breathing became shallow. He felt his heart pounding in his chest. Instinctively, he covered his mouth with his hand, as if afraid a sound might escape.

“You’re useful for something else. With you, I have fun, but the money is him. Don’t text me when I’m with him. And we only meet in secret.”

His vision darkened. He sat staring at the screen and suddenly realized that he had been nothing but… a wallet.

And the worst part wasn’t even that.

The worst part was that his wife knew everything.

He saw the message beneath the photo. A short note from his wife—without hysteria, without shouting, without long explanations.

“I understood everything. And yes, it’s not her who has you. You’re just one of many to her. Decide for yourself now where you’re going to live.”