Page 1 of At midnight, I received my husband’s affair bill

Two hours later, my phone vibrated.

I received a video and location information.

The video was from the hotel lobby surveillance. In the footage, Bruce was wearing his police uniform, looking natural as he walked into the elevator hand-in-hand with a girl in a white dress.

The girl had long hair cascading over her shoulders, a slender waist, and from her profile looked to be barely in her twenties, smiling so brightly her eyes crinkled.

Around her wrist was a braceletone I had woven by hand three Christmases ago, wishing Bruce safety and good luck.

He had once said that except during missions, he would never take off this bracelet.

The location showed "Starlight Welfare House"a children's home.

My heart clenched violently, my breathing nearly stopping.

Among Bruce's community service cases, there was indeed a girl named Lucy Weber. Her parents had died early, and she had a withdrawn personality.

He had mentioned her several times, saying she was pitiful and needed extra care.

I had gone with him once to Starlight Welfare House and had seen Lucy from a distance.

In my memory, she was frail and silent, walking with her head down, unwilling to say a single word. She was completely different from the person laughing so brightly in the video.

I changed clothes and drove straight to Starlight Welfare House.

The security guard recognized me and nodded me through. "Lucy's in the back garden."

From a distance, I saw her sitting on a bench, looking down at her phone with the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, as if she had received some happy news.

Sunlight fell on her hair, making it golden. But the bracelet on her wrist glinted in the light, making my eyes ache.

She looked up and saw me. Her smile froze for a moment, then she stood up and called out timidly, "Mrs. Gilbert."

Her voice was soft, just as reserved and shy as last time.

I walked over and sat beside her, my gaze falling on her lit phone screen.

The chat interface was paused on a conversation with someone labeled "Bruce."

The latest message was from him: [See you at the usual place tonight. I brought you a gift.]

Her reply: [Okay! Bruce, you're the best!]

The timestamp showed 7:30 PM last night.

I quietly pressed my lips together, turned to look at her, and said calmly, "Your bracelet is quite pretty. Did Bruce give it to you?"

She trembled, instinctively hiding her hand in her sleeve, and said quietly, "He said it was my birthday, so he gave me this."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "When's your birthday? How come I've never heard him mention it?"

Her eyes darted away, her lips moved, but she couldn't speak.

I smiled, pulled out my phone from my bag, opened the surveillance video, and held it directly in front of her: "Last night at 8 PM, at Washington HotelBruce's birthday gift to you was this, wasn't it?"

Lucy's face instantly turned deathly pale.