37. What comes next?

I hadn’t even realized when the chatter of the meeting slowly vanished into the background. My eyes were open, but I couldn’t really see anything. My mind was stuck on everything I'd seen during the call, replaying pieces of it over and over again no matter how hard I tried to push them away.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

A hand shook my shoulder, pulling me out of the numb state I'd been trapped in. I looked up and found my boss standing beside me, watching me with concern. For a second, I just stared at him, completely dumbfounded, as though I'd forgotten where I was.

“You've been unusually quiet throughout the second half of the meeting.” my boss said. “What happened? Is something wrong?”

I opened my mouth, but the words didn't come clearly. My thoughts were too tangled, and even now, I didn't know how I was supposed to explain any of it. “Happened...” I slowly muttered, my voice barely above a whisper. “Ye-yeah... happened. Something... wrong.”

My expression fell as I said it, and I quickly looked away. I could feel my eyes beginning to sting, and I hated the thought of breaking down in front of my boss. But right now, I didn't have the energy to pretend that everything was fine.

My boss studied me for a few seconds before speaking again, this time more gently. “The meeting's over. You should head back now. The others have already left.” He paused before adding, “I'll arrange a cab for you, so just relax.”

He placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “It'll be okay. Whatever's going through your head right now, don't worry about it. And if you need to take a break or head out for the day, don't hesitate to ask. You've got enough leave, so take some time if you need it.”

Then he walked away, leaving me alone in the quiet noiseless room.

I remained there for a while, staring at the empty space in front of me. Hearing those words had been comforting in a way. It felt good knowing that someone cared enough to notice that something was wrong and actually tried to reassure me.

But somehow, those same words hurt.

This isn't going to be okay.

My eyes grew teary as I lowered my head. How can it be okay?

I raised both my hands to my forehead and pressed them against it, closing my eyes as I tried to figure out what I was supposed to do next. She had been fucking an old man behind my back, and God knew how many times it had already happened. And what if it wasn't just him? What if the young neighbor had been involved too? The questions kept multiplying, each one tightening around my throat until it felt harder and harder to breathe.

All this time... my suspicions, my doubts... they hadn't been there for nothing. I hadn't been paranoid for no reason. There had been something behind that gut feeling, something strong enough that I couldn't simply ignore it. Maybe I'd been trying to convince myself otherwise because I didn't want to believe what was right in front of me.

Why? Just why?

That was the question that hurt the most. Why would she do this? I loved her so deeply, and she loved me too. At least, that's what I'd always believed. So why? No matter how many times I asked myself that question, I knew there was only one person who could actually answer it.

Her. My wife.

But did I even have the courage to face her? What was I supposed to say...? That I saw you kissing that old man so hungrily. I saw you choking on his cock like some animal. How could I possibly tell her that I'd watched everything? How would she react? Would she break down and admit everything, or would she deny it and try to convince me that I'd misunderstood what I'd seen?

…

…

God... why me?

I lowered my hands slowly, but the questions were still there, running through my mind without giving me a moment's peace. I had spent so long wondering whether something was wrong, and now that I finally knew, I wished I could go back to not knowing.

Honestly, I didn't even want to go home. I couldn't imagine walking through that door and looking at my wife as if everything was normal. I just wanted to go somewhere... somewhere I could feel heard, somewhere I could sort through all of this and find some kind of clarity. But where could I go? There was no place that came to mind. Or... maybe there was.

For some reason, Ray's name suddenly crossed my mind.

My thoughts went back to yesterday morning, to the time I'd hurt my head and Ray had given me that strange piece of advice. At the time, I'd thought he was simply talking about being careful because of my injury. But now, with everything I'd seen, his words came back to me with a completely different meaning.

Pay attention to your surroundings.

It might get dangerous if you ignore them.

And damn right, it had gotten dangerous. I'd ignored every warning sign, every little doubt, every uneasy feeling I'd had. I'd kept telling myself that I was simply being paranoid, that there had to be some innocent explanation for the things I'd noticed.

There wasn't.

I took a deep breath. The storm of thoughts in my head hadn't disappeared, but somehow, things were beginning to fall into place. I still didn't know what I was going to do about my wife, or what I was going to say when I finally confronted her. But I knew I couldn't stay here drowning in my own thoughts.

I needed someone to talk to. Someone who might actually understand what I was going through and help me see things clearly.

And suddenly, I knew exactly who I wanted to meet.

Ray.

I left the office soon after and decided to make my first stop at Ray's pharmacy. If there was anyone I wanted to talk to right now, it was him. But when I reached the shop, I was surprised to find it closed.

Hmm... that's fine.

I pulled out my phone and called him instead. He picked up after a few rings.

“Hey, how are you holding up?” Ray asked. His tone had that familiar hint of concern. Of course, he was talking about my head injury, but I knew there was more behind his words than that. Under normal circumstances, I might have wondered what he was getting at, but right now, I couldn't care less about his snarky remarks or whatever hidden meaning he might have had.

I just wanted to get to the point.

“Are you free?” I asked. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Sure. I'm at home right now. Drop in anytime you want.”

“I’m coming right now,” I replied.

There was a brief pause on his end.

“Seems like something important. Alright, then. Come over.”

I ended the call and headed straight to his house.

As soon as I arrived, I found myself being mesmerized by the place again. No matter how many times I saw it, Ray's house still managed to amaze me. Everything about it looked grand, carefully designed, and too perfect compared to the rest of the neighborhood.

Ray was standing near the gate, watering some of the plants. The moment he noticed me, he looked up and gave me a smile before walking over.

“Well, look who's here,” he said with a faint smile.

“Yeah, I figured I'd come straight over,” I replied.

Instantly, Ray gestured toward the house. “Let's get inside and talk. You must be tired.”

I nodded and followed him inside, but as we walked through the house, my eyes automatically drifted toward the area where we'd danced the other day. I remembered that evening immediately. It was around that very place that those strange feelings had first started growing inside me, the emotions I hadn't been able to explain at the time.

I quickly looked away.

Ray handed me a glass of water. After I took a few sips, he started talking casually about some changes he'd recently made to one of the rooms.

“I've been making a few changes around the house,” he said. “There's one room I think you might like. If you want, I can show you.”

“Alright.”

He led me down the long hallway toward a room at the far end. I hadn't been inside that room before. In fact, I don't think I'd ever even gotten the chance to see what was inside it.

Still, that didn't stop an old memory from surfacing. I remembered seeing my wife and Ray walking out of this very room the last time we'd been here.

Anyways, we stepped into the room, and I immediately took in the surroundings. It was beautifully designed, with a large pool table occupying the center and various indoor games and activities arranged around it. The room had a relaxed, recreational feel to it.

But then something else snatched my attention.

A giant mirror stood in one corner.

I stared at it. It wasn't the size that caught my attention. It was the fact that the mirror seemed completely out of place with the rest of the room. I couldn't understand why Ray would put something like that there.

Then again, it was his house. His choice.

“Come on,” Ray said, picking up a pool stick. “Let's play some pool.”

“Um... actually, I just wanted to have a talk about something.”

“Hmm, I know,” Ray replied casually. He handed me another pool stick, and I took it without really thinking. Ray walked over to the table, took his stance, and lined up his shot before looking back at me. “Alright, tell me what you wanted to talk about.”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. How was I supposed to put all of this into words? My thoughts were a complete mess, and the longer I stood there, the more nervous I became. My heart started beating faster, and I could feel the tension building inside me. I had come here because I needed answers, but now that I was actually standing in front of someone who might be able to give them to me, I couldn't figure out how to begin.

Ray waited for an answer, but when none came, he glanced toward me. “You look anxious.”

“Y-yeah...” I swallowed nervously. “Do I?”

“Seems like that head injury is acting up again-”

“No...” I cut him off, forcing myself to speak. “You told me last time... to pay attention to my surroundings. That it might get dangerous if I ignored them.”

“Yeah, of course,” Ray replied calmly. “After all, you were hurt.”

“Yeah, I know. So I...” I hesitated, struggling to put the words together. “I failed to pay attention to my surroundings. I ignored them, and now it's...”

“So...” Ray suddenly cut in, and his tone changed completely. The casual warmth disappeared, replaced by something sharper that immediately caught me off guard. “What do you want me to do?”

I looked at him, stunned by the sudden change. “I-I...” I fumbled for the words, but before I could finish, Ray struck the cue ball. The sharp crack echoed through the room as it rolled across the table.

“You want answers to your questions,” he said.

“Yes,” I replied quietly.

“Then you'll have to pay a price.”

Something about his voice disturbed me. I instinctively took a small step back, gripping the pool stick a little tighter. “Wha-what do you mean? Price... what price?”

Ray slowly pointed the pool stick toward me. “The price is... you.”

My eyes widened. “M-Me...?”

For a bit, we simply stared at each other. I couldn't tell what was going through his mind, and the strange atmosphere in the room made me increasingly uncomfortable. Then, out of nowhere, Ray suddenly burst into laughter.

“Bwahahahaha!”

I stood there completely stunned as he laughed harder, eventually wiping at the corners of his eyes. “Look at your face! Bwahahaha!”

“Ha-ha...” I gave an awkward laugh of my own, finally feeling some of the tension ease.

“I'm sorry,” Ray said, still grinning. “I just had to.” He laughed again before finally calming himself down and returning to his normal expression. “So, now you're confused about what you should do?”

“Y-yes.”

“Honestly, at this point...” Ray paused, studying me for a moment. “You're late. Though that doesn't mean everything has ended. Make wise decisions. That's all I can tell you.”

“Wise decisions...” I repeated quietly, letting his words dig in.

My eyes drifted away from him, and that's when they landed on the giant mirror in the corner. It stood directly behind Ray, and for some reason, my attention kept getting pulled toward it. I looked back at Ray, trying to focus on the conversation, but a few seconds later, my eyes wandered toward the mirror again. I couldn't explain it. There was simply something about it that made it difficult to look anywhere else.

The next time my eyes stopped on it, I stopped looking away and without realizing it, I took a few slow steps toward the mirror. The closer I got, the stranger I felt, as though something inside me was telling me to keep looking. I stood there staring at myself, trying to understand what exactly had caught my attention.

…

…

Something…

Something started to sitr.

My reflection… began to change.

The surface of the mirror seemed to grow hazy, my reflection slowly fading into the blur. Then, through that faint distortion, another image began to take shape.

It was me, no doubt. But… In that reflection… I was staring through what looked like a window, as if I were watching something happening on the other side,

“Wha-what is that?” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “What am I looking at?”

The reflection changed again and the new image started appearing, and then I saw her. My wife. The sight hit me too hard that I froze. My wife… bouncing on dick of the old man while her mouth was being fucked by the young neighbor.

“No... no...” I whispered, but I couldn't move. My thoughts began spinning as I stood there helplessly, unable to look away from the mirror. I wanted the image to disappear, but some part of me was forcing me to keep watching.

Then the image changed again.

The first reflection appeared again. I was watching my wife in secret, but this time, there was a difference, a very major difference. I had my cock out, stroking it intensely as I secretly watched my wife with them.

“No... please...”

Sweat began forming across my face as my breathing grew heavier. I felt trapped, as though the mirror had taken away my ability to move or look anywhere else. “Please... someone... help...” I whispered, struggling to catch my breath.

Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the image disappeared.

My normal reflection returned, and for a brief second, I thought it was over. But the mirror changed once again.

Now, I saw myself angry… confronting my wife. She was crying, and I could see the pain on both our faces. Then I watched myself turn away from her and leave. The sight hurt in a completely different way because she wasn't just my wife. She was the love of my life.

How could I leave her?

My chest tightened as I watched the scene continue to play out.

Is there... no other way? Is there really no other way?

I didn't know what the answer was. I didn't even know what I wanted the answer to be. But strangely, despite how painful that image had been, something inside me felt a little lighter after seeing it. It was almost as if seeing that possibility had healed some small part of me that had been hurting, even if I wasn't ready to accept what it meant.

The image slowly faded, and my normal reflection returned once again. This time, I finally became aware of the room around me. I could hear the faint sounds of the house, feel the pool stick still in my hand, and sense Ray somewhere behind me.

“Are you planning to stand there all day?” Ray called out. “Come on, let's play.”

I turned around and looked at him. My mind was still struggling to process everything I'd just seen, but one thing was clear. I had to make a decision.

“No. I... I've got to go.”

I started walking toward the door, almost hurriedly, but just before leaving the room, I stopped and looked back at Ray. “Thanks for the advice.”

Ray gave me a small smile. “Anytime.”