A Halloween Sanitary Pad Mix-Up Exposed My Husband’s Affair

On Halloween, a delivery guy showed up at my door and asked me to sign for a package. I waved him off. “I didn’t order any pads. My period ended two days ago. Is this some Halloween prank? Or do you have the wrong address?” He checked his phone without looking up. “No, this is the address. The recipient is listed as Mr. Bennett’s family. Nathan Bennett left the contact information.” A few minutes later, my husband’s assistant rushed over, sweating buckets and apologizing over and over. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Bennett. I ordered these for my girlfriend and accidentally put down your address! Completely my fault!” He had barely finished speaking when our front door opened. Nathan came out and put an arm around my shoulders, then turned a dark look on his assistant. “What were you thinking? Didn’t I tell you to have it delivered tonight? You can’t even handle something this simple.” Then he pinched my cheek, his voice instantly softening. “Sweetheart, don’t listen to him. I bought these for you. I was going to put them with your Halloween gift as a surprise, but he ruined it.” I smiled and waved everyone off. The moment they were gone, my smile vanished. I always bought my pads in bulk. And because my flow was heavy, I only bought overnight pads. But of those nine packs of expensive pads, eight were for daytime use! Once we were inside, Nathan said he was tired and wanted a shower. As soon as he went into the bathroom, I picked up his phone in the living room. His passcode was still my birthday. I went through all his Snapchat conversations. Aside from work messages, his exchanges with female coworkers and employees were extremely brief. Nothing but “Okay” or “Sure.” His stories were all work updates, too. There wasn’t a single sign of an affair. I sat on the couch, stunned. Had turning thirty really made me this paranoid? The shower stopped. I quickly cleared my searches and put his phone back where I’d found it. Nathan came out drying his hair, steam still rising off his skin. He hugged me from behind, rubbing his damp head against my neck. “Miss me, babe?” My body stiffened. I pretended to push him away playfully. “You’re still wet. You’re getting water all over me.” “So what if I am?” That only encouraged him. His hands began wandering, his lips moving over my ears and neck. “Let’s go to bed early tonight, sweetheart…” Nathan had never held back when it came to sex. Once he was in the mood, nothing else mattered. I’d known that from our first day together. Even when I was on my period and feeling awful, he would coax and pester me until I helped him some other way. But just before his lips reached mine, I snapped back to reality. Those nine packs of pads—especially the eight packs of daytime pads with mesh tops—stabbed at my mind like a needle. It had started last month, hadn’t it? He’d stopped pestering me during my period. Every time he came home from work, he used the same excuse. “Overtime wore me out. You’re tired too, sweetheart. Get some rest.” I’d thought he was becoming more considerate. Now, every bit of it felt wrong. I shoved him away, then looked up as casually as I could. “Nathan, what made you buy me pads all of a sudden? You never used to bother with that stuff.”Nathan paused, then brushed a finger over my nose. “Silly. It’s Halloween.” His voice was impossibly indulgent. “What’s wrong with getting my favorite woman a few essentials? It’s not like I’ve never bought them for you before.” He lay beside me, winding a lock of my hair around his finger. “Besides, you always stock up around this time of year when they’re on sale. Now you don’t have to worry about it. Your husband’s taken care of everything.” I stared at him. “Then why this brand? And why so many daytime pads?” “Everyone online says their mesh tops are good. They keep you feeling dry.” He answered instantly, without so much as a flicker in his eyes. “You always buy cotton ones, so I thought you could try something different. And you can use the daytime ones on your lighter days. Convenient, right?” As he spoke, he rolled toward his nightstand and took out a blue velvet box. “And that’s not all, sweetheart.” He handed it over with a slightly smug smile. “It’s Halloween. You didn’t think pads were your only treat, did you? Open it.” Inside was a pearl necklace. The pearls were large and perfectly round, with a soft, rich luster. It was obviously expensive. “Australian South Sea pearls. They’ll look beautiful on you.” He took the necklace out, moving to fasten it around my neck. “Do you like it?” I looked at those cold beads without moving. “What’s wrong?” He studied me. “Nothing.” I closed the box, set it aside, and said casually, “Must have cost a lot. It’s just… I’m pretty sure I told you I don’t really like pearls.” “Did you?” Nathan blinked and thought for a moment. “I don’t remember. Women can never have too much jewelry. One more piece won’t hurt. All those society wives and daughters have pearls.” My heart sank, little by little. He didn’t remember. When he’d been pursuing me relentlessly, I’d told him about my family. Soon after my mother died, my father took up with another woman. She took most of our family’s money, then came to the house wearing a bracelet of fat, round pearls. She flaunted it in my face and threw me out. I ended up growing up in foster care. That year, as snow fell around us, I’d cried and told him, “I hate pearls. Every time I see them, I think of that disgusting woman and the father who abandoned me.” He’d held me, heartbroken for me, and sworn, “I’ll never make you look at another pearl. I’ll never let you be reminded of any of that.” Now he held a pearl necklace and said, “I don’t remember.” “Thanks, honey.” I forced a smile and picked up the box. “My stomach feels a little off. Go to sleep without me.” I hid in the bathroom and locked the door. The pads weren’t for me. He’d forgotten why I hated pearls. Nathan was lying. I’d searched his phone, but found nothing suspicious. No. There was somewhere else to look. There was one name in his contacts that stood out from all the others. Nina Brooks, a financially struggling college student whose education he sponsored. She’d come from a remote mountain town and earned a place at a prestigious university in our city. I was the one who had approved helping her. I remembered that small, skinny girl coming to our house for dinner once. Her eyes had been timid, but they lit up when she talked about school. Nathan had said, “That girl’s got a stubborn streak. Reminds me of you back then.” Why did he have at least a few messages with every other woman in his contacts? Why was his conversation with Nina completely blank? It was as spotless as rain-washed glass. Nothing hidden from view—and far too clean to feel natural.The next day, I found Nina in my own contacts. Her profile picture was a silhouette of her reading. Most of her stories showed library corners, open books, and cups of tea. I scrolled slowly. Then my finger stopped. Her latest post had gone up yesterday afternoon. [Periods are the worst. My cramps hurt so much I can’t even study. Thank goodness I have my gentleman~] The photo showed a steaming mug of ginger tea on a natural-wood desk. I stared at it for a few seconds, then zoomed in. At the corner of the desk, part of a cardboard box was visible. The expensive pad brand’s logo was clearly printed on it. I counted eight visible packs. Another pack sat beside it, looking as if she’d just opened it. Exactly nine. Nine… Nina. So all the desire Nathan had supposedly restrained during my period had simply gone to another woman. That afternoon, I went to Nathan’s office for the first time in ages. The sight in front of me made my eyes burn. Nina was wearing a schoolgirl outfit, sitting on Nathan’s lap with her arms around his neck. They were locked in a kiss. Nathan’s hands rested on her waist, and the air was thick with the smell of sex. I charged forward, grabbed Nina by the hair, and yanked her off his lap. She stumbled, nearly falling. I slapped her, the sharp crack ringing through the office. Then I turned to Nathan. He stood, his face dark. I raised my hand to slap him too, but he caught my wrist. “Evelyn, what the hell is wrong with you? Why aren’t you at home, getting ready to pick up our son? What are you doing making a scene at my office?” There wasn’t a trace of guilt in his voice. He acted as if he’d done nothing wrong. I tore my hand free and demanded through my tears, “Nathan, so you do remember we have a son? When you were screwing another woman in here, did you remember you had a wife and child?” Holding her cheek, Nina walked over to Nathan and timidly tugged his jacket. Then she bowed her head to me. “Mrs. Bennett, I’m sorry. Please don’t be angry with him. It’s my fault. I’m the one who fell for him. This has nothing to do with him. Blame me.” I pointed in her face. “Nina, I agreed to sponsor you because I knew how hard it was for you to get out of that mountain town. I wanted you to study, build a future, and support yourself. This is how you repay me?” “You used our help to seduce a married man. Do you have any conscience at all?” Nina suddenly dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around my legs. Her tears fell harder. The red mark on her cheek stood out vividly, but her eyes were defiant. “Mrs. Bennett, I know this is wrong, but we’re truly in love. Loving someone isn’t a crime. So what if we’re together? In a relationship, the one who isn’t loved is the real other woman!” My stomach churned. I lifted my foot to push her away. “Let go! Don’t touch me. You disgust me!” Nina suddenly screamed and clutched her stomach. Her body went limp, and she collapsed. “Nina!” Nathan’s face changed. When he’d seen me pushing at Nina, he’d turned to shut the office door I’d burst through, apparently worried about the spectacle outside. He turned back just in time to see her on the floor. “Nina? What’s wrong?” She curled into his arms, tears slipping from the corners of her eyes into her hair. “Nathan… my stomach hurts so much. It’s okay. Don’t blame her. I just lost my balance…” Nathan looked up at me, his eyes icy. “She’s already in pain, and you still shoved her! Evelyn, when did you become so vicious?”