“You’re leaving again,” Sarah said from their bedroom door.

Michael zipped his bag. “Sarah, it’s just about a week. You know how important this trip is for my career.”

“I know, Michael, but it feels like you’re always leaving. I sometimes wonder if marrying you was a mistake.”

Michael left, fed up with their constant arguments. In a new town for a business meeting, loneliness led him to download a dating app, where he connected with a woman named Emma. They soon met in person, and despite her being in her late 40s, they quickly moved to a hotel room together.

When Michael returned home, Sarah was organizing albums. “Mom is visiting and wants to meet you,” she said. To his horror, Emma showed up at their door as Sarah’s mother. “Mom! I’m so glad to see you!” Sarah exclaimed.

Emma later revealed she was pregnant with Michael’s child, insisting, “I’m keeping the child. We’ll keep it a secret.”

Shortly after, Michael received blackmail photos from their encounter. Desperate, he emptied his bank account and sold his car to pay off the blackmailer, but it was a setup. When he returned home, Sarah and Emma were gone. The police revealed they were con artists who had scammed other men similarly.

“I should have told her,” Michael lamented, realizing honesty might have prevented this disaster. The officer sympathetically noted, “Hindsight is always clearer, Mr. Anderson.”