Crises in Love (Zora and Jaylan) novel Chapter 21

After breakfast, Jaylan, who'd promised to spend the day at home with me, received a call. He told me there was some urgent business he needed to handle at the office, assuring me he'd be back soon, then hurried off.

Oddly, hearing the word 'office' from his lips left me deep in thought.

Jaylan, who'd promised to return soon, didn't come back until late at night, when I heard his car drive into the yard.

To my surprise, he came straight back to my room. As soon as he walked in, I was hit by the strong smell of alcohol.

He leaned over me for a moment, then headed to the bathroom for a shower. Emerging damp, he burrowed under the covers and was soon snoring loudly.

I opened my eyes and glanced at him. He was turned away from me, lying far away. His familiar silhouette seemed to be growing more distant, just like our physical distance on the bed.

I deliberately rolled over dramatically, causing the bed to shake. Facing his back, I softly called out to him, but there was no response. He must have had quite a few drinks tonight.

I wondered what he was thinking, returning to my room again. Was he trying to avert suspicion after last night's incident? Or did he have other plans? I had no idea.

But I couldn't let this golden opportunity slip.

I quietly got out of bed, locked the door, and after observing his steady snores for a while, I mustered up the courage to slowly walk over to his side of the bed and find his phone, and I put it on silent.

The phone was locked, so I quietly picked up his hand, unlocked the phone, returned to my side of the bed, and began scrolling through his phone records.

In order to save time and out of fear he might wake up at any moment, I sent every call log, contact, frequently interacted chat history, group chats, and messages directly to my new phone without bothering to assess their value.

I checked his remote surveillance app on his phone, but there weren't many records, mostly of me sleeping on the bed. Perhaps he'd become numb to these images, so he didn't check the surveillance often.

There were only a few pictures of our children in his album, nothing worth noting.

And there were no revealing transactions in his PayPal account.

After saving what I needed, I returned the phone to its original spot, but something felt off.

It was too clean. No signs of anything unusual.

I looked at Jaylan one more time, then quietly left the room and headed to the study.

Still no luck finding the key. Disappointed, I returned to the room and climbed back into bed.

The next day, Jaylan told me he had to go to Amethyst Acres to discuss a contract and would return the following day.

I was secretly thrilled - fortune was on my side. But on the surface, I feigned reluctance, "Can't you come back tonight? Amethyst Acres isn't that far."

"Honey, business is tough these days and competition is fierce! I can't avoid it, I'll have to entertain their manager tonight, have a few drinks, and who knows when I'll be done? If I rush back, it'll be midnight by the time I get home and it'll disturb your rest! Instead, I'll visit other places tomorrow!" Jaylan complained, "I have to stay on good terms with our old clients, or they'll ditch us for someone else who offers better deals!"

"Haven't those companies at Amethyst Acres always been working with us?" I asked. I was familiar with the situation at Amethyst Acres, given that I'd laid the groundwork there.

"Sweetheart, you've been out of the market for a while. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and our profit margins are getting thinner!" He vented to me.

I didn't respond, but suddenly asked him, "Honey, I can't seem to find my phone. I need to call my parents. I miss them."

"Let's call them when I'm back! I don't have time today, and I don't want you to say something that might worry them. After all, you haven't called them for a while!" Then he got up and said, "I'm in a rush, you get some rest! Just wait for me at home!"

Knowing he was stalling, I didn't press further and let him leave. Once he was gone, I quickly messaged Catherine, asking her to make arrangements for me to visit the hospital.

Catherine immediately replied, "Ok, I'll get right on it! Wait for my message!"

Ten minutes later, she texted, "All set, you can leave whenever you're ready!"