My father had nothing to say to that.

My mother only grew angrier. "That Ethel Pruitt!"

"When she was chasing after Donnie, she knelt outside our door for three days and three nights. Knelt until her forehead was split open from bowing, swearing she'd love him with everything she had. That's the only reason I gave my blessing."

"And now? Two years of marriage, and she has the nerve to bring some man into their home? She's lost her mind!"

My mother was furious.

But what I felt more than anger was confusion.

Because my father was right.

All these years, Ethel had been incredibly good to me.

She was young, accomplished, and strikingly beautiful. There was never a shortage of men pursuing her. Even the hospital director's son had gone out of his way to court her, publicly declaring that if Ethel would be with him, he'd hand her the keys to the entire hospital.

Ethel hadn't so much as flinched.

She'd offended him for it, too. Nearly got blacklisted from the entire medical community.

Even then, she never wavered. She looked me in the eyes and said:

"I can lose everything else in this world. The one thing I can't lose is you."

It was precisely because I'd felt the depth of her devotion—felt it in my bones—that none of this made sense.

What kind of man could make someone like Ethel Pruitt, a woman who treated loyalty like a religion, change her heart?

"Donnie, what do you want to do?"

My father looked at me, his expression grave.

I paused, then answered steadily. "I want to catch them in the act."

My mother's eyes sharpened with interest. "How?"

I didn't answer right away. Instead, I pulled out my phone and scrolled to an app I'd never once opened.

It was a location-sharing app.

Back when we first got together, Ethel had insisted on installing a location-sharing app on her phone, just so I could check where she was anytime I wanted.

I'd refused at first. I trusted her. I thought tracking each other was the last thing two people in love needed.

But she wouldn't let it go. She said to think of it as insurance. If something ever happened to her, I'd be able to find her right away.

All these years, I'd been quietly proud that I'd never once opened that app.

Now I was about to use it to catch her cheating.

I drew a long breath and tapped the icon.

The screen loaded for a few seconds, then a map filled the display. A small green dot pulsed on it, drifting slowly along a road.