Marriage Crisis: The Man Sitting in My Wife's Passenger Seat

My wife, Julie Anderson, never allowed anyone to sit in her passenger seat, not even me.

The only thing she allowed on the passenger seat was a box for her bags, makeup and snacks for easy access.

Recently, Julie put her storage box in the trunk, and her bags and dolls were piled up all over the backseat.

The passenger seat was adjusted to a reclining position, and Julie, who was a neat freak, didn't even notice some marks on the seat.

If it were a coincidence at first, a clue at second, it would be the truth at the end.

I thought it definitely started when Julie became a runner and was introduced to a running chat group by her best friend.

1

I went downstairs tonight to check Julie's passenger seat under the pretext of taking out the trash.

Before I went downstairs, I asked Julie in a roundabout way if she had picked up anyone during the day and if she needed to do it later, but I got a negative answer from her.

The company wasn't far from home, and I could get there by taking the subway two stops a day, so the car I bought before the marriage was given to Julie to drive afterward.

A week ago, I was going downstairs to take out the trash after dinner as usual when I caught a glimpse of the rearview mirror of my car getting a bit dirty.

The car had a keyless entry, so I was going to get in and whip out a tissue to help Julie clean it up.

But as soon as I opened the car door, I noticed her passenger seat.

Julie never allowed other people to sit on her passenger seat, and she just put her bag and other things on it.

She bought a storage box online and put it on the passenger seat, which contained some cosmetics, data cables, and so on, so that she could refine her make-up in the car.

I rarely ride in Julie's car. Even if I did, Julie would let me sit in the back so that she wouldn't move things around.

Even Julie's best friend, Amanda Clark, and her colleagues had to sit in the back when they needed a ride.

Now the passenger seat was cleaned up and adjusted to the reclining position at the bottom.

Julie's storage box had been moved to the trunk, and it had been pressed up against something that looked like it had been there for a while.

It was the first time I felt I was so concerned about the passenger seat.

I made a mental note of this and instead of wiping her mirrors, I chose to go upstairs as if nothing had happened.

A few days ago, I went downstairs to check on it once, and it was the same situation.

It was the same tonight.

If it were a coincidence at first, a clue at second, it would be the truth at the end.

The car's seats were full leather, and lately, probably because they had been sat on every day, the dull leather had become shiny.

If I looked closely, I would see white cracks from drying and a few curved hairs at the seams, which I picked up with a tissue to check.

It wasn't from Julie, more like from a man. I felt sick at once.

Seeing this, I remembered that Julie had told me before I came downstairs that she was going to have another race with her friends this holiday, and she was going to cancel the trip we had scheduled a long time ago.

No man would accept with a smile that his wife was having an affair.

I wasn't going to put up with it and wanted to go upstairs and ask Julie about it.

But no sooner had I pushed open the door than I ran into Julie, who had already changed into her full-body running outfit, and who smelled like she had just had a shower and was on her way out the door.

"Remember to mop the floor later, and I'm running late. We're running farther today, so I'm going to be back late."

"Are you going alone?" I didn't give up and wanted to ask again.

"Huh? Yeah, I'll meet up with everyone at our destination." Julie looked at me in surprise. I rarely asked her about her running, and I seemed overly concerned today.

"I don't have to work late tonight, so how about I go with you? I can get some exercise by the way." I got an idea and pretended to turn around to go out with her.

Julie subconsciously stopped me, looking visibly panicked.

"What are you going to do? You don't have any exercise outfit, and you don't even have running shoes. Besides, you're a beginner, and you can't keep up with us with your speed, so nobody wants to take you. If you want to exercise, you should go downstairs and take a walk."

Julie's tone was filled with impatience and dislike.

Maybe Julie was afraid that I was going to stalk her, so she pushed me into the house without saying a word and closed the door to leave.

With Julie's attitude, even if I wanted to show my cards, she certainly wouldn't tell me anything. If it was a mistake, our relationship would be destroyed. In case it was true, I would act rashly.

I decided it would be better for me to follow her first and find out for myself.