No matter how hard I tried, the shadow lingered.

Jack was poised to confront me, but Cathy intervened, pulling him away.

That night, William berated me.

"You're out of your mind. My father is right. Why are you tormenting our daughter?"

"I can't stand your mom sleeping in my bed," I retorted.

"Then how could you tolerate it before? Why are you suddenly losing it now?"

The chasm between us felt insurmountable.

I let my emotions spill forth.

"That's because I didn't know before that they slept on my bed! William, you can stand your parents in our bed, but I can't.

"I just can't stand it, okay?"

Realizing the volume of my voice, William quickly covered my mouth.

"You're insane. Why are you shouting? Why are you making a scene about this?"

I pulled his hand away and continued shouting.

"You also know this kind of thing can't be known to others. You still have some dignity. I thought you didn't want that."

William's anger flared.

He pushed me onto the bed.

"I told you not to talk nonsense. My parents are also human beings. They also have sexual needs.

"Imagine if we were in our forties and our son and his wife forbade us from having sex. Could you accept that?"

"You're insane. I wouldn't care how much noise they made during their sex behind closed doors.

"But they are not allowed to do it in my room."

"Enough. They only came to sleep with Mia. You saw it yourself. They didn't do anything."

As William spoke, he moved to remove my clothes.

I reacted instinctively to kick his stomach.

I thought, "Shit!

Men were bastards.

At this moment, he could still think of having sex."

How could I possibly comply?

I flung open the door and stepped out. Jack and Cathy were standing in the living room with displeasure.

They had obviously overheard my conversation with William.

I didn't care if they were unhappy because I had said it intentionally for them to hear.

I wondered if they would still maintain any sense of decorum at home and if they would ever commit such shameless acts again.

I picked up Mia, ready to return to my room, but Jack blocked my path.

"Yvonne, I heard what you said. You can't say whatever you please.

"Especially, you can't slander others about matters like this."

It was ridiculous!

Jack felt wronged.

"Then why did you do those things? If you do them, why can't people talk about it?"

Jack blushed.

"What did we do? Did you see us do anything?"

"Do you expect me to witness it? How shameless."

As we teetered on the brink of a full-blown argument, Cathy, still clinging to a semblance of dignity, pulled Jack back to their room.

Jack continued to mutter as they walked away.

"What did she mean? What did we do to make her so angry?"

I couldn't help but laugh at their pretense.

I might not have concrete evidence about their sex in my new house, but who else could it be if not them?

Only our family possessed the key to that house.

William, an only child, had no siblings, and I, too, was a solitary bud.

My parents were away on a trip.

Who else could it be?

After that fateful day, William iced me out for several days.

He accused me of disrespecting his parents and of being domineering in our home.

How ridiculous that I hadn't even blamed them for their shameless actions, but here they were, calling me arrogant.

However, I noticed a shift. Jack and Cathy seemed to look down on William.

On the contrary, they treated me, who had criticized them, better than before.

I couldn't quite grasp the reason behind this.

But whenever I thought of their actions, a wave of sadness washed over me, dimming any chance of happiness.

To be fair, I had held them in high regard before this incident.

Jack and Cathy were a harmonious couple, and their family atmosphere was warm and inviting.

They treated me and William well, as if I were their own daughter.

Even my best friend, Judy Black, envied me, often saying she would need a miracle to find such a perfect family to marry into.

William's coldness left me with a well of grievances.

So, I sought solace in Judy to vent my frustrations.

She was visibly shocked by my tale.

"Did you actually see the bottle of lube?"

"Of course. How else would I know they're so disgusting?"

Her shock gave way to a hint of schadenfreude.

"So, the model couple, Jack and Cathy, has flaws, too.

"I've always envied you, but now it seems unnecessary.

"But how can you be sure it belongs to William's parents?"

Annoyed, I didn't pay close attention to her words.

After confronting Jack and Cathy, they became more reserved.

Their public displays of their affection at home disappeared.

I never saw them enter my room again.

I tried to forget the incident.

After all, aside from that one event, Jack and Cathy were exemplary.

William was kind to me, and we had a delightful daughter.

In every way, we were a happy, perfect family.

Life gradually slipped back into its familiar rhythm.

Yet, what I didn't anticipate was what happened next.

A few days later, while tidying the new house, I stumbled upon another bottle of the same lubricant in the bedside drawer.

Beside it lay a pair of tattered black stockings.

I was confused.

It was inconceivable for Jack and Cathy to be involved.

Now, only William and I hold the keys.

I had a guess.

Is it possible that my husband is cheating on me?