I was still staring at the picture when I noticed the door was open and Karen was standing there staring at me. She had never worn much make up but the streaks on her face made her look terrifying. No, it wasn’t the makeup, it was the set of her jaw and the hardness in her eyes.

“No, I didn’t do this- this is photo-shopped- I would never cheat on you.” I babbled trying to find the words to make everything okay. I tried to get a hold of myself. Taking a deep breath I looked into her eyes and as I opened my mouth she said, “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t try to make it okay. Don’t lie to me. And don’t underestimate me.”

“Look I was just-”

“I know what you were doing. Don’t.” She said it more emphatically.

My mind raced. What did she want? Should I try to hold her? My instincts told me that would end badly. My whole body was telling me to run. I backed up toward the front door and tried to deflect her with questions. “Who sent that to you? What was their goal? I can tell you- they’re trying to ruin us!”