When My Husband’s Mistress Claimed My Designs as Hers

I spent the entire day preparing for Valentine's Day. Our dining room looked like something from a romantic movie set—candles flickering across the white tablecloth, fresh roses in crystal vases, and Evan's favorite meal perfectly arranged on our best china.

The kitchen still smelled of the beef bourguignon I'd spent hours preparing. I checked my watch again—7:30 PM. Evan was already an hour late.

"He'll be here any minute," I whispered to myself, adjusting the silverware for the third time. "He's probably just stuck in traffic."

My phone buzzed with a text from Evan: "Running late. Don't wait up."

Don't wait up? On Valentine's Day?

I sighed, blowing out the candles one by one. The romantic dinner I'd planned was turning into another solo meal, another disappointment in what had become a long string of them.

When Evan finally arrived at 9:45 PM, he barely noticed the elaborate setup.

"Sorry," he muttered, not meeting my eyes. "The meeting ran late."

I watched him loosen his tie, his attention fixed on his phone as it lit up with notifications. He hadn't even looked at me yet.

"The food's cold," I said quietly.

"I'll just heat something up later." He brushed past me toward the stairs. "I need a shower."

I sat alone at the beautifully set table, staring at the wilting roses. This was our seventh Valentine's Day together, and it felt like we were strangers living in the same house.

After cleaning up the untouched dinner, I curled up on our bed with my tablet. Might as well harvest my crops in Cloud Farm—at least the virtual plants didn't ignore me.

I opened the app and smiled despite myself. My little digital farm was thriving. I tapped to collect my daily rewards and noticed something odd.

"Your pet chick has been poked 99 times by SabrinaO_Design!"

I froze, my finger hovering over the screen. Ninety-nine times? That was... deliberate.

My mind raced back to the game manual I'd read when Evan first got me into playing this app. There was a special achievement in co-op mode called the "Soulmate Badge"—unlocked when one player interacted with another's pet exactly ninety-nine times.

It was a romantic milestone in the game. A secret code between partners.

But Sabrina O'Brien? My college classmate? The woman who'd been working as Evan's assistant for the past year?

I heard the shower stop. Evan would be coming up soon.

"Sabrina poked my chick ninety-nine times," I said as Evan emerged from the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist.

He stopped, his expression flickering before settling into casual dismissal. "And?"

"Ninety-nine is the exact number for the Soulmate Badge."

A laugh escaped him—short and sharp. "You're not seriously jealous of a game notification?"

"It's not random, Evan. It's deliberate. You know what ninety-nine means in Cloud Farm."

His face hardened as he grabbed his phone from the nightstand. "For God's sake, Sophia. Are you listening to yourself? You're being paranoid. It's probably just an algorithm glitch."

"Then why did Sabrina—"

"Enough!" He cut me off, his voice rising. "I can't believe you're doing this again. Every time a woman talks to me, you get like this."

"It's not every woman. It's Sabrina."

"And what about Sabrina?" His tone was mocking now. "She's my assistant. We work together. Maybe she's just being friendly."

"By poking my virtual pet exactly ninety-nine times?"

He rolled his eyes, grabbing his pillow from the bed. "I'm sleeping in the guest room tonight. I can't deal with your hormonal craziness right now."

"Evan—"

"Goodnight, Sophia." He slammed the door behind him.

I stared at the closed door, my heart pounding. Something was wrong. I could feel it.

The next morning, I woke early, my mind still racing with questions. I needed to see Sabrina. Needed to understand what was happening.

I found her in the guest house, sipping coffee at the small kitchen island. She looked up when I entered, her smile too bright.

"Sophia! I was just about to come apologize for Evan last night. He said you were upset about something trivial."

"Trivial?" I echoed, forcing a smile. "Maybe you can help me understand what's going on."

As she turned to refill her coffee cup, something caught the morning light around her neck. A delicate diamond pendant on a platinum chain.

My breath caught. That necklace...

"Your necklace is beautiful," I said carefully.

Sabrina's hand flew to her throat, fingers curling around the diamonds. "Oh, this? It's just a replica. Evan gave it to me as a bonus for the Galaxy project."

The Galaxy project. My design collection.

"It looks very... familiar," I said, stepping closer.

Sabrina's smile tightened. "It's just a good copy. Nothing compared to the real thing."

But I knew. The real thing was missing from my jewelry box.

As our eyes met, Sabrina's lips curved into a smile that didn't reach her eyes. In that moment, I knew my marriage was built on lies.