As I was about to kick the door in, the door to Betty's office finally opened... There she stood, dressed in her usual work attire, her face a mix of panic and confusion. When she saw it was me, her expression visibly relaxed, though a hint of annoyance flickered across her face.
But at that moment, I lost all reason. Without a second thought, I barged past Betty into the office, only to find it empty except for the usual desk, chair, and computer. I dashed over to the desk, frantically searching like a madman.
"Honey, when did you get back? What are you doing?" Betty asked, utterly baffled by my sudden appearance, which took her completely by surprise.
"Where is he? Where's he hiding?" I searched everywhere but found no sign of anyone else. I checked under the desk and inside the cabinets, but there was no trace of Michael or any other man. I couldn't help but yell at Betty.
"What are you talking about? Who? What are you even saying?" Betty was clearly confused, stunned by my shouting.
"Teacher, what are you doing?" Just as I was about to accuse her of playing dumb, I heard Michael's voice from outside the office. At that moment, I saw Michael walking down the hallway from the direction of the restroom.
"Boom..." My brain short-circuited. What was going on?
How could Michael be coming from outside the office?
Was there a secret passage?
I was completely baffled by the situation. Why was everything so different from what I had expected?
"Oh... you think I was cheating on you with another man in the office?" By then, Betty had caught on, perhaps she had suspected it all along but couldn't believe her husband would doubt her like this.
After all, when I had investigated her in the past, I had always done it secretly, never so openly and blatantly trying to catch her in the act—and failing at that.
"Isn't it? I heard you talking to someone at the office door, and you were undressing..." At this point, I was even doubting my own actions, wondering if I had made a huge mistake, but now I had to face the music since I did have those suspicions.
"Talking to someone? Ha, I was on the phone with my mom. Here, look at the call log..." Betty laughed, a laugh filled with bitterness, tears seeming ready to fall at any moment.
As she spoke, she pulled out her phone, scrolled through her call log, and showed it to me. I clearly saw the call log with my mother-in-law, timed just five minutes ago. Seeing this, I felt the situation was not good.
"Me undressing? After work, I was the only one in the office. Michael had gone to the restroom, and I locked the door to change my clothes. That's all. Is there anything else you need me to explain?" Betty explained with a laugh, but her smile was tinged with a touch of coldness and disappointment.
After hearing Betty's explanation, I realized I had misunderstood her and created a huge mess. It was my own fault for being so impulsive and not clarifying things before barging in.
Now I was in a real bind. I stood there, completely dumbfounded. Betty had just changed out of her work clothes into her casual home clothes, clearly she was just changing her clothes. And with Michael outside and no one else in the office, what I saw was the truth.
What do I do now? Cold sweat started to break out all over me... "I've explained myself, now isn't it your turn? Why did you come back early? Why didn't you tell me beforehand? Why did you show up at the school? Why did you think I was cheating?" Betty looked at me with a cold smirk, bombarding me with questions.
I couldn't help but glance back at the door where Michael had been, only to find that the kid had disappeared, not bothering to help smooth things over.
"I just... I just wanted to surprise you... and..." At this moment, due to embarrassment and nervousness, my words were jumbled and stuttered, unsure how to clear up my own mess.
"Betty, haven't you gone home yet?" Just then, the janitor who was making his rounds in the teaching building came to the office door, smiling and speaking to Betty.
He glanced at me and Betty, a hint of something odd in his eyes, perhaps sensing that the atmosphere in the office was a bit off.
"Yeah, I'll be heading home soon... Sorry to bother you..." Betty, seeing an outsider had arrived, greeted the janitor with a smile as if nothing had happened.
"Oh... I heard some loud knocking and arguing when I was making rounds on the first floor, so I came up to check. Are you alright? Do you need any help?" After hearing Betty's response, the janitor glanced at me.
Since I usually picked up Betty at the school's main gate and seldom came inside, the janitor didn't recognize me as Betty's husband and probably thought I was a suitor or maybe even a troublemaker.
The janitor looked at me with a hint of hostility; no help there, Betty was just that well-liked at school.
If Betty and I ever argued, her colleagues and friends would know to blame me, not her.
"It's fine, thank you, I was just leaving..." Betty glanced at me, then smiled at the janitor before turning to grab her bag from the desk and walked past me without another look, then out the door. At that moment, Michael peeked out from beside the office door, and Betty immediately grabbed his hand and walked down the corridor without ever looking back at me.
"Sir? Do you need anything else? If not, please leave, we need to lock up..." As I stood there, heartbroken and embarrassed, the janitor's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, politely but firmly showing me out.
I looked at the janitor, who looked back with hostility and disdain, and slowly walked out of the office. By then, Betty and Michael were nowhere in sight.