He listened to her stories.
He asked about school.
He never acted annoyed when she joined conversations.
But there was one thing that bothered us.
Richard always left early.
Every family dinner.
Every Sunday.
The same pattern.
Around 7:30, he would check his watch.
Then he would pick up his briefcase.
At first, nobody thought much about it.
Everyone has responsibilities.
But the excuses kept changing.
One week, he had an overseas client call.
Another week, his neighbor needed help.
Another week, a plumber was coming late at night.
One excuse could be true.
But six months of different excuses started feeling strange.
The strangest part was that Mom had never been invited to his house.
Not once.
Chloe noticed something else.
Twice, she saw Richard driving south after dinner.
But he always said he lived north.
I started wondering if he was hiding another relationship.
Maybe another woman.
Maybe another family.
