After a long and difficult day, Mel goes home to two hungry children, an untidy house and a lying spouse who doesn’t know that Mel knows what he’s been up to. Instead of helping her out, Owen continues to pile onto her day. Then, my daughter’s words caused the collapse of our family. You know when you get home from work the last thing you want to see is a dirty home? Except, that’s exactly what you get — a house in utter chaos.

I walked into my home, hoping to find the girls busy with their homework and Owen sitting at the table with them, helping out wherever necessary. “Thank goodness, you’re home!” Lily, my eleven-year-old, exclaimed, taking my bag from me. “What’s wrong?” I asked immediately. “Emma and I are starving!” she said, rolling her eyes. “Meanwhile, Dad’s been watching TV all afternoon.” What?” I asked, looking around the house to find Emma’s toys strewn around. “Why is the house such a mess?”

In the background, I could hear the TV blaring. Of course, Owen would be sitting in front of the TV, acting as though nothing was wrong with the house. “Emma threw a tantrum because I gave her a granola bar,” Lily said. “I know she doesn’t like them, but she didn’t want yoghurt either.” Emma was eight and truly believed in the princess lifestyle. Owen, Lily, and I were all just subjects living in my daughter’s world. Lily hung onto my arm — always my shadow. “Come on, let me talk to Dad,” I said. n the living room, Owen was stretched out on the couch, almost asleep. “Owen!” I called out. “What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, stretching. “Everything’s fine.” “The kids are hungry, the house is a mess. There’s no dinner prepared. Look at the time!” Owen rolled his eyes. Now, don’t get me wrong — I didn’t expect Owen to do everything. I worked from home every other day, and on those days, I had everything under control. Owen was a lecturer, and while a lot of his lectures were online, he did go onto campus when necessary. On the days he worked from home, he was in charge of taking care of the girls and dinner until I got home. “I lost track of the time,” Owen said sheepishly. “Emma has been throwing a tantrum all afternoon and refuses to reason with me. Lily has been rude. She only wanted you to help with her homework. And all I’ve wanted to do is sleep. I’m not feeling, Mel. I think I’m coming down with a cold.” Lily scoffed beside me. “And I had a rough day, Mel,” he said. “I’ve had a fever on and off.” Owen continued to complain about his day. As he listed off the things that made his day horrible, hebecame more animated. “How about you and Emma clear up the toys and Lily and I will start dinner?” I asked. Owen sighed. I knew he wanted to do anything else but that. But I didn’t give him much of a choice. “Are you angry, Mom?” Lily asked me as she took out all the veggies I needed for a stir-fry. “No, darling,” I said. “Not with you and Emma, anyway.” Later, after I had fed the kids and was about to do a few loads of laundry, when Lily followed me upstairs. “Dad asked us not to tell you,” Lily whispered. “But he also went somewhere while you were gone.” Anxiety took over me. Owen had told me, in front of Lily, that he had been feeling unwell and needed to rest for most of the day. And yet, he had lied. He had left the girls to fend for himself while he went off somewhere. It made no sense. What was my husband up to? After dinner, Owen sat across the counter from me, eating ice cream. He started to complain about his day again. I half-listened while washing the dishes. My thoughts were consumed by the revelation that was burning a hole in my heart. Where had Owen gone? I knew that my husband was lying to me. But I just didn’t know the reason.