Page 16 of Jealous Wife

Zoey’s apartment building was so damn fancy. Ava felt a pang of jealousy roll through her body as she looked up at the sleek, modern building. It looked beautiful, standing there glittering in the sun.

How the hell can her dad afford this place?She thought bitterly.Me and Rollo worked our asses off to get to our position and yet here Zoey is, being spoiled and pampered by her stupid dad.

Ava’s mind was reeling from the adrenaline pumping through her body. Of course, she didn’t think Zoey’s dad was stupid. Ava was jealous and antsy and scared. That was all. If Zoey’s parents worked hard, they were allowed to spend their money however they wanted.

Spoiling a teenager isn’t the way I’d spend my money, she thought.But who am I to judge?

Ava glanced at the panel by the door, searching for Zoey’s name. It only took her a second to find it. She lived in apartment ten, on the third floor.

She stood outside of the building, staring up at it as she prepared herself for a long wait. She had no idea how to break into the building—and it probably wasn’t a good idea to try it in broad daylight, either—so she was going to wait by the front door, making it appear like she was searching through her purse for her keycard, and slip inside once someone came out.

It was still early in the morning, so there would be plenty of time for people to come out as they made their way to work. She was betting on some kind stranger to accidentally let her in. Sure, it was immoral, but what choice did she have? Ava needed to get inside Zoey’s apartment. It was a deep urge that she couldn’t ignore.

There had to be some evidence in there, something to calm her crazed mind, to show her that Rollo had already begun sleeping with Zoey. She didn’t care about anything else. She just needed to know what was going on between them.

That’s all. Just a little sign. A note from him. A piece of his clothing. Cum-stained underwear. Something, anything. If they’d fucked in the apartment, Ava would be able to figure it out. She was sure of it.

Waiting by the front door was stressful. As people passed by, their eyes were drawn to her. Some laughed, some frowned, some paused in their steps as they stared at her. Ava knew that she’d fucked up using such a ridiculous disguise, but it was the best she could have come up with at short notice.

Rollo had only told her about their very important meeting that morning before he left for work. Ava knew that this was probably one of the only times she was going to be able to get in there and find some evidence of their affair.

Her stomach tied itself into knots and her hands shook from the adrenaline. She knew she looked crazy, standing there outside as she pretended to search through her bag, but it was the only way she was going to get inside.

Through the glass, she heard the familiar sound of dress shoes against concrete. She tried not to look over at the person inside the building as she searched through her purse. Ava started to shake her head in faux annoyance, trying to look as agitated as possible.

Within a second, a loud buzzing sound came from the panel by the door. She looked over just in time to see a man pushing on the metal door handle. She withdrew her hand from her purse and sighed in relief.

Finally,she thought.

The man was wearing a crisp blue suit with a bright yellow tie wrapped around his neck. He stepped out of the building, into the light, and Ava saw the large dark circles around his brown eyes. She smiled at him as she approached the door.

To her surprise, he held it open for her, allowing her to slip inside. Ava tried not to cheer as she walked into the building, glad her plan had worked. She climbed the stairs without looking back, heading for the third floor.

She stepped towards the elevator but retreated quickly to the stairs when she realized that she’d need a keycard to operate it. Walking up all those stairs in her heels wasn’t going to be pleasant, but she needed to find the answers she was desperately searching for. She had to find something—anything.

As she climbed, she could feel the craziness taking hold of her body. How the hell had she gotten to this point, breaking into a teenager’s apartment? When she had followed Rollo here, she’d thought that was the lowest she was ever going to stoop.

Clearly not, she thought as she climbed to the second floor.

The concrete floor had been buffed to a shine, reflecting the bright LED lights in the hallway. All of the walls were painted white and the tall windows on either end of the hallway let in a spectacular amount of light.

She tried not to let the jealousy get to her. This was a lovely building but she had a better home with her husband. Why would she want an apartment when she had something at least three times as big as this place?

By the time she reached the third floor, she was out of breath and sweating. The wig was cheap, making her scalp itch, and the trench coat around her body was impossibly warm. She took off the coat and wig as she searched for the correct door, unable to take it anymore.

Apartment ten,she repeated.Apartment ten.

It was on the left at the back of the building. Ava walked up to it, feeling her legs turn to jelly beneath her. Was she really doing this? Was this what she wanted to do?

As far as she could see, there was no other choice. Nothing else would quiet her mind. Her husband had told her that she was being ridiculous, but she knew better than that. There was something going on and she had to find the evidence for herself.

After Rollo had left for work, she’d gone through all of the spare keys, cards, and dongles by the front door. Half of the things she didn’t recognize. She had no doubt in her mind that half of them were for the lab or other work areas.

There was one new-looking card, though, with a bright pink, heart-shaped sticker affixed. Since Ava had never seen this one before, she had an inkling it had something to do with Zoey.

She held the damn keycard in her hand, trying her best to ignore the sticker, and scanned it against the reader.

Click.