What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 557

In the past, Finnian would never have dared to touch Kaia's personal belongings. He was a man who deeply valued his own privacy and respected the privacy of others. Even if Kaia's phone was sitting right next to him, he would never have the urge to pry.

But now, staring at the desktop computer, he remembered how Kaia frequently sat here to work and save her personal files.

Standing completely rigid in front of the desk, Finnian reached out like a man possessed and pressed the power button.

The moonlight spilled through the glass window, stretching his lonely silhouette across the dimly lit room.

He remembered how she used to sit at this exact computer, staring out the window lost in thought.

Finnian couldn't help but walk over to the window. Looking out, he had a perfect view of the villa's swimming pool. On summer mornings and evenings, whenever he had the time, he would swim laps out there, sometimes bringing their daughter along to play.

Finnian's dark eyes flickered as a strange emotion brushed lightly against his heart like a feather.

From up here, she had been watching him all along.

The computer fully booted up. Finnian turned around and sank into her swivel chair. There were three drawers beside him. He pulled them open, only to find them completely empty.

Just as he was about to shut them, his fingers brushed against a series of deep scratches.

He instinctively grabbed his phone, flipped on the flashlight, and shined it over the marks. It looked as though a pen had been viciously dragged over the wood again and again. Looking closely, he could make out three crookedly carved letters: F.A.S.

Finnian violently shuddered. She had carved his initials in such a hidden place—terrified that someone might see them, yet terrified that she might lose sight of them herself.

Finnian clamped his eyes shut, reaching out to gently trace the grooves. It was as if he could physically feel the weight of her seven years of silent yearning—all the grievances and crushing loneliness she had forcefully swallowed down.

Finnian's sharp brows pulled into a heavy frown as he clicked on the first one.

As the footage sharpened, he saw himself, Rafael, and some friends on a camping trip at the top of a mountain, bringing Noelle along. Noelle was bouncing excitedly between him and Rafael, acting incredibly intimate and whining playfully at both of them.

Finnian felt a violent shudder rack his body. Back then, wrapped up in the innocence of youth, he hadn't thought anything was wrong. But watching it now, as a grown man, the sheer inappropriateness of it made his skin crawl.

From the video, it was undeniably clear that Noelle was treating both him and his brother like her lovers. Her boundaries were absolute chaos.

The next video showed him and Noelle at the tennis court. Noelle had suddenly gotten her period and stood there looking embarrassed and anxious. She then pouted at him, begging to borrow his jacket to tie around her waist. Finnian had entirely forgotten about this incident. But seeing the footage, the memory flooded back. At the time, he had only seen a helpless teenage girl in an awkward situation and wanted to help her.

Finnian clicked through the videos one by one. In every single clip, he was the male lead, and Noelle was unequivocally the female lead. Together, they were playing out the hazy, ambiguous romantic tropes of youth.