Edward lay back in bed as Greg dressed again and went to spend time with the kids. This was fantastic on so many levels. Not only did he have Greg back for himself, and the kids had their father, but now that the work would be split, so could the burden of parenting. Which meant being able to lay back and enjoy his post-coital bliss for once.

He sighed and wondered if it was worth getting up to find a glass of something to drink. It wasn't. He didn't need it. This was better.

Edward was genuinely starting to regain confidence in his body. He hadn't felt strong enough to be more dominant in bed in forever. And yet, as soon as Greg suggested it, he knew that was what he wanted. In fact, he was a lot more aware of what he wanted at all times now.

Sitting up and stretching, he decided it would be better to spend more time with Greg and the kids before bed than to stay up there thinking about Greg's amazing body.

The sound of his phone messenger going off brought him back to reality with a jolt. Not this again...

Hoping it was just Greg not knowing where the paper towels were, he picked up his phone. It wasn't. It was him again. Chad.

“Hey, just wanted you to know it's totally cool if you don't want to talk about this. I'm just getting a little worried that you aren't getting my messages. At least respond to me so I know that you know.”

Of course he had to know Edward had received the messages. The app marked them as read as soon as they were opened. This guy just wanted to actually talk to him. And Edward knew from past dealings with this sort of persistent “helpful” person, that as soon as they had contact they would not let him be until they had what they wanted. Usually what they wanted was gossip, or naked pictures. But this guy... Edward could not work out what this guy wanted.

He deleted the message and sat back down on the bed, all the energy drained from him. How could he keep on acting like his life had been completely fixed when he had this on his mind? How could he keep on going when he didn't have an answer?

As he once again pondered whether or not to ask Greg about this mysterious stranger, the door opened. Looking up, he smiled at Greg, only to look into his cold, stern eyes.

“Are you okay?” Edward asked.

“I have... something to talk to you about,” Greg replied. “It's kind of serious. You might think I've gone crazy, but I can't keep it bottled up any longer.”

Edward's heart could have snapped. He felt a lump in his throat. This was it. If any of what Chad had said was true, then this could be the confession. He nodded sternly.

“Did you hire another private investigator to follow me?” Greg asked.

“Wait... what?” Edward asked. That was... not at all what he had expected. “No, why would I do that?” He wondered whether he ought to have phrased that last bit a little more accusingly, but, then again, what was done was done. He didn't see any signs of a guilty conscience on his husband's face.

Greg drew a deep breath, walked over to the bed, and sat down beside Edward. “Okay, I just need you to promise that you won't think I'm crazy.”

Edward nodded. “I... I've been the crazy one before. I guess if it's your turn, it's your turn.”

“Just try and believe me,” Greg sighed. “This car has been following me. Everywhere. At first I thought I was going crazy. Then I thought it was maybe a new and popular model, you know? Then I started taking notes of license plates and... I'm not crazy. It's following me. This red sports car has been literally everywhere I have been for the last few days, if not longer. I've seen it at work, parked outside, even when we took the kids out this weekend.”

Edward stared at Greg. On the one hand, it did sound crazy. But Edward knew better than to just assume Greg had lost it. Then again...

“You think I'm crazy, don't you?” Greg asked.

Edward nodded. “Sorry, it just sounds so... Maybe you're imagining things? You know, because of the stress of... not working so much.”

“I am as unstressed as I've ever been and look, I'll show you some photos,” Greg insisted, taking his phone out and handing it to Edward.

Scrolling through the pictures, Edward had to admit that they did show the same car in two different locations. But the rest were just the same model and color of car, with no visible license plate or identifiable features. “Are you sure this is all the same car?” he asked.

Greg nodded. “Positive. I didn't get the license plate every time I took a photo, but every time I've checked it's been the same one.”

Edward paused, then nodded back. “Okay, I'm going to trust you, but the first thing we need to do is check who that license plate belongs to,” he said. “There are people who have... ways with this sort of information. Contact an agency and they will dig up any information they have, for a bit of money.” He opened the right website and began filling out the form.

As he keyed in the license plate digits, he felt a distinct fear. What if the name that came up was Chad? Edward wasn't sure he was ready for this. But he knew that it could also be unrelated. His husband could have a serious stalker and need help. He waited and waited. Even though he received the information in less than an hour, it felt like eternity.

Edward breathed a sigh of relief as the information came up. “It belongs to a Mrs. Edna Berkowitz, who normally lives two cities over.”

“Can we check her out?” Greg asked sheepishly. “I... I really want to know that everything is okay.”

Edward nodded and they both spent a few minutes searching for people by that name, from the area. She turned out to be sixty-four, had once made local news for winning a cruise in bingo, and was most definitely not someone either of them knew.

Greg hugged Edward. “I'm sorry about that. It's just... I was nervous it would be someone dangerous.”

“An older woman can still be dangerous,” Edward replied.

“I've never met a dangerous Edna,” Greg insisted. “Besides, at least now we know who it is.”

Edward kissed Greg softly. “Yeah.” He was feeling just as great a relief just because the car didn't belong to a Chad. In all likelihood, Chad wasn't even real. “Let's go to bed,” he said. He knew he could sleep with peace of mind now. Chad was just some internet troll. Greg's stalker was an old woman who played bingo and probably had relatives or friends in town. And everything was going to be okay.

***

The next morning played out like the last, leaving Edward with a strange sense of deja vu. It was so strange to actually see his husband two mornings in a row, to bring him a coffee and see him still in bed, to kiss him goodbye at the door. It was perfect though.

Settling in for the day, Edward decided it was time to submit his resume to a few jobs. He had spent his spare time working on fixing and updating his CV the day before, and now felt prepared to actually see what was available. He knew it would be an uphill battle, especially with the past few years he'd spent out of work. But that was all the more reason to begin as soon as possible.

He felt good. Life was looking up. Someone knocked at the door.

A little frustrated that his productivity was being threatened when it hadn't even begun yet, Edward stood up and wandered over to the door. It was probably just the postman, with something that needed signing for. He unlocked the door and opened it.

There stood a young man of around twenty-five, with crew-cut brown hair, dark brown eyes, a chiseled face and body, and a roguish look about him. Behind him was a red sports car.

“Hi... Is this Edward by any chance?” the man asked.

Edward nodded hesitantly, reaching for the vase to his left in case he needed a weapon. “Yes.”

“Sorry to interrupt like this, but I didn't know if you were getting my emails. I'm Chad.” The man extended his hand and smiled meekly.

Edward just stared.

This guy wasn't real. He couldn't be. The car belonged to Edna. The emails came from a troll. Greg had always been good, always been faithful. This wasn't real.

“You're not real,” he said, shaking his head.

“I'm sorry, but I am,” Chad replied. “Mind if I come in? I really want to talk.”

“Well... I do mind,” Edward replied. “Have you been stalking Greg?”

“I've been trying to work out what his actual routine is... to catch you alone. Why? Is Greg home? I know he hasn't been around as much. Working less,” Chad said, making air quotes as he said 'working.'

Edward felt pained. How did he know Greg was working less? Unless... he wasn't working less. Unless Greg never had been working. He had just been using it to cover his meetings with Chad. “Come in,” Edward said quietly, stepping to one side and ushering Chad in before closing the door.

“So... how much do you know?” Chad asked.

“Nothing, apparently,” Edward replied, guiding this strange young man into the front room.

“Damn... he's had you along for a ride, hasn't he? Are you sure you want to know all this?” Chad asked, collapsing down onto one sofa.

“Well, you seem determined to tell me, so let's get it out the way,” Edward grumbled. He was there. He really was there. This guy was real. The stalker car was real. And Greg had been cheating on him. It was all too much to take in. Edward sat down on the sofa opposite, ran his hands over his head a few times, and sighed. “So... you're Chad?”

“Yeah.”

“How did you guys even meet?” Edward asked.

Chad shrugged. “Online, where everyone does. It was just for sex at first, but he started hanging around and I figured... I figured we had something good going on. Then I found out he had a husband.”

“How long?”

“A few months.” Chad paused, but Edward couldn't think of anything else to say or ask. After a few more seconds, Chad sighed loudly. “You know, you can do better.”

Edward looked up. “What?”

“You can do better than him. I mean yeah, he has a cute body, and a good job, but that's about it. He isn't funny, or smart, or all that handsome. You... you're much cuter than he is. And a better person. I mean, who was it who cheated? And who put up with it for his kids?” Chad shrugged. “Just saying—”

Edward pursed his lips and ran his hand over his head again. “I... I find it so hard to believe.”

“You need to believe it. And you need to do what's right for you and your family.” Chad stood up and moved over to sit next to Edward. “You need to think about the big picture.”

Edward shook his head. “Don't you think I know that? You... kid. You come in here to tell me my husband slept with you? For what? Who does this help? All it will do is drive my marriage apart. You aren't helping me, you're causing me problems.”

“But you deserve to know. You deserve better.” Chad smiled and leaned in.

Edward let out a disgusted grunt and shoved Chad away. “Oh fuck off, you little tart. Go sleep with men your own age. Try and pick ones who aren't married this time.”

“I didn't know he was married, Edward,” Chad insisted.

“But you know I am,” Edward replied, standing up. “Now get out before I call the police.”

“Don't you wanna get back at him?”

“No, I don't. I want to see him, and talk to him, and find answers. I want to see if I can save my marriage. Why the fuck would I throw away eighteen years for a revenge romp with some sociopathic brat?” Edward replied.

“But nobody would need to know, and if he did he couldn't say anything.”

Edward could feel his stomach physically turning as he heard those words. “I value my marriage more than that!”

“He didn't.”

And suddenly Edward wasn't so sure that Chad was telling the truth. He made eye contact with the young man. “Who are you? Why are you so determined to wreck my marriage?”

Chad froze. “I... I just want to help.”

“No. No, you don't. And if you don't get out of my house right now I'm calling the police, and then we'll all know for sure who you actually are.”

Chad laughed nervously. “Now, there's no need for that. I was just going. But you know, if you change your mind and realize there's no harm in a little revenge, just... email me.”

Edward glared at the younger man until he stood up. Chad looked about to say something else, but then shut his mouth, shook his head, and made his way toward the door. Edward followed him closely, to make sure he didn't try anything funny on the way out.

As soon as Chad was gone, Edward locked the door and checked every single window in the house, to make sure he was safely indoors. There was something seriously, dangerously wrong with that young man. And he wasn't about to wait and become a victim to whatever that “wrong” was. He picked up his phone and called Greg.

After a couple of calls going to voicemail, Greg finally picked up.

“Hey, is everything okay?”

“No, it's not,” Edward replied. “Please, come home right away. I'm kind of scared.”

“I'm on my way. Call the police if you have any doubts at all.” And just like that, Greg had hung up and Edward was left, pacing up and down, worrying.

Perhaps Chad was lying. Perhaps Chad was telling the truth. It was so hard to tell at this point. Chad knew too much. And yet Chad was too suspicious. It just didn't add up.

When Greg walked in through the front door and the first thing he did was kiss him, it still felt so right, though.