The Forgotten USB

AUDREY’S POV

I scrubbed the back of my hand across my damp cheeks and forced the corners of my mouth upward. Maya did not need to see me falling apart right in front of her.

"There is just a little bit of dust in Mommy's eye." I kept my voice steady and soft.

She peered at me with lingering suspicion. Eventually, she nodded, shuffling down the remaining stairs while keeping a death grip on her worn teddy bear. She climbed onto the velvet couch beside me and rested her small head against my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her. I buried my face in her hair, breathing in the familiar scent of strawberry baby shampoo. The sweet fragrance grounded me just enough to keep my shattered nerves from snapping.

"Did Daddy come home already?" she whispered.

I swallowed the painful lump rising thick in my throat. I hated doing this. I hated covering for a man who could not even bother to step into his daughter's room and check on her on the night of her birthday.

"Yes, sweetie. He is upstairs right now, but he was very tired and did not want to risk waking you up." I lied.

Maya accepted the false comfort without another word. She just pressed her warm body closer to mine. We sat in the dim living room in silence until her breathing evened out and she went limp with sleep. I scooped her up into my arms and carried her back down the hall to her bedroom. I pulled the floral quilt up to her chin and brushed away a stray dark curl from her forehead.

"I love you more than anything in this world, baby." I pressed a kiss to her temple.

Once she was settled, I retreated toward the master bedroom. It was supposed to be our shared sanctuary. Now, it just felt like a museum exhibit showcasing a dead marriage.

I stepped inside and stared at the king-sized mattress. Nolan's side of the bed remained impeccably neat and untouched. He had not slept in this room for weeks. He claimed his work hours were getting too demanding. He insisted he needed his own space in the spare bedroom so his late arrivals would not disturb my rest. Looking at the smooth, unwrinkled sheets now, those past excuses sounded like a sick joke.

I sank onto the edge of the mattress and stared blankly at the hardwood floor. The tight band restricting my chest finally snapped. Without Maya around to keep me strong, the dam broke open.

I dragged the heavy comforter around my shoulders and curled my knees to my chest. Sobs wrecked through me in violent, silent waves. My ribs ached with every ragged breath. I cried for the years I spent building him up, the sacrifices I made, and the humiliating reality staring back at me from a blurry paparazzi photo.

The white pillowcase grew soaked beneath my cheek. I lay there in the quiet dark until sheer emotional exhaustion dragged me under.

Daylight poured through the unblended windows when I finally forced my swollen eyes open. My head pounded with a dull, throbbing ache. I reached over to the nightstand to check my cell phone screen. The digital clock read past ten in the morning.

I pushed myself upright, tossed my tangled hair over my shoulder, and headed downstairs. The house felt terribly empty and quiet.

Carmen stood by the kitchen island, wiping down the marble countertops with a washcloth. She offered a warm, polite nod as I walked into the room.

"Good morning, Mrs. Audrey. I went ahead and took Maya to school. You were sleeping so soundly, and I did not want to disturb you."

"Thank you, Carmen." I offered a small, exhausted smile in return.

She continued tidying up the surrounding area, moving toward the living room coffee table. She paused and picked up a small metallic object resting near a stack of coasters.

"This looks like Mr. Nolan's drive." Carmen held up a sleek silver USB stick.

I recognized it instantly. He kept that drive attached to his keyring at all times, constantly reminding me it contained his most confidential financial files and upcoming project pitches. He must have fumbled and dropped it in a hurry when he slipped into the house last night.

Before I could walk over and inspect it, Carmen's cell phone buzzed loudly in her apron pocket. She answered the call, speaking a few rapid sentences in Spanish before ending it. She turned back to me with an apologetic expression.

"That was Mr. Nolan calling. He wanted to know if we found his USB. I confirmed we had it."

The disrespect stung worse than a physical slap to the face. My husband casually phoned the housemaid rather than calling his own wife. It was just another glaring sign of how little I mattered in his daily life.

"What did he want you to do with it?" I asked.

"He asked me to have it dropped off at his office and left at the front reception desk."

A cold, trembling resolve settled deep in my bones. I stared at the silver drive resting in her palm. My passive days of sitting in the dark and crying over his neglect were over.

"I will take it to him." I reached out and took the drive from her fingers.

Carmen blinked in surprise, her hand still hovering in the air. "Are you sure, ma'am?"

"Yes. I have an errand to run anyway." I turned on my heel and walked back upstairs.

I swapped my pajamas for a crisp dark blouse and tailored jeans. I did not bother with elaborate makeup, applying just enough concealer to hide the dark bags under my bloodshot eyes. I snatched my car keys from the foyer and headed out the door.

The morning drive to Vance Enterprise was a blur of mounting tension. My knuckles turned stark white as I gripped the leather steering wheel. Vivid images flashed through my mind on a relentless loop. The vibrant pink lipstick stain on his collar. The way he brushed off my concerns and made me feel like an insecure fool. That photo of her red nails resting so casually against his shoulder.

I pulled into the company parking garage, marched into the lobby, and took the private elevator straight up to the executive suite.

The glass double doors glided open to reveal the CEO level. The front desk secretary glanced up from her computer monitor. Her professional smile vanished the moment she realized who I was. Her shoulders stiffened, and her gaze darted nervously toward the hallway leading to Nolan's office.

"Mrs. Vance. Hello. Uh... Mr. Vance is tied up in a meeting right now."

I tilted my head, keeping my expression icy and unreadable. I stepped closer to her desk, my heels clicking sharply against the polished floor.

"Is that so?" I replied.

"Yes. He asked not to be interrupted. I can leave a message and notify him once he finishes up." She stumbled over her words, her eyes silently pleading with me not to cause a scene.

She knew. Everyone working on this floor probably knew.

I did not waste a single breath arguing with her. I ignored her frantic protests, walking straight down the carpeted corridor. I gripped the heavy chrome handle of Nolan's office door and shoved it wide open.

There was no high-stakes meeting happening.

Nolan lounged casually on the leather sofa near the corner window. He looked remarkably relaxed, a charming smile playing on his lips. Sitting far too close beside him was a woman. Her hand rested on his forearm with a practiced, intimate ease. She was laughing playfully, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders.

The breath shattered in my lungs.

They did not notice me entering at first. The heavy door clicked shut behind me. The woman stopped laughing mid-sentence and glanced over her shoulder. Nolan followed her gaze.

When his brown eyes met mine, his face shifted. I expected panic. I expected guilt. Instead, a flicker of mild, unmistakable annoyance crossed his features. It was the look of a man irritated by a scheduling conflict, not a husband caught red-handed by his wife.

I tore my gaze away from his face and focused entirely on the woman.

She looked at me without an ounce of shame. The distinct tilt of her head. The familiar curve of her jaw. The shape of her eyes when her smile faded. A sickening wave of realization crashed over me, pulling the floor from beneath my feet.

It was Lydia Mercer.

My mind reeled, dragging up buried memories from our college years. She was the popular, wealthy girl who wrapped Nolan around her finger. He spent years chasing her, treating her like royalty. Then, the moment he lost his financial backing, she dropped him without a second thought. She humiliated him and made him a campus laughingstock.

I spent years picking up those shattered pieces. I gave up my own dreams so he could rebuild his pride and his empire. I had prayed I would never have to hear her name or see her smirking face again.

And here she was. Sitting mere inches from my husband in his private office, touching his arm like she still owned him.

The lingering sadness inside me vanished, replaced by a freezing, absolute ice. I stood planted near the doorframe, my hand clenching so fiercely around the metal casing of the USB drive I thought it would snap in two.