The first time a blocked number called my husband, I almost ignored it. By the third call, I answered — and a woman screamed that my husband had ruined her life while a baby cried in the background. I agreed to meet her, afraid I was about to discover he’d cheated, but the truth was far worse.

The first time Mark’s phone rang, I almost ignored it. I opened my eyes and looked at the clock. 2:14 a.m.

For a second, I just lay there, half awake, staring at the glow from the nightstand. Mark was flat on his back beside me, breathing heavy, dead to the world. My husband could sleep through anything.

I was just settling down to go back to sleep when Mark’s phone went off again. I pushed myself up and peered over at his phone. Blocked Number.

The ringing stopped.Silence settled back into the room, but now I was wide awake, staring at the ceiling and listening to Mark breathe. Then the phone started again. 2:17 a.m.

I nudged my husband’s shoulder. “Mark. Your phone.”

He made a noise that barely counted as human speech, rolled over, and kept sleeping.

“Mark!” I kept trying to wake him until the phone stopped ringing. Then it started again. 2:20 a.m.

Then I was getting worried. Nobody called three times in the middle of the night unless something had gone very wrong. Before I could talk myself out of it, I grabbed the phone.

“Hel—”

“MARK, STOP IGNORING ME!”

The shout caught me off guard. It was a woman’s voice, young, rough with tears, and furious in a way that sounded past anger and into desperation. “Take responsibility!” She continued.