Hang Up on the Seductive Caller

This is a collaborative choose your own adventure story. Click here for the chapter guide. Go back to chapter 1 by Linden Schneider here. Return to the previous chapter here.

Damn it. You’ve had enough with Varia bragging about having sex with your partner.

Though it’s unclear whether it happened in the past or is still going on. Your partner adamantly denies it, but who knows?

Nevertheless, this is such a melodramatic tale. Most likely, they’re just a scam caller looking for money. So you slam your finger down on the red button.

You breathe a sigh of relief. Your partner looks like they’re trying to stay calm.

So you wrap your arm around their shoulder. “Hey, what utter nonsense, right? Don’t let the loser get to you!”

Your partner gives you a slight, strained smile. “Thank you for having faith in me.”

And you thought that was that.

Yet, ever since that day, odd things have been happening.

At first, you were relieved that your partner seems to have forgotten about Vacation Roulette, or at least doesn’t care enough to ask you anymore.

But later, you find your partner randomly giggling at something on their phone.

When you ask them what’s so funny, they widen their eyes and hastily say, “Nothing.”

They also seem less and less interested in sex lately. When you ask them if they don’t find you attractive anymore, they reassure you, “No, you’re still hot as always. I’m just not feeling it right now. It’s not personal.”

You want to believe that. Maybe that call from Varia shook your self-confidence.

Yet one day, you can’t resist your curiosity anymore. You always believed it was wrong to snoop on your partner’s phone. But you’re desperate for proof that your partner is innocent.

Sure, they can always erase their messages, call history, and files. But if you find nothing, then you’re probably fine, right?

That night, when your partner falls asleep, you kiss them on the cheek, and sneak out into the living room with their phone in hand.

You’re scared yet also a little excited. It’s been a while since anything truly thrilling has happened in your life. Maybe something is happening, and you’ll find answers to spice up — and revive — your marriage.

After keying in your partner’s code that they had given you for emergencies, you scan through their latest texts and calls.

To your dismay, you see several calls with the ID “Varia,” and even a long string of texts from the same person.

You click into the texts. What you see there shocks you to the core.

At first, Varia insists that they are a real person from your partner’s past. They even posted a video. Since you’re a glutton for punishment, you press play to watch all the sordid details.

It turns out that Varia is an exotic dancer, and an especially beautiful one. Jealousy spikes in your gut.

Varia says in the text following that they’re considered a gorgeous woman, but your partner makes her feel ugly. Thrown away and abandoned like a used tissue.

You expect more denials from your partner. But instead, they say that they remember her.

To your astonishment, your partner then sends her another video. This clip was also of Varia. Except this time, she is at home and flirting with the person behind the camera, who has your partner’s voice.

The two of them banter and tease, until Varia starts to disrobe.

But the video cuts off there. You don’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

Then, Varia replies with glee what she called the “follow-up video.” In this video, it continues from the previous one.

Your jaw drops as you see your partner step out from behind the camera. You hold in your breath as your partner and Varia embrace, kiss, and do much more.

You are so transfixed by the video, that you jump when someone taps you on the shoulder.

It’s your partner. They frown and give you a cold look. “What are you doing on my phone?” They clearly see the video that’s still playing, but their face shows nothing but scorn.

You inhale deeply, fury burning inside you. “I’m sorry that I sneaked into your phone. But you’ve been sneaking behind my back, too. How do you explain this?”

Your partner looks at you coolly. Instead of answering, they ask, “Have you read the other text messages?”

You press your lips together in annoyance as you read. You expect to see more sexting and flirting.

But instead, you see Varia trying to get your partner to “hang out,” even to go on vacation with her. Your partner responded no, they’re already married so that would not be appropriate.

Varia whined that they were being a prude and a bore. Your partner ignored her.

Your partner looks smug as you say, “Okay, so you said no to her. But what about the phone calls? There are several, even another call from today. And they sometimes last a whole hour.”

You can’t remember the last time you and your partner got to chat for an hour, despite being married and living together. Your spouse always claimed to be too busy with work to talk much.

But your partner shakes their head, saying, “She is wild and won’t stop ranting. I’m humoring her right now, trying to empathize without giving her what she wants. She sounds desperate and lonely, so I feel sorry for her. Hopefully she’ll lose interest and move on to bother someone else. She’s beautiful so she’ll have no problem finding another.”

You bristle when your partner calls her beautiful, even though she is. “Why did you have to send her that….dancing video, then?”

Your partner laughs. “I wanted to give her some acknowledgment and closure. Giving her that validation might help her let go and move on. She still hasn’t moved on yet, though, so we shall see.”

Do you think your partner is telling the truth?

1. Yes
2. No