Relationship matters

Someone knew she was cheating. But did her husband?

Martha stared in disbelief at the comment someone she' d never heard of had written under her latest blog post. Stop cheating!

Who was #daisyflower? What did she know?

Her phone shrilled insistently. She gazed in dismay. It was her boss.

You' d better have a good explanation,' Anne said. Not beating about the bush.

Martha could hear the quiver in her voice as she said: It' s not true. You' ve got to believe me.'

I' d like to believe you,' she said. But I can' t really afford to, can I?'

Even as she spoke, a second comment appeared. Hypocrite!

Martha' s head reeled.

She' d been so careful.

Take those comments down immediately and then come into my office,' ordered Anne. We need to talk.'

Martha stared uncomprehendingly at her computer screen. Her world seemed to be toppling down around her ears.

She' d been writing the weekly blog posts for Anne' s business for nearly a year. There' d never been any adverse comments. Not until today.

Then again, there' d never been a reason for anyone to accuse her of being a cheating hypocrite¼

She deleted the two comments, hoping desperately that #daisyflower would turn her attention elsewhere. Surely she was simply a troll, with nothing better to do than tip verbal gunk on to other people' s online presences?

With a sinking heart, she rose to her feet and walked down the corridor to

Anne' s office. She was one of four psychologists who worked in Anne' s practice, Relationship Matters.

What do you have to say for yourself?' demanded Anne. Her coffee sat untouched on her desk.

All I can say is that this isn' t true.'

There was a long pause.

Then Anne picked up her mug and took a sip of the coffee. Her shoulders seemed to relax.

I should hope so,' she said, in a softer tone of voice. What can we do about it?'

I' ve deleted the comments,' Martha said.

Yes, but there' s no way of knowing whether this #daisyflower will keep posting things like this.'

Well, I don' t see how we can do much about it. People are free to post pretty much whatever they want. They' re under no obligation to tell the truth.'

I thought there were ways to moderate blog comments? You know, check them before they appear?' Anne said. I' ve got the company' s reputation to consider.'

This is the first time there' s been an issue. We need to decide whether to allow negative comments,' Martha said. Some blogs let people complain, even about something silly, then they respond, politely dismantling the complaint. But the choice is ours.'

Well, the ball' s in your court,' Anne said. But I don' t want to see any more negative comments like these. Find out who this is and put her straight.'

And she indicated that Martha was to leave.

She hesitated in the doorway. Where will I start?'

Anne put her mug down. I suppose it could be one of our clients?'

Why had she asked? There were nearly 250 clients

ÔI donÕ t want to see any more negative comments like these. Find out who this is and put her straight

currently on their books. Most of them were in difficult relationships, or had recently escaped from one. Was she supposed to phone each client? That' d be a waste of time. As if the offender would answer truthfully.

As she slumped back into her chair, another comment appeared.

Does your husband know? She swiftly deleted the comment.

No, Justin didn' t know. Reliable boring Justin, who' d never dream of straying from the marital path. But who' d unwittingly led her on the path to temptation. It was at the annual Christmas party of the law firm where Justin worked. Manu was the and friend' of one of his female colleagues.

She couldn' t help smiling at the memory. She' d expected a tedious evening waiting for a respectable time to leave. Instead, their eyes had locked across a noisy room. Time had stood still. Yes, just like in the movies.

He' d smiled. At that moment, Justin had seen an old friend and left her standing there. Manu' s eyes asked if he could join her. She couldn' t say no.

And she still couldn' t.

But who could have found out? And how did they know she had a husband?

She opened the file of clients and started working her way down the list. Surely it had to be one of these?

She didn' t recognise most of the names. Only 23 of them were her own clients. She had other duties, managing the blog and also the company' s Facebook page. She flinched. Would she find comments there too? Pulse quickening, she checked. Thankfully, nothing. At least not yet. That was something to be grateful for.

After that day, she was more careful. I can' t see you this week,' she told a surprised Manu.

She played the role of dutiful wife that week, as if #daisyflower was watching her every move. Making Justin' s favourite lamb rogan josh or Thai chicken curry in the slow cooker before heading to work. Going straight home at five o' clock. Watering the garden, just in case someone was spying on her. She even went grocery shopping with Justin on Saturday morning instead of going to the gym.

It seemed to work. There were no further comments from #daisyflower that week.

I can' t keep this up,' she said to herself.

Surely there' d be opportunities for them to get together without someone called #daisyflower knowing?

She phoned Manu the following Thursday. Justin had texted to say he' d been called to a meeting that would run very late.

After work, she went to Manu' s riverside apartment. They sat out on the balcony enjoying the lights of the city reflected on the inky water, her head resting on his shoulder. Then their lips had met.

There was a photo of the two of them on the Relationships Matter blog the following morning. No comment, just the image.

Her stomach lurched. Someone on the street below had photographed them, zooming in to capture her infidelity.

This time the photo went viral. Suddenly the blog was being talked about. That first day there were 345 shares and umpteen comments. After that, it was on a roll.

She stopped counting when shares passed 1000.

She expected Anne to read her the riot act, maybe even sack her. But to her surprise, her boss seemed pleased about it. We' ve never had so much publicity,' she said. If things carry on at this rate,

I' ll need more staff.'

Martha had been expecting the worst. Anne had secured dozens of new clients. The phones hadn' t stopped ringing.

Of course, Justin had seen the photo.

Friend of yours?' was all he said that evening over dinner. He didn' t need to say more than that. He knew. And unlike Anne, there' d be no positives to this knowledge.

He seemed sad more than angry.

Her first thought was: He's known all along.

But how could he?

There was no denying the relationship now.

Would you like me to leave?' she asked softly.

He stood with his back to her. The way her Siamese cat did when he was offended.

Is there really nothing left?' he said at last. Nothing to stay for?'

And then he turned to face her, the hurt in his eyes going right through her.

Manu had never looked at her like that. And she knew in her heart that he never would. This was a fling. And for him, it wasn' t the first. It was fun, something that had a beginning, a middle and an end. Had the photo already spelt the end? Even as that thought crossed her mind, she knew it wouldn' t be long before Manu would smile across a busy room at another woman, someone ready to be whisked away into the aura of romance he kindled.

Nothing had prepared her for this moment. Least of all the many hours she' d spent counselling couples where one had gone astray. The reality was raw, painful, embarrassing and foolish. There was no emotional distance for her to occupy.

Would you let me stay?' she asked, afraid to meet those hurt eyes.

That' s what I' ve been asking myself these past few weeks,' he said. I want you to stay. And I want you to go. And I want to run away myself. But¼

She waited for him to continue.

But mostly I want to be able to trust you again.'

I want to be able to trust myself too,' she said in a small voice.

Without saying anything else, he put on his running shoes. As he headed out, she slumped on to the sofa.

Beside her was his laptop. She heard it pinging. He was getting a lot of notifications.

She glanced down. And that' s when she saw it. Had he meant her to?

It took a few seconds for the penny to drop.

Justin was #daisyflower.

WeÕ ve never had so much publicity. If things carry on at this rate, IÕ ll need more staffÕ