And then he told me the truth.

It turned out that Mark had been fired almost two years earlier. He hadn’t told anyone. First, he tried to find another job. Then he started taking out loans. And when the money ran out, he made a choice that changed everything.

Over the past two years, he had been breaking into houses. He selected vacant properties, observed the residents, broke in at night, and took everything of value. He sold some items immediately and kept the rest in our country house to sell them gradually without arousing suspicion.

I looked at the man I had lived with and did not recognize him. The house I had considered safe had become a storage place for stolen goods. The person I trusted was leading a double life and risking his freedom every day.

At that moment, I realized something: I would rather he had a mistress. For this truth was much more terrifying.