Adam and I’d been married for 10 years. We’d finish each other’s complaints, forget birthdays but never coffee orders, and share the same old blanket that never covered both our feet.
We’d been through sick nights, silent fights, and tight months that stretched too long. But we always slept in the same bed… always.
So, when he cleared his throat one night and said, “Claire, I think I need to start sleeping in the guest room,” I was stunned.
“What? Why?”
A shocked woman | Source: Midjourney
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Babe, it’s the snoring. It’s been bad again. I just… I need a full night of sleep. You know how I get when I’m running on fumes.”
I tried to keep it light. “You’ve survived 10 years of my snoring.”
“I know, but lately…” he trailed off, already grabbing his pillow. “Just a few nights. That’s all.”
That night, I fell asleep hugging his empty space. I told myself it wasn’t a big deal.
But the next night, he slept there again. And again.
By the end of the first week, I noticed his things starting to disappear from our bedroom. His watch vanished from the nightstand. His slippers were gone from beside the bed. His favorite navy hoodie, the one he always wore on lazy Sundays, was nowhere to be found.
I discovered them all later, neatly arranged in the guest room like he’d been planning this migration all along.
A bedroom | Source: Unsplash
“Adam, are you ever coming back?” I asked one evening.
He was scrolling through his phone, not quite looking at me. “Of course. I just need a little more time to catch up on sleep. You understand, right?”
I wanted to understand. I tried. But something about how he said it, avoiding my eyes, made my stomach twist.
“How long’s ‘a little more time’?”
“I don’t know, Claire. Can we not make this a big deal? I’m doing this for us. So I can be better at work, bring home a steady income… and be a better husband.”
The words sounded rehearsed.
“It feels like a big deal to me, Addy. We’ve never slept apart. Not in 10 years. Not once.”
“I know.” He finally looked at me. “But I really need this right now.”
A distressed man | Source: Midjourney
I became obsessed with fixing my snoring problem. If that’s what was pushing him away, then I’d solve it. Simple.
I bought nasal strips from three different brands. I tried sleeping on my side, then on my stomach, then propped up on an army of pillows. I drank chamomile tea before bed. I even bought an expensive essential oil diffuser that promised “restful, quiet sleep.”
Nothing worked. At least, according to Adam, nothing worked.
“Still hearing it,” he’d say in the morning, looking tired. Dark circles had formed under his eyes, making him look older than his 38 years. “Maybe you should see a doctor?”
I started feeling guilty. Maybe I really was keeping him awake. Maybe this was all my fault. The thought gnawed at me during the day while I worked from home, alone in our too-quiet house.
Grayscale shot of a depressed woman | Source: Pexels
Our friends had started to notice something was off. My best friend Sarah called one afternoon, her voice concerned.
“You sound exhausted. Is everything okay with you and Adam?”
“Fine,” I lied. “Just some sleep issues.”
“Sleep issues? You two have always slept like rocks.”
“Things change, I guess.”
There was a pause at the other end. “Claire, if something’s wrong…”
“Nothing’s wrong. I have to go. Talk soon.”
A woman talking on the phone | Source: Unsplash
I hung up before she could press further. I didn’t want to explain that my husband had essentially moved out of our bedroom. That we were living like roommates who occasionally shared meals. That the distance between us felt like it was growing every single day.
So, I made an appointment with Dr. Patterson. She listened patiently as I explained the situation, nodding occasionally and making notes.
“Have you actually heard yourself snoring?” she asked. “Or are you going off what your husband’s told you?”
I paused. “I mean, no. I’m asleep. But he wouldn’t lie about something like this.”
She pulled out a prescription pad, but instead of medication, she wrote down a suggestion. “Before we do a sleep study, try recording yourself for a few nights. Use your phone or get a small recorder. Let’s see what we’re actually dealing with. Sometimes people think they snore when they don’t, or it’s not as severe as they believe.”
A doctor writing down a prescription | Source: Pexels
That evening, I set up a small digital recorder on my nightstand. I felt ridiculous doing it, like I was gathering evidence for some weird court case against my own breathing. I didn’t tell Adam about it.
I pressed the record button and climbed into bed, feeling more alone than I’d felt in years.
The next morning, I woke up with a strange sense of anticipation. Finally, I’d have proof of what was wrong. We could fix this and get back to normal.
I made myself a strong cup of coffee, climbed back into bed, and pressed play.
At first, there was nothing. Just the ambient sounds of a house at night. The heater kicked on. The soft rustle of sheets when I shifted position. My breathing, steady and quiet.
No snoring.
A person holding a voice recorder | Source: Unsplash
I fast-forwarded, listening carefully. Still nothing. Just my normal breathing, maybe a small sigh here and there, but nothing that would keep anyone awake.
Maybe I needed to record for more nights. Maybe I’d just had a good night.
Then, about 43 minutes into the recording, I heard something that made my blood run cold.
A sound. Faint, but unmistakable.
A child’s laugh.
I turned the volume up, my hands shaking.
It came again. A soft giggle, like someone was being tickled. Then another voice, deeper and gentler.
Adam’s voice.
“Shhh, buddy. We have to be quiet. She’s sleeping.”
My coffee mug slipped from my fingers, spilling across the comforter. I didn’t even notice.
We didn’t have children.
But that laugh…?
A startled woman | Source: Midjourney
I rewound the recording and played it again. And again. Each time, the sound pierced through me like a knife.
My hands were trembling so badly I could barely hold the recorder.
The rest of that day passed in a blur. I couldn’t eat or focus. Couldn’t think about anything except that recording.
That voice. That impossible voice.
I kept replaying it in my head, trying to make sense of what I’d heard. There had to be a logical explanation. Maybe it was the TV. Maybe it was something from outside. Maybe the recorder had picked up some random audio interference.
But Adam’s voice had been so clear: “Shhh, buddy. We have to be quiet.”
Who was he talking to?
An anxious woman lost in thought | Source: Midjourney
I tried calling him at work, but it went straight to voicemail. I hung up without leaving a message. What would I even say? “Hey, I heard weird voices on my sleep recording, and I’m freaking out!”
By the time evening came, I’d worked myself into a state of panic. Adam came home at his usual time, carrying takeout from our favorite Chinese place.
“Thought we could use a break from cooking,” he said, unpacking containers on the kitchen counter.
I watched him move around the kitchen, this man I’d known for over a decade, and he suddenly felt like a stranger.
“How was your day?” I asked, my voice sounding hollow.
“Long. Meetings back to back. Yours?”
“Fine.”
We ate in near silence, the clinking of forks against plates the only sound. He didn’t ask about the recording. I didn’t volunteer any information.