I really didn't expect that something like this would ever happen to me.
Where should I start the story?
Let's start from the night when I discovered that my husband was cheating on me.
That night, as usual, I took a shower, dried my hair, and sat in front of the computer. Then, I noticed that my husband's WhatsApp was still open, and he hadn't logged out yet. Just as I was about to casually log him out, his WhatsApp suddenly lit up. On a whim, I clicked to take a look.
The moment I saw the message that came through on WhatsApp, I was instantly furious!
[Babe, pick me up at 5 pm tomorrow, by the way, your wife won't mind, right? jpg: smile]
Instantly, my hands touched the keyboard, and I wanted to question the ancestry of that shameless bitch on the other side, but when I typed out a bunch of curses, not only did they not send, but I also deleted them.
This woman may not be the only one that scumbag was chatting with, there might be others!
Thinking of this, I exited the chat with that woman and slowly scrolled down the chat list with my mouse.
You never know until you look!
As I scrolled down, I was shocked!
The list below was filled with conversations between my husband and these women, chatting obscenely. Those chat records were simply unbearable.
I never expected that someone as honest as him would betray me!
Angry to the extreme, I didn't explode. Instead, I miraculously calmed down. I took out my phone and took pictures of all the obscene chats between my husband and these women.
As I took the pictures, my heart gradually cooled and quieted.
"Honey, can you bring me the clothes from the bed?" At that moment, my husband's voice came from the bathroom. Instinctively, I marked the message I had just read as unread, restored WhatsApp to its original state, leaving no trace, and then replied, "Coming."
This evidence of obscene chatting can't fully prove that this scumbag betrayed me. I still need to collect more evidence to completely bring him down.
No matter how furious I was in my heart, I still brought him the clothes!
That night, as usual, he wanted to sleep with me, but I pushed him away, saying I was tired, and went to sleep in another empty room. I said I was going to sleep, but in reality, I tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, my pillow wet with tears.
Ten years.
I've been married to him for a full ten years.
Just a month before our ten-year wedding anniversary, I discovered that this man had betrayed me, betrayed our marriage.
How ridiculous!
That night, I really thought a lot, about the past, the present, and whether we still have a future together.
As a result, I stayed up all night.
The next day, as soon as the sky brightened, I got up, washed up, and prepared breakfast as usual. While he was washing up, I secretly installed a phone tracking app on his phone. After everything was set up, I put the prepared dishes on the table as usual, waiting for him to finish washing up and have breakfast before going to work.
After he left home, I continued to tidy up the house, hang the laundry, take out the trash, buy groceries, and prepare lunch... I did everything in an orderly manner as usual.
Everything was as usual, not a bit changed, except for my originally calm, warm heart that had become chaotic, cold, and helpless.
After finishing everything, I sat dazed on the sofa, as if I had lost my soul.
Time passed bit by bit, and since becoming a full-time housewife after getting pregnant six years ago, this was the first time I had seriously groomed and dressed up before going out. As soon as I went out, I opened the tracking app and located my husband's position, then hailed a taxi and asked the driver to follow my husband based on the location.
It's worth mentioning that the taxi driver was a woman. When she asked why I was following my husband, I calmly replied: "To catch him cheating!"
The woman seemed to want to say something but didn't. However, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a fiery glow in her eyes the moment she heard my words "catch him cheating."
That fiery glow - I don't know if it was gossip or shared resentment.
And she drove like a race car driver from a novel, smoothly weaving through traffic, drifting, and sticking close to my husband's car. At this time, it was just around five o'clock.
I saw my husband's car pull up in front of a residential area, right on time. At the same time, I saw a woman dressed in fancy clothes, with a slender figure and beautiful face, walk out of the community and stand in front of my husband's car. After a brief chat, she got into my husband's car.
The woman driver didn't say a word at that moment, but occasionally glanced at me with sympathy in her eyes.
Over two hours later, my husband's car stopped in front of a luxury residential area, and the woman got out of the car. After another brief chat with my husband, she left.
My husband's car stayed there for a while before heading in another direction.
These customers were all beautiful women, each dressed glamorously, and their destinations were all luxurious residential areas. Without exception.
By the way, to pay the mortgage, my husband works part-time as a Didi driver in addition to his regular job.
'Hey sis, you still following?' The sister asked me cautiously.
'No more,' I closed my eyes. 'Just take me to XX Residential Area.'
Back home, I took off my makeup and had a shower, trying to console and convince myself that maybe my husband was just picking up female customers, trying hard not to overthink it, trying hard to give him an excuse.
I muttered to myself, 'After all, he was just giving rides to female customers! He didn't do anything inappropriate!'
But no matter how I tried to convince myself, my mind was still filled with the flirtatious messages between my husband and those women - things he had never said to me even when we were in our honeymoon phase. My heart was still smoldering with suspicion and anger, still gripping that flame.
That night, my husband didn't come home until nearly midnight.
As usual when he got home, he kissed me and caressed me.
But I felt no warmth, only disgust. So I pushed him away and went straight to the bedroom, leaving my husband alone in the living room in a daze.
Day after day passed.
And day after day, I secretly followed my husband, watching him pick up and drop off all kinds of beautiful women every day, and chat with them flirtatiously when he got home.
Day after day. Time after time.
On our tenth wedding anniversary, I decided to confront him.
I didn't want to continue living this way, with endless suspicion and torturous uncertainty.
That day, before he left for work, I asked him to come straight home after his shift. He readily agreed with a delighted look on his face, even giving me a mischievous smile, and then left home.
In the afternoon, after getting a spa treatment, I returned home and prepared a sumptuous dinner, dressed in a beautiful new dress.
Tonight, my husband and I would part ways, for better or worse!
Minute by minute, second by second, time ticked by as my husband's shift neared its end.
Around 6:40 PM, the door opened. My husband walked in, and I clenched my fists nervously, repeatedly bracing myself: Stay calm, don't get angry, let's part amicably.
That night, my husband picked up more than ten people.
"Honey, you look so beautiful today."
Facing his praise, I smiled as if nothing had happened before. I went up to help him take off his suit jacket, my gaze lingering on the lipstick stain on the inside of his shirt collar for a moment. Then, as if nothing had happened, I hung the clothes on a side hanger and called out for him to wash his hands and prepare for dinner.
As he washed his hands, I turned to bring the hot dishes from the kitchen to the table.
The original hesitation in my heart had turned into determination after seeing the lipstick stain on his suit. After dinner, I would tell him about getting a divorce.
The winter night always comes early. Lighting the candles and turning off the lights, the room flickered in candlelight while outside was the hustle and bustle of traffic and city lights that had nothing to do with us. I faced my soon-to-be ex-husband and our soon-to-be broken family, and my heart that had nowhere to rest but had to be strong.
Looking at the flickering candlelight blown by the wind and his face with a mysterious smile, I closed my eyes, unable to bear it, but in the end, I didn't ruin his appetite at that moment.
Wait!
I'll tell him after dinner.
With my determination set, I opened my eyes, quietly finished my meal, put down my chopsticks, and the words hesitated and choked in my mouth for a moment before I finally spoke: "Mateo, there's something I want to tell you."
"Brooklyn, I have something to tell you!"
Again, we spoke in unison: "You go first!"
I closed my eyes, smiled bitterly, took a deep breath: "Okay, I'll go first."
Opening my eyes again, I locked my gaze with my husband's eyes: "Mateo, let's get a divorce!" I said in one breath and blurted out all the words I had prepared: "I know you've been cheating. This is something I cannot forgive! We once said that if one of us fell out of love, we wouldn't hold each other back and would set each other free. Now, please set me free."
"Brooklyn, let me explain." He immediately knelt in front of me, his face filled with shock. Then he fumbled in his pants pocket and took out an exquisite, red velvet jewelry box, opening it in front of me. Inside the box lay a blue diamond ring.
"Brooklyn, all these years, the reason I've been coming home late and flirting with other women on WhatsApp is that I was taking on more clients to earn extra money, just to buy you a diamond ring for our tenth wedding anniversary. I originally just wanted to surprise you, but I never thought..."
Seeing the ring lying in the box in his hands and hearing his sincere explanation, I covered my mouth, frozen in place, tears flowing uncontrollably.
So this was the truth?
I was the one who wronged him all along!
I couldn't hold back anymore. I hugged him tightly, crying and sobbing: "Say no more, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have accused you without knowing the facts. I'm sorry!"
I knelt down, kissing him emotionally while apologizing over and over.
He comforted me with a gentle tone, responding to my passionate kisses.
After a night of passion, I felt like I was falling apart as I got up. I happily cleaned up the leftover chopsticks, bowls, and plates from last night's candlelight dinner. After washing them, I came to the door and picked up my husband's suit, intending to wash it for him. However, when my gaze fell upon the lipstick stain on the collar, I froze as if electrocuted. The suit fell from my hands to the floor, unnoticed.
Looking at the diamond ring flashing blue in the sunlight, I let out a bitter laugh.
Am I overthinking this? Should I doubt him? The trust we've finally managed to repair, will it truly be shattered by this lipstick stain on the inside of his suit collar?
I kept questioning myself, trying to convince myself that I should trust my husband.
Yet the more I tried to persuade myself, the more my inner unease grew like a black hole, rapidly expanding as it absorbed the negative emotions from when I followed my husband and saw everything.
Doubt.
Anxiety.
Confusion.
Pain.
At that moment, I was completely flustered and lost.
I took deep breaths, holding back the tears that threatened to fall from my eyes.
