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A High School Party Led Me to My Wife… and to a Secret That Shattered Everything | Reddit Stories
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Jun 20, 2025
#redditrelationship #aita #redditstories A High School Party Led Me to My Wife… and to a Secret That Shattered Everything | Reddit Stories Hey Reddit Unheard Stories fam — Ethan Carter here 👋 This is the most personal, gut-punching story I've ever told. It starts with a reckless high school party in rural Missouri and ends with love, betrayal, a devastating family secret… and maybe a second chance at happiness. I met my wife Abby at 16. We built a life, a family, a farm, a future. But behind it all was a secret so shocking it nearly destroyed everything. If you’ve ever loved hard, lost even harder, and found yourself standing in the rubble — this one’s for you. 💬 Drop your own story in the comments. I read every one. 👍 Like if you felt the pain. 📌 Subscribe for more true stories everyday.
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0:00
hey there Reddit Unheard Stories folks
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It's Ethan Carter and I've got a story
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that's been burning a hole in my heart
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for years It's about how a reckless high
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school party on my family's farm outside
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Jackson Missouri led me to meet my wife
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Abby and set off a chain of events that
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shaped my whole life Love betrayal loss
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and maybe even a second chance This
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one's a long haul so grab a cold drink
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settle in and let's take this ride
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together
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If you vibe with this tale drop your own
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in the comments I'm all ears for your
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unheard stories I'm 16 a junior at
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Jackson High living on my parents' 250
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acre farm where we grow corn hay and a
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few Christmas trees on the side It's
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1998 and I'm feeling like I own the
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world My parents William and Margaret
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are heading out of town for a weekend
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leaving me in charge of the farm Big
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mistake I decide to throw a party for my
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buddies Think bonfires country music
1:01
blasting from a boom box and kids
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sneaking into the barn to make out I
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convince a guy who works for us a family
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friend named Rusty to grab a couple
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bottles of sour mash whiskey from the
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liquor store Yeah not my proudest moment
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but I was a dumb kid My cousin Caleb
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Miller a sophomore who thinks he's
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tougher than he is shows up ready to
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party The night's going great Stars are
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out fires crackling and we're all
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laughing like we're in a John Hughes
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movie But Caleb he hits the whiskey hard
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and fast Within an hour he's stumbling
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around slurring his words and trying to
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arm wrestle a fence post I'm not about
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to let him drive his beatup Chevy home
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so I snag his keys He's pissed yelling
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that he's fine but I stand my ground
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Then this genius decides he's going to
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walk the 5 miles to his house It's pitch
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black No sidewalk just a gravel road I
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figure he'll crash in the grass and
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sleep it off so I let him go Worst call
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I ever made About an hour later my buddy
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Nate calls me saying some girl found
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Caleb a mile down the road crawling
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through a ditch while she was grabbing
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her family's mail He's so plastered he
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can't stand muttering nonsense about
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showing me who's boss
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That girl is Abby Fontino and she's
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about to flip my world upside down Abby
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being the good soul she is loads Caleb
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into her dad's truck and drives him to
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his parents' place My aunt Linda and
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Uncle Joe Linda my dad's sister goes
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ballistic She's screaming about how I'm
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a bad influence how Caleb could have
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died and how I've shamed the family By
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the next morning my parents are back and
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I'm in the doghouse They're convinced I
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betrayed their trust And no amount of
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explaining that I took Caleb's keys to
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keep him safe changes their mind I'm
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grounded for a month No phone no car
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just chores in school That mess shakes
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me up I start seeing people in a new
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light wondering who's really got my back
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and who's just waiting to point fingers
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My dad William notices I'm different He
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says I'm walking heavier like I've got
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the weight of the world on my shoulders
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He's not wrong I'm starting to learn
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that sometimes the truth doesn't matter
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as much as what people believe But
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life's got a way of keeping you on your
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toes And that's where Abby comes into
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the picture A few days after the party
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I'm in the school hallway after lunch
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grabbing books from my locker when this
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girl walks up to me She's got long
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auburn hair that catches the light hazel
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eyes that could stop a train and a don't
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mess with me vibe
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It's Abby Fontinote and she's on a
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mission She starts chewing me out about
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the wild parties at my farm saying she
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heard there were girls running around
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half-dressed and how she found my cousin
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in a ditch near her house I'm thinking
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"Wo this is way off." But I don't set
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her straight In a town like Jackson
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rumors spread faster than a brush fire
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and I'm already on thin ice So I flash a
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cocky grin and say "Sounds like you're
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curious Want to come to the next one?"
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Her cheeks go pink and she snaps
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I'm not that kind of girl Ethan Carter I
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lean in teasing Maybe not but you're
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standing here talking to me so you're at
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least a little interested I swear I see
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a tiny smile before she slaps me across
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the face and storms off down the hall
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I'm rubbing my cheek laughing to myself
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because I know I got under her skin And
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just like that it's game on From that
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moment Abby and I are like two dogs
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chasing each other's tails I'm giving
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her these looks in the hallways letting
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her know I'm checking her out Yeah I was
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that obnoxious Her friends catch on
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quick and start playing hungry eyes on
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their flip phones whenever I walk by
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giggling like it's the funniest thing
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ever Aby's fuming tossing out cinjun
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French curse words she learned from her
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grandma But I can tell she's into the
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game She's 5'6 with curves that make my
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teenage brain short circuit and this
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fiery attitude that pulls me in like a
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magnet I'm just a dumb kid honest enough
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to admit I'm hooked We keep this flirty
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tugofwar going through senior year
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She's telling everyone we'll date when
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pigs fly but her friends are teasing her
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non-stop about me
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One day she shows up in this low cut
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blouse that hugs her figure and I let
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out a wolf whistle that echoes through
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the school Every guy in the hallway is
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sneaking glances and I'm pretty sure
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she's soaking up the attention even if
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she shoots me a death glare I'm having a
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blast pushing her buttons and she's
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dishing it right back
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Once she catches me staring and mutters
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something in Cinjun French so fast I
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can't keep up But the smirk on her face
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tells me she's enjoying this as much as
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I am By graduation time Aby's
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validictorian and I'm saludiatoran right
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behind her We're rehearsing for the
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ceremony in the auditorium and I'm
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feeling bold
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Backstage I slide my hand over her hip
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whisper something totally out of line
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and yep she slaps me again But this time
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I don't back off I pull her close look
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into those hazel eyes and kiss her hard
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I'm pouring everything into it Every
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tease every glance every moment we've
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been circling each other To my shock she
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kisses me back pushing me against the
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wall like she's been holding this in for
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months When we pull apart she's
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breathing heavy and she says "I've been
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waiting for you to grow a spine Ethan."
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That's it We're a couple We're sneaking
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off to Dairy Queen for Blizzards holding
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hands at school dances and spending
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afternoons in the hoft at my farm We
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keep it PG when my parents are around
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But those moments with Abby they're
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electric Her dad Raymond Fontino is a
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tough guy 6'5 built like a linebacker
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with a stare that could melt steel
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He's old school protective of his only
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daughter But I win him over by showing
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up on time looking him in the eye and
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bringing Abby a corsage I made from
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flowers in our family's nursery Years
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later when I ask for her hand in
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marriage he gives his blessing without a
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fight Abby and I build a life together I
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dive into the family business expanding
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our farm into a big operation with
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Christmas trees organic produce and
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green houses Abby becomes a nurse
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practitioner at Southeast Missouri
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Hospital We have three kids Ellie Noah
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and Mason And for a long time life's
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good We're the couple everyone in
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Jackson envys or so I think But looking
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back that party that moment I met Abby
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set everything in motion It taught me
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about trust about love and how sometimes
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the dumbest mistakes lead to the wildest
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stories Fast forward 14 years and cracks
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are starting to show My cousin Caleb now
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married to Hannah Reed pulls me aside at
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a family barbecue
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They're worried about me saying Aby's
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been acting different bossing me around
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treating me like I'm second string in my
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own marriage Hannah even hints that Abby
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might be seeing someone else I laugh it
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off at first Aby's always been strong
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willed but their words stick with me One
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night I can't take it anymore I confront
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Abby and it blows up into the biggest
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fight we've ever had I'm shouting she's
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crying and I end up on the couch In a
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moment of anger I do something I regret
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I spank her like I would one of the kids
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for acting out
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She storms to the bedroom locks the door
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and I'm left feeling like the world's
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biggest jerk The next morning Aby's
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walking on eggshells and I'm still mad I
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head to the office at our farm where
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we've got 48 green houses now pumping
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out lettuce cucumbers and bok choy While
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I'm there I start digging trying to
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figure out when our marriage went off
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the rails That's when I find it A
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bracelet in her dresser 18 karat gold
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with 16 custom charms each one worth a
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small fortune
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I didn't buy it The charms are intimate
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the kind you hide from the world and I
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know they're from someone else
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My heart sinks Caleb and Hannah were
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right I don't confront Abby but I hire
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private investigators to get answers
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I've got a 3-week business trip coming
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up visiting company offices in the US
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Canada and Mexico to sign contracts So I
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figure it's the perfect time to let them
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dig I act normal at home but Aby's on
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edge like she's waiting for me to drop a
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bomb
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While I'm away my daughter Ellie calls
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saying "Aby's tearing the house apart
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looking for something I play dumb but I
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know it's the bracelet." Then everything
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falls apart My dad William who's been a
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shell of himself since my mom Margaret
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passed 8 years ago drowns in a freak
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accident at the pond on our farm The
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police say an alligator probably
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someone's illegal pet got him
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Abby was there unharmed but hysterical
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I'm in Toronto when I get the call and I
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booked the first flight home trying to
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process losing my dad But something's
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off Why was Abby with him at the pond
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why were they swimming together alone in
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the middle of the day before I can
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confront her another blow hits
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Aby's at home grieving when a gas
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explosion levels part of our house She
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doesn't make it out I'm on a plane back
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to Missouri numb trying to wrap my head
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around losing my dad and my wife in a
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week My kids are with Aby's parents and
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her dad Raymond meets me at the airport
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He's a giant of a man with a slow draw
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that hides a razor sharp mind
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He tells me the police found blackmail
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notes in my dad's office hinting at an
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affair between him and Abby The bracelet
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the notes the pond it all clicks My dad
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was her lover and it's been going on for
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years I'm gutted but I hold it together
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for Ellie Noah and Mason
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At the funeral I hand over the prenup
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Abby and I signed Raymond insisted on it
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to protect her inheritance and the
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investigator's report
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It proves I had no reason to hurt them
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shutting down any suspicion Raymond and
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I share a beer on his patio and he tells
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me he's leaving everything to the kids
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in a trust with me in charge until
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they're 30 I nod and say Karma's got a
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way of sorting things out doesn't it he
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smiles and says he always knew I was a
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sharp guy A few weeks later I'm at
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Macy's with the kids buying clothes to
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replace what we lost in the explosion I
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run into Clare Bennett Hannah's sister
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who works for our company She's a
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military widow raising her daughter
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alone and she's always been kind The
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kids adore her and Ellie insists Clare
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come to our temporary home my dad's old
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place to help pick out a new wardrobe
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Clare hesitates not wanting to overstep
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but Ellie's not backing down We spend
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hours shopping and I invite Clare to
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dinner to say thanks The kids are
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thrilled and when we get home Ellie asks
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"Dad are you going to ask her out for
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real that question's still out there
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floating like a promise I'm not sure I'm
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ready to keep
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I don't know what's next for me and
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Claire but for the first time in years I
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feel a flicker of hope Life's taken me
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from a stupid high school party to love
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loss and now maybe a new beginning
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That's my story Reddit Unheard Stories
12:46
What's yours drop it in the comments and
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let's keep these tales
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