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My Wife Cheated on Me 500 Times – And I Stayed for Our Daughter | Reddit Unheard Stories
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Jun 17, 2025
#redditrelationship #aita #redditstories My Wife Cheated on Me 500 Times – And I Stayed for Our Daughter | Reddit Unheard Stories Welcome back to Reddit Unheard Stories, where we dive into real, raw, and unforgettable tales. This story is one of love, betrayal, and heartbreak. It starts like a dream: college sweethearts, a beautiful daughter, and a life built together over 15 years. But beneath the surface, secrets were brewing. Matt thought he had the perfect life — until the night he discovered his wife’s 3-year affair, unfolding into over 500 betrayals. What follows is a painful, powerful journey through rage, heartbreak, fatherhood, and healing. 💔 What would you do in his shoes? 👇 Share your thoughts or similar stories in the comments. 🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe for more unheard stories.
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0:00
hey there Reddit unheard stories
0:02
community welcome back to another deep
0:04
dive into a story that's going to pull
0:06
at your heartstrings
0:08
this one's a long winding tale about
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love betrayal and picking up the pieces
0:13
when your world falls apart it's raw
0:16
it's real and it's packed with emotions
0:19
that might hit close to home for some of
0:21
you so grab a snack maybe a cozy blanket
0:24
and settle in for the journey of Matt
0:26
and Emily a love story that started like
0:29
a dream but ended in a way I never saw
0:31
coming let's get into it two it all
0:34
kicked off during my final year at
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Vanderbilt in Nashville i was just a
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regular guy out with my buddies at a
0:41
local club soaking up the neon lights
0:43
and country tunes blaring through the
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speakers the place was packed the energy
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electric and I was feeling good maybe a
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little too carefree
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that's when I literally crashed into
0:55
Emily's life it was her 21st birthday
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and she was celebrating with her friends
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at a corner table all laughter and
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clinking glasses
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me i was weaving through the crowd not
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paying attention and wham i slammed
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right into her table sending her drink
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splashing into her lap yeah talk about a
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first impression
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i was mortified my face turning redder
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than a Tennessee sunset as I stammered
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out apologies grabbing every napkin in
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sight to help clean up the mess but
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Emily she didn't miss a beat she just
1:28
laughed her hazel eyes catching the
1:30
light and said "Well that's one way to
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say hi."
1:34
Her smile was warm disarming and before
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I knew it we were chatting like old
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friends while we mopped up the spill
1:42
there was this spark between us
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something I couldn't quite put my finger
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on i'm not big on the whole love at
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first sight thing but there was a pull
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like a magnet drawing us together
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i asked for her number half expecting
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her to brush me off but she scribbled it
1:58
on a napkin with a grin that night I
2:00
went home feeling like I just won the
2:02
lottery i'm Matt by the way my friends
2:04
call me Maddie and I was an accounting
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major crunching numbers by day and
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dreaming of making it big emily was
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studying business administration sharp
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as attack and twice as charming we
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started texting then hanging out and
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pretty soon we were inseparable
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coffee dates turned into late night
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talks and before long we were that
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annoying couple who finished each
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other's sentences
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a year later we're standing in a little
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chapel surrounded by family and friends
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saying our vows i looked into her eyes
2:35
and promised forever and I meant every
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word it felt like the start of something
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unbreakable we moved to Atlanta after
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graduation settling into a cozy
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apartment near our families
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i landed a job as a CPA at a big firm
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wearing suits and crunching numbers for
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corporate clients
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emily was my rock always cheering me on
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especially when I took the leap to start
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my own accounting firm those early days
3:01
were brutal long hours tight budgets and
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plenty of stress but Emily was right
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there keeping me grounded making sure I
3:08
ate something other than takeout pizza
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we'd stay up late planning our future
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over cheap wine dreaming about the life
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we'd build together then came the best
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part our daughter Lily when Emily told
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me she was pregnant I swear I could have
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shouted it from the rooftops lily was
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born with Emily's bright eyes and my
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stubborn streak and she became the
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center of our world our life felt like a
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fairy tale straight out of a movie emily
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stayed home to raise Lily turning our
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apartment into a warm welcoming home
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filled with laughter and love i poured
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everything into my firm working late to
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make it a success but coming home to
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Emily and Lily made every sacrifice
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worth it we were that couple you know
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always holding hands stealing kisses in
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the kitchen sharing looks that said
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everything without a word
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our friends used to roll their eyes at
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us saying "Y'all are too much or that
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loveydovey stuff won't last." But for 10
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years it did we were solid unshakable
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our life wasn't perfect but it was close
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we had a nice apartment in an upscale
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complex complete with a country club
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membership we barely used money wasn't a
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worry we were saving for Lily's college
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putting away for retirement and living
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without any major health issues it was
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the kind of life people dream about in
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the bedroom things were simple but
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perfect we'd make love a few times a
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week nothing wild or crazy just us
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connected in a way that felt deep and
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real
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emily loved the little things soft
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touches whispered words moments where
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I'd make her feel like the only person
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in the world it wasn't about putting on
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a show it was about love pure and simple
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we'd cuddle after talking about our day
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or planning some family adventure
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those moments were sacred like a glue
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that held us together through the chaos
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of life when Lily turned 10 Emily
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started feeling antsy
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she'd been an incredible stay-at-home
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mom keeping our home running like a
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welloiled machine but she missed having
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something of her own
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we had long talks about it sprawled out
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on the couch after Lily went to bed she
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wanted to go back to work to feel that
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spark of purpose again i got it emily
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was brilliant and staying home as much
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as she loved it wasn't enough anymore
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we made a plan to ensure Lily still got
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all the attention she needed emily
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landed a job as a personal assistant to
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Richard a lawyer about 10 years older
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than her the hours were perfect she'd be
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home by 4 p.m to pick Lily up from
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school it felt like the stars had
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aligned for a while everything was
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golden my firm was growing lily was
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thriving in school and Emily seemed
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energized by her new job but over time I
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noticed small changes our love life
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slowed down a bit maybe twice a week
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instead of three or four it was still
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good still us but it felt a little more
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routine you know friday and Saturday
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nights became our go-to like clockwork
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emily was still super affectionate
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though she'd wrap me in hugs when I got
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home plant kisses on my cheek while I
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was reading the paper or slip her hand
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into mine during movie nights i'd catch
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her looking at me with that same warmth
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from our college days and it made me
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feel like the luckiest guy alive lily
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joined the math club at school staying
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late a couple of days a week and getting
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home around 5:00 p.m around the same
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time Emily's job started requiring her
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to work late on Tuesdays and Thursdays
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she'd get home around 7 looking tired
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but happy i'd have dinner ready for her
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nothing fancy maybe spaghetti or tacos
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and we'd catch up while Lily did her
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homework
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it all felt normal like just another
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phase of life my firm was doing great
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with 45 employees and a reputation that
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had bigger companies circling us for a
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potential merger emily was still as
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stunning as ever rocking her slim figure
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and those long legs that turned heads
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wherever we went we weren't a flashy
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couple some might have called our life
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boring but we loved it movie nights with
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Lily family barbecues the occasional
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date night at a quiet restaurant
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we were always together never doing the
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whole go out separately thing it just
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wasn't us then one day I got a call from
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Richard Emily's boss he said Emily was
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getting an award for professional
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excellence at a company banquet and Lily
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and I were invited it was a surprise so
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we had to keep it under wraps
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i was over the moon emily worked her
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butt off and knowing her company wanted
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to celebrate her made my chest swell
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with pride lily was just as excited
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practically bouncing at the idea of her
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mom getting recognized
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we got ready for the big night like it
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was a family mission i bought a new suit
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feeling like I needed to look sharp for
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Emily
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lily picked out a cute dress her eyes
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sparkling as she talked about how proud
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she was of her mom emily looked
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incredible in a kneelength dress with a
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subtle back cutout professional but
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showing off her curves in a way that
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made me do a double take
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the event was at the Ritz Carlton
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downtown and Emily was giving a big
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presentation to the whole company she
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didn't know we were there and Lily and I
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were buzzing with anticipation like kids
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waiting to surprise their mom on her
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birthday
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we arrived early and the staff treated
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us like VIPs
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they sat us at a central table with a
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clear view of the stage and everyone we
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met raved about Emily how hardworking
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she was how she lit up the office it
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felt like we were part of something
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special like we were sharing in her
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moment lily squeezed my hand her smile
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so big it could have lit up the room
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when Emily took the stage she was a
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vision
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her voice was steady confident as she
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walked through the company's successes
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over the past year
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she had this glow about her like she was
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born to be up there lily whispered to me
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"Mom's so cool." And I couldn't agree
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more i was so proud my heart felt like
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it might burst
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then Richard got up gave Emily a quick
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hug and announced she was receiving the
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Chairman's Club Award the company's
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highest honor along with a $10,000 check
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emily's eyes filled with tears as she
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accepted the plaque and I swear Lily and
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I were tearing up too the people at our
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table gave us hugs and the room was
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alive with applause and joy it was one
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of those perfect nights the kind you
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replay in your head for years after the
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presentation I offered to grab drinks
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for Lily and me the main bar was packed
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a sea of people waiting for their orders
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but I spotted an empty one near the
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stage i tipped the bartender grabbed a
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Jack and Coke for me and a soda for Lily
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and turned to head back that's when my
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world came crashing down behind the
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curtains I saw a couple locked in a
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passionate embrace their bodies pressed
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close lost in the moment at first I
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thought "Wo get a room folks." But then
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I saw the dress Emily's dress the one
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I'd admired just hours ago my heart
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stopped i stood there drinks in hand
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frozen as I watched my wife kiss Richard
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in a way that was anything but friendly
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it was deep intimate like they'd done
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this a thousand times before the room
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spun i dropped one of the drinks the
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glass shattering on the floor the sound
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cutting through the noise of the banquet
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emily's eyes met mine and her face went
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white like she'd seen a ghost i turned
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and walked back to the table my legs
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moving on autopilot
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my mind was a blur replaying that kiss
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over and over lily noticed something was
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wrong her brow furrowing as I handed her
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the soda i sat down staring at the table
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trying to keep it together emily caught
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up to me her voice low and panicked
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trying to explain but I couldn't hear
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her i nodded my face blank and sat
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through the rest of the night in a days
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that kiss wasn't a one-time thing it was
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too familiar too comfortable it was the
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kind of kiss we hadn't shared in years
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not since the early days of our marriage
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the drive home was torture
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emily and Lily chatted about the night
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but I stayed silent my hands gripping
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the steering wheel so tight my knuckles
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turned white
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emily tried to be extra sweet touching
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my arm asking if I was okay but I pulled
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away
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i couldn't look at her that night I
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barely slept staring at the ceiling my
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heart pounding with betrayal
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the image of Emily and Richard was
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burned into my brain playing on a loop I
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couldn't shut off how long had this been
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going on how could I not have seen it
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the next morning I couldn't hold it in
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anymore
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emily was in the kitchen making coffee
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acting like nothing had happened i
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looked at her my voice low and sharp and
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said "How long?" She froze her hands
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trembling as she set down her mug she
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didn't answer just stared at her hands
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her face pale i couldn't stay there i
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grabbed my keys and left needing air
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needing space i drove to a diner got a
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greasy breakfast I barely touched and
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just sat there trying to make sense of
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it all my wife the love of my life was
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kissing another man the woman who hugged
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me every night who told me she loved me
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who shared my bed how could she do this
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when I got home Emily was on the patio a
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cup of coffee in her hands staring out
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at the lake behind our complex she
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looked small fragile like she knew what
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was coming i poured myself a cup sat
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down across from her and asked again
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"How long?" Tears rolled down her cheeks
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and in a voice so soft I barely heard it
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she whispered "3 years."
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3 years every Tuesday and Thursday when
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she worked late she was with Richard i
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did the math in my head over 300 nights
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probably 500 moments of intimacy behind
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my back my stomach churned bile rising
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in my throat i told her how humiliated I
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felt imagining them laughing at me the
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clueless husband who thought he had it
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all
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she tried to explain her voice shaking
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but I cut her off i couldn't hear it i
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walked away my heart in pieces feeling
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like the ground had been ripped out from
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under me i needed to talk to someone
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anyone so I called my brother Jake he's
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my opposite in a lot of ways rough
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around the edges did 5 years in prison
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for some bad choices back in the day but
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he's always been my rock i told him
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everything spilling my guts about
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Emily's affair how it blindsided me how
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I was drowning in anger and hurt i even
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admitted I wanted Richard to pay to feel
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the kind of pain I was feeling jake
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listened his voice steady and told me to
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cool off hit the gym go for a run
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something to get that anger out he said
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he told me to get all the facts make a
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plan and promised he'd have my back no
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matter what i thanked him feeling a
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little less like I was falling apart
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driving around trying to clear my head I
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passed a mattress store and made a snap
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decision i wasn't leaving Emily until
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Lily was in college that was 2 years
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away but I couldn't sleep next to her
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anymore the thought of sharing a bed
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with her made my skin crawl i walked
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into the store and bought two full-size
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beds to replace our king-size one paying
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extra to have them delivered and set up
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that afternoon i texted Lily to let her
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know I'd pick her up from school and we
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went to lunch at her favorite burger
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joint i didn't want to burden her but
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she deserved the truth i told her gently
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choosing my words carefully that I saw
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her mom kissing Richard backstage and
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that Emily admitted to a three-year
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affair lily's eyes filled with tears but
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she nodded understanding why our family
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was about to change
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when we got home she gave Emily a cold
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hard look and went straight to her room
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without a word emily was waiting for me
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in the living room her eyes red from
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crying
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she asked if I was going to divorce her
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i told her I wasn't sure yet but things
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were different now i laid it all out i'd
15:45
never be intimate with her again that
15:47
her betrayal had killed the closeness
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we'd built over years i even told her
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I'd start seeing other people something
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I'd never imagined saying
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she was stunned collapsing onto the
15:59
couch like I'd hit her with a
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sledgehammer
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when the installers showed up to swap
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out the bed she looked confused her brow
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furrowing
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i explained we'd both stay in our
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bedroom but with separate beds neither
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of us should have to move to the guest
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room she nodded still in shock as the
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installers carried out the bed we'd
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shared for over a decade the next day I
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called Jake again my voice raw as I told
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him about the 500 betrayals
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i was still reeling still angry and I
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wanted Richard to suffer for what he'd
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done
16:31
jake hinted he could call in some favors
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from his old connections guys from his
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past who owed him big he said it'd be
16:38
handled without getting him in trouble i
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told him to be careful but deep down I
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didn't care much i just wanted Richard
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to feel a fraction of the pain I was
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carrying
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weeks later I heard through the
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grapevine that Richard got jumped at his
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house by some guys who didn't say why
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they were in and out leaving him bruised
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and shaken emily brought it up one night
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watching me closely for a reaction i
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just smirked and said "That's
17:06
something." before going back to my book
17:09
she knew I had something to do with it
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but we didn't talk about it again i got
17:14
a text from Jake with a thumbs up emoji
17:16
and that was the last we spoke for
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months life at home was like living in a
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pressure cooker i barely spoke to Emily
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answering her in one-word grunts if I
17:25
answered at all i threw myself into work
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staying late at the office coming home
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after Lily was in bed weekends I'd find
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excuses to be out golfing running
17:36
errands anything to avoid her lily felt
17:39
the tension and it broke my heart to see
17:41
her caught in the middle she'd try to
17:44
act normal but I could tell she was
17:46
hurting too one night Emily sat me down
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her voice soft but desperate she
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suggested quitting her job saying we
17:54
didn't need the extra money and she
17:56
wanted to focus on us i snapped my anger
17:59
boiling over i told her I didn't care
18:02
what she did our marriage was over in
18:04
every way that mattered i was done but
18:07
Emily didn't give up she kept pushing
18:09
saying the toxic vibe in our house was
18:11
hurting Lily she suggested counseling
18:14
not just for us but for Lily's sake i
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didn't want to go didn't want to sit in
18:19
a room and pretend we could fix this but
18:21
I thought about Lily her smile her laugh
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the way she still called me daddy even
18:27
at 15 for her I agreed we started seeing
18:31
Dr harper a therapist with a calm voice
18:33
and a knack for cutting through the
18:35
noise
18:36
emily opened up in our first session
18:39
tears streaming down her face as she
18:40
said she wanted to rebuild our family to
18:43
find a way back to the love we'd lost
18:46
i was honest maybe too honest i told Dr
18:50
harper I needed to get past the 500
18:52
betrayals that haunted me the number
18:54
burned into my mind like a brand emily
18:57
winced her eyes dropping to her lap but
19:00
I didn't hold back i explained how those
19:03
500 moments of infidelity every Tuesday
19:06
and Thursday for 3 years had shattered
19:08
me how every time I saw the number 500
19:11
it was like a punch to the gut dr harper
19:14
nodded her face kind but firm and said
19:16
we needed to focus on healing not just
19:18
for us but for Lily she asked me what I
19:21
wanted and I said I wanted a home
19:23
without hate a place where Lily could
19:25
feel safe i wasn't sure I could forgive
19:28
Emily but I'd try for our daughter
19:31
over the next few weeks things got a
19:33
little better not great but better i
19:37
stopped snapping at Emily started
19:39
speaking in full sentences even if they
19:40
were short we weren't close not by a
19:43
long shot but we were civil friends
19:47
noticed the change though they'd ask
19:49
Emily why we weren't holding hands
19:51
anymore why I didn't kiss her cheek like
19:53
I used to it was obvious something was
19:56
wrong like the light had gone out of us
19:58
one night Emily told me more about her
20:00
affair her voice barely above a whisper
20:03
she said Richard thought it was harmless
20:06
just a few hours a week that didn't take
20:07
anything away from me or his wife they
20:10
saw it as a little escape a way to feel
20:13
alive without hurting anyone
20:16
i was furious my hands shaking as I
20:18
listened how could they think that how
20:21
could they justify 500 betrayals as no
20:24
big deal
20:26
i didn't say much just nodded and walked
20:28
away but inside I was screaming in
20:31
counseling we kept digging peeling back
20:34
the layers of hurt emily cried a lot
20:37
saying she loved me that she never meant
20:39
to hurt me i believed she was sorry but
20:43
it didn't change the math 500 times she
20:46
chose him over me i focused on Lily on
20:50
making sure she could grow up in a home
20:51
that wasn't a war zone we started doing
20:54
family things again going out to eat
20:57
catching a movie trying to act normal
21:00
but it wasn't the same i didn't hold
21:03
Emily's hand didn't let her hug me the
21:06
closeness we'd had for 15 years was gone
21:08
and everyone could see it about 2 weeks
21:10
into counseling I got word that
21:12
Richard's house had been broken into
21:15
some guys roughed him up didn't take
21:17
anything just left him battered and
21:19
scared emily brought it up that night
21:22
her eyes searching mine for a reaction i
21:25
gave her a small grin and said "Wow
21:28
that's something." before going back to
21:30
my book she knew I was involved even if
21:33
I didn't say it i felt a twisted kind of
21:36
satisfaction but it didn't fill the hole
21:38
in my chest months passed and we settled
21:41
into a new normal i started dating
21:44
staying out late living my life on my
21:47
terms emily noticed but stopped asking
21:50
about it after I made it clear we were
21:51
husband and wife in name only staying
21:54
together for Lily she kept going to
21:57
counseling trying to fix herself
22:00
but I could see the weight of her guilt
22:02
she'd lost the spark that used to define
22:04
her and part of me felt bad but not
22:08
enough to let her back in when Lily went
22:10
to college I was ready i handed Emily
22:12
divorce papers my heart heavy but
22:14
resolute
22:16
i'd forgiven her in a way but the love
22:19
was gone buried under 500 betrayals
22:22
we split everything fairly sold the
22:25
house divided the equity i moved in with
22:28
Jess a woman I'd been seeing a dancer
22:31
with a laugh that made me feel alive
22:33
again emily struggled dating here and
22:36
there but never finding what we'd had
22:39
lily stayed close to her mom but never
22:41
fully forgave her for breaking our
22:43
family now a therapist Lily helps others
22:46
navigate their pain carrying the lessons
22:48
from our story this story is a heavy one
22:51
i know it's about love that felt
22:54
invincible until it wasn't about
22:56
betrayal that cuts deeper than you can
22:58
imagine if you've been through something
23:00
like this drop your story in the
23:02
comments i'd love to hear it thanks for
23:06
sticking with me through this one on
23:07
Reddit Unheard Stories stay real and
23:10
I'll catch you in the next
#Family & Relationships
#Marriage
#Troubled Relationships