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I Caught My Wife Cheating with My Best Friend. Then I Went to Jail... | Storytime Stateside
Aug 11, 2025
#redditrelationship #aita #redditstories I Caught My Wife Cheating with My Best Friend. Then I Went to Jail... | Storytime Stateside After discovering his wife cheating with his best friend, Steve's world imploded. What followed was a violent breakdown, a jail sentence, and the beginning of a calculated, patient path to healing… and subtle revenge. This isn't just a story about betrayal — it's a journey through loss, anger, redemption, and resilience. Dive into this gripping story of love gone wrong, consequences faced, and the quiet strength it takes to rebuild. 💔 Have you ever been betrayed by someone you trusted the most? Share your story in the comments. 📌 Subscribe for more true stories, revenge tales, and emotional drama
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0:00
The cold steel of the cell door was a
0:02
constant, stark reminder of my new
0:03
reality.
0:05
For 7 months, this 10x10 space had been
0:08
my world.
0:10
Lying on my back, I stared at the
0:11
ceiling, my mind replaying the sequence
0:14
of events that had landed me here. It
0:17
was a one-year sentence, but it felt
0:18
like a lifetime. My old life seemed a
0:21
distant memory, a life where I was a
0:23
husband, a father, and a man with a
0:26
career.
0:27
That life had been shattered on a Friday
0:29
in August. A day that began with a phone
0:31
call from my wife Kathy telling me the
0:34
kids were with her parents for the
0:35
weekend.
0:37
A weekend I had planned for us. A chance
0:39
to reconnect.
0:41
But when I got home early, I found two
0:43
cars in the driveway. One was Bob's, my
0:46
supposed best friend. My world came
0:48
crashing down in our kitchen. Kathy,
0:51
nervous and quivering, told me she was
0:53
in love with Bob.
0:55
They were getting a divorce.
0:58
I felt a primal rage, a heat that burned
1:01
through my body. Bob, who I had consoled
1:04
after his wife's death, was now standing
1:06
in my house, having betrayed my trust in
1:09
the most intimate way. The words, "Even
1:12
before Connie died," were a venomous
1:14
hiss from Bob's lips, and they sealed my
1:17
fate. I lost it. I threw all of Cathy's
1:20
belongings onto the lawn. Then, I drank
1:22
until I passed out.
1:24
But the real loss of control came the
1:26
next day. I saw Bob's car in my driveway
1:29
again with Cathy loading it. The fury
1:32
returned, and this time I didn't stop
1:34
it. I sped into my driveway, crashing
1:37
into Bob's car, pushing it through my
1:39
garage door. I grabbed my son's aluminum
1:42
bat and started swinging, smashing the
1:44
windows and windshield. The police
1:46
arrived and I was arrested. In the
1:48
patrol car, as they put me in handcuffs,
1:51
I saw Kathy crying, looking at me with a
1:53
mix of fear and betrayal. I smiled back.
1:57
She had done this to us, to our family,
1:59
and now she was reaping what she sowed.
2:02
My lawyer's plea of temporary insanity,
2:05
was a joke. I knew exactly what I was
2:08
doing. The judge, unimpressed by my
2:11
defense, sentenced me to a year in jail.
2:14
My brother Gary was my lifeline. He
2:17
fixed my car, took care of my house and
2:20
managed my finances while I was locked
2:22
away.
2:23
In our last visit, we spoke through the
2:26
plexiglass.
2:27
"You'll stay with Andy and me until
2:29
you're settled," he said. "Don't worry
2:31
about mom and dad. They'll come around."
2:34
"I knew they wouldn't. The divide was
2:37
too deep. I was angry. But I buried it
2:40
deep. It was a cold, hard anger that
2:43
would serve me later.
2:45
I spent my days in the cell planning.
2:47
The divorce was final, but Kathy still
2:50
owed me for my half of the house. She
2:52
had also taken our CDs and bonds, but I
2:55
had a list, and my lawyer was fighting
2:57
to get them back. I was waiting,
3:00
remembering, and preparing for the day I
3:02
would be free. That day finally came.
3:06
Gary was waiting for me outside the
3:07
facility, and we went to the nearest
3:09
bar. The first beer tasted like freedom.
3:13
That night, Andy had prepared a steak
3:15
dinner, a luxury I hadn't experienced in
3:18
months. I ate, I drank, and I felt human
3:21
again. The next day, I went back to my
3:23
house. It was a mess, a testament to my
3:26
anger and despair. But I wasn't in a
3:29
hurry to sell. I took inventory, made a
3:31
list of repairs, and called a
3:33
contractor.
3:35
The contractor, Hank, smiled when he saw
3:37
the damage. "Your walls are solid," he
3:40
said. Must have hurt when you punched
3:43
that stud. You're a neighborhood hero
3:45
now, you know. Randy even told Linda
3:47
he'd put her in the grave if she ever
3:49
did what Kathy did to you. I just
3:52
smiled. My kid's first weekend with me
3:54
was awkward, but it was also a turning
3:56
point.
3:58
Dad, we love you and are sorry about
4:00
what mom did, John said. Heather nodded.
4:04
We didn't know about Bob until mom said
4:06
we were moving to his house.
4:08
We hugged and for the first time in 2
4:11
years, I felt like a father again. Life
4:14
went on. I went back to work, had a
4:17
small social life, and spent time with
4:19
the kids. But the anger, the need for a
4:22
pound of flesh never left.
4:25
It was a quiet resolve that fueled me. 8
4:28
and 1/2 months after my release, Bob's
4:30
house burned down. Someone had doused
4:32
the electrical box and the rear of the
4:34
house with gasoline. The back half was
4:36
ruined and they had no power. The police
4:40
came to question me, but I had an
4:41
airtight alibi.
4:43
I was at a neighborhood party with at
4:45
least 10 witnesses.
4:47
I smiled at the detectives, a cold, hard
4:50
smile that didn't reach my eyes.
4:54
Prove it, I said. The kids came to stay
4:57
with me while the repairs were made. A
4:59
mini vacation that Kathy and Bob could
5:01
do nothing about. Kathy accused me of
5:04
doing it, but I just laughed. I was with
5:07
our friends, I said. Too bad you and Bob
5:10
aren't invited anymore. My new job was
5:12
demanding, and it brought me to a woman
5:14
named Monica Bradley.
5:17
She was an engineer, smart, funny, and
5:20
beautiful. I found myself drawn to her,
5:23
and she seemed to reciprocate. I thought
5:26
I was ready to move on, to heal.
5:29
We started going out for dinner and
5:31
eventually we became intimate. My trust
5:34
issues were still there, but I was
5:35
working on them. Monica was an anomaly,
5:38
a bright spot in a world that had become
5:40
gray and lifeless.
5:43
Two weeks later, I was on my own for
5:45
dinner. Monica had a conflict. I went to
5:48
a new Indian restaurant hoping to relax.
5:51
As I sat there sipping my beer, I heard
5:54
a familiar laugh. It was Monica and she
5:57
was with another man. They were holding
5:59
hands, laughing, and looking at each
6:01
other with the same intensity I had once
6:03
shared with Cathy.
6:05
The scene was sickeningly familiar, a
6:08
replay of the betrayal I had lived
6:09
through. I looked at her, then at him,
6:12
then at the two rings on her left hand
6:14
that she wore to keep things
6:16
professional. I had been fooled again.
6:19
The world, I realized, was a treacherous
6:21
place. And I, Steve, the man who had
6:25
lost everything, was still just a