No surprise. Just tears. "How did you—" "It doesn't matter how I know. What matters is that I do." She tried to explain.
Said it started as just coffee. That she never meant for it to go that far. That she was confused. That Marcus made her feel like she did when she was younger. That she hadn't decided anything for sure yet.
I stopped her. "You signed a lease, Sarah. You moved money. You lied to my face for months. You already decided."
She sobbed. Begged me to let her explain, to give her a chance. But I was done. I told her I'd already spoken to an attorney. That I wanted a divorce.
That she had two weeks to find somewhere else to live. She tried to call Marcus. He didn't answer. She tried again the next day. Blocked.
He was gone. Completely ghosted her. The divorce took six months to finalize. Sarah tried to fight it at first, but once her attorney saw all the evidence, they advised her to settle. She had to split the joint account money with me as part of the settlement, which felt like poetic justice.
She moved in with a friend and eventually got her own place. I heard through mutual acquaintances that Marcus never came back. He's somewhere in Portland now, working for a startup. Sarah's still at the same company, but from what I understand, people found out about the affair. Her reputation took a hit.
As for me, I'm doing better than I expected. I threw myself into work, reconnected with old friends, started going to the gym regularly. I even went on a few dates, though nothing serious yet. I'm not in a rush. Looking back, the weirdest part is how normal everything seemed right up until it wasn't.
I keep thinking about that night at the bank. If I hadn't walked past that office, if I hadn't overheard that one sentence, I might have stayed in the dark until she was ready to leave. Maybe that would have hurt more. Or maybe it would have hurt less. I don't know.
What I do know is that I'm glad I found out when I did. I'm glad I confronted Marcus. And I'm glad I walked away before I wasted any more years on someone who could plan a whole separate life behind my back. A few people have asked why I didn't confront Sarah immediately after finding the emails.
Honestly, I needed time to process it and gather evidence. I knew if I went in angry and half informed, she could have spun it or deleted things. Waiting gave me control. Yes, Marcus really did ghost her completely.
According to a friend who still works at her company, she tried to reach him for weeks. He blocked her on everything. I almost feel bad for her. Almost.
For those wondering, the apartment lease was never used. They'd paid the first and last month's rent, but since neither of them moved in, they forfeited it. That money's just gone. Probably the most expensive lesson either of them will ever learn.