She opened it wearing a robe and the man was standing behind her without a shirt. "That’s what happened. I didn’t threaten anyone, and I didn’t touch either of them." She didn't tell me any of that, Derek replied. Of course she didn't. He sighed.
Look, I don't want to get involved in your marriage, but she's telling people that you went too far. Then she should start telling them what happened before I got there. Derek said he understood and told me he was sorry I was going through this. We spoke for another minute before ending the call. I wasn't surprised that Brittany had started telling a different version of events.
She had spent years presenting herself as a loyal wife and now she was trying to protect that image. Later that evening, she approached me again. "I told Derek what happened," she said. "I know. He called me." "Why did you have to make me look terrible?" I looked at her.
I didn't make you look anything. I told him what I saw. She stared at me, then lowered her voice. "I’ve stopped talking to him. I swear it won’t happen again." I didn't answer immediately.
That doesn't change anything, Brittany. She seemed frustrated by my response, but I'd already heard enough promises to know they weren't worth much anymore, and I was beginning to suspect that the hotel wasn't the beginning of the affair. Over the next several days, Brittany became noticeably more careful around me. She stopped bringing up the divorce directly and seemed to be waiting for me to calm down. Occasionally, she would ask whether I had eaten or offer to make dinner, as though returning to our usual routine might somehow make everything disappear.
I wasn't interested in playing along. I continued preparing for the divorce and most of our conversations were limited to practical matters. We discussed bills, the mortgage, and arrangements for the coming weeks. Whenever Brittany tried to turn those conversations into discussions about our marriage, I brought things back to the subject at hand. Then on Wednesday evening, something happened that confirmed my suspicions.
Brittany had left her phone on the kitchen counter while she was upstairs. I wasn't looking through it, but the screen lit up when a notification appeared. The message preview was visible. And I immediately recognized the name of the man I had seen at the hotel. His name was Mason.
The message read, "I don't understand why you're suddenly acting like we barely know each other. We were together for weeks, Brittany. You can't just pretend none of it happened." I stared at the screen. "Weeks." That one word changed everything. Until that moment, I had considered the possibility that the hotel incident had been a terrible decision made during a period when our marriage was struggling.
I had no intention of forgiving it, but I hadn't known how long she had been involved with him. Now, I knew it hadn't been a spontaneous encounter. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. When Brittany entered the kitchen, I was standing beside the counter. "Who is Mason?" I asked.
Her expression changed immediately. "What?" "The man from the hotel." His name is Mason, isn't it? She glanced at her phone and quickly picked it up. "Why are you asking me that?" "Because he just sent you a message." She looked uncomfortable. "You shouldn’t be looking at my phone." "I wasn’t.
The message appeared on the screen, but that’s not what I asked." She put the phone in her pocket. He's someone I know. How long have you known him? She didn't answer. I stepped closer to the counter and folded my arms.
Let me make this simple. "Were you seeing him before that Friday night?" "Theodore, I don’t want to have this conversation." That's unfortunate because we're having it. She looked toward the stairs, then back at me. "Yes," she finally admitted. "We had been talking for a while." "How long?" "About six weeks." I nodded slowly.
6 weeks. So, all those evenings with your girlfriends were actually evenings with him? Not all of them. How many? She lowered her head.
Some of them. I let out a slow breath. I wasn't surprised anymore, but hearing her confirm it made the situation even clearer. The frequent outings, the sudden attention to her appearance, the phone she never left unattended, and all those arguments whenever I asked reasonable questions had finally come together. "You were looking me in the face every day and lying about where you were going." I know you were making me feel guilty for asking questions when you knew exactly what you were hiding.
I wasn't thinking about it that way. Then how are you thinking about it? She began crying. "I was unhappy. Theodore, Mason made me feel wanted again." I didn't plan for things to go this far.
I shook my head. You had 6 weeks to stop. You had 6 weeks to tell me what was happening. Instead, you kept seeing him. "I never intended to leave you." That was probably the most revealing thing she had said since I caught her.
"So, you wanted to keep your marriage and have him on the side?" "No, that’s not what I mean." Then what do you mean? She wiped her face. "I still love you. I made a terrible decision, but I don’t want to lose our life together." I want us to work through this. I looked at her for several seconds.
You don't get to decide that now. You had a choice before you went to that hotel. You had another choice during those six weeks. You made your decisions, Brittany. People make mistakes.
Doesn't six years together mean anything? It means I gave six years of my life to someone I trusted. It doesn't mean I'm obligated to spend another 6 years wondering what you're hiding. She reached toward my hand, but I stepped back. "Please, Theodore, give me one chance to fix this." "No." She stared at me, clearly expecting another argument, but there was nothing left to argue about.
I told her that Jonathan would handle the divorce proceedings and that I wanted our communication to remain focused on practical matters. I wasn't interested in hearing more promises or discussing Mason again. For the first time, Brittany seemed to understand that there would be no reconciliation. I had made my decision and nothing she said was going to change it. The following morning, I contacted Jonathan and told him what Brittany had admitted.
I explained that the relationship with Mason had been going on for at least 6 weeks and that she had used several evenings out with her friends as an excuse to meet him. Jonathan made a note of everything. "Has she agreed to the divorce?" he asked. "She hasn’t agreed to anything." She keeps asking me to reconsider. That's fairly common when one spouse realizes the other is serious.
Don't let the discussions become emotional arguments. We'll handle the legal side properly. That was exactly what I wanted. Over the next few days, Jonathan began preparing the paperwork. We reviewed our financial situation, discussed the house, and went through the practical arrangements that would need to be made.
Since Brittany and I had purchased the property together, there were several things to resolve before either of us could move forward. I wasn't trying to take everything from her. I wanted a fair settlement, but I also wanted the process to move forward without unnecessary complications. When I explained this to Brittany, she seemed surprised. "So, you're really going through with it?" she asked.
"Yes, even after I told you the truth," I looked at her. "You didn't tell me the truth until I saw a message from Mason. And even then, you only admitted what I already knew. She shook her head. I've been honest with you now.