For ten years, this 46-year-old man has been married to his 43-year-old wife Lia, and they have two young kids together: a two-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son.
He really believed that he and Lia built a wonderful life together that filled them with joy. Sadly, four weeks ago, life as he knew it came to a screeching halt.
Now, Lia’s into her privacy, but when she started spending more time than normal with her phone, he became suspicious.
Not only that, but Lia would smile while staring at her phone, then instantly lock the device if he happened to come walking by.
One evening when Lia was sleeping, he decided to see what was getting so much of her attention, and he went looking through her phone.
He uncovered text messages between Lia and her 48-year-old coworker Eric – steamy messages and photos that dated back years.
Lia has been carrying on this affair for a long time. She even said she loved Eric, and Eric mentioned being in love with her.
“Even references to secret trips they’d taken while I was at home with the kids, believing she was working late,” he explained.
“My heart was racing, my hands trembling. I confronted her the next morning. At first, she denied it – said I was misunderstanding. But when I read her the messages out loud, her face crumbled.”
ASDF – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person – pictured above a woman sits on a glass table in her office
“She admitted it. She said it started four years ago, long before our youngest was born. She tried to justify it – “You were distant, we were struggling.” But nothing could excuse this.”
One morning, he made the choice to follow Lia to work and spy on her. When Lia’s shift was over, there she was, her arm linked with Eric’s.
Lia and Eric didn’t even attempt to cover up their affection in public. Lia and Eric hopped into Eric’s car and drove away.
He tailed them to a restaurant where he saw them sitting together. They were giggling and smiling. They were holding hands. They seemed like a couple.
“It broke me,” he said. “But what shattered me completely was when I learned they’d built their own life together.”
“They’d been renting an apartment near work – a place where she’d go when she was “working overtime.”
“I saw them go inside, watching them from my car parking on the streets a few blocks away. I checked on them for about 4 nights, and they had the same routine.”
Watching Lia live her secret life was the final straw for him. He packed Lia’s things up, placed them in his car, and drove over to where Lia worked.
When Lia came outside, he threw all of her belongings in front of her feet on the sidewalk while her coworkers looked on.
He told Lia never to come back home. He then filed to divorce her and is seeking full custody of their two children.
“She’s begging me to forgive her, saying she doesn’t want to lose the family we built. But how can I?” he wondered.
“Friends and family keep asking me if I regret how I handled it – publicly humiliating her, kicking her out without notice. I do. She tore our family apart, and the least she could do is face some accountability, but I can’t help but feel like the bad guy for how I acted.”
“I had nights where l’ve felt very lonely, and I miss her. Of course, I am also attending therapy sessions to be better for the kids and for myself. All I care about are them, they don’t deserve this chaos. And as much as it hurts, I know they are better off with me than someone who could live a lie for so long.”
He’s left wondering if it was mean of him to embarrass Lia in front of her coworkers. What do you think?
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