28 Years of Marriage Shattered in an Instant – All It Took Was a Message from Her Husband’s Mistress

Everything changed in a heartbeat, honestly. That day, we were having a little family do me, my husband, and our daughter were celebrating his dads birthday. Just us, nothing fancy, but it was really lovely. His dad was in great spirits, cracking jokes and telling us funny stories from when he was a lad. After lunch, my daughter and I decided to walk him back to his flat. My husband cant do long walks these days because of his dodgy leg. Plus, to be honest, hed had a fair few pints and was a bit worse for wear. I figured when we got back, hed already be fast asleep. And I was right hed dozed off at the table, laptop still open in front of him.
My daughter headed up to her room, and I fancied making myself a cuppa. On my way to the kitchen, my eyes landed on the laptop. I noticed my husband was logged into one of those social media sites. Mustve tried to delete a message but didnt quite manage it. Out of nosiness or something more, I suppose I stepped closer to see what the messages were about The moment I caught sight of I love you, I swear I went cold. Hed typed that to an old friend of his. My legs just gave way and I had to sit myself down on the sofa.
Straight away, all my dads old warnings rushed back into my head. He never approved of me marrying my husband, always certain hed end up hurting me. But for nearly twenty-eight years, I thought Id proved him wrong. Wed been through so much together. Id cared for my husband when he fell ill, stuck by him when he was pushed to retire by his boss, of all things. He couldnt go on working, his sick leave had dragged on so long. Hed always been all about his work, so retirement was a real blow. We weathered it, though. He even found another job in the end. Hes always told me how grateful he was for my support, how much he loved me, how he couldnt have got through it without me. Turns out, he was lying all along.
I pulled myself together and stood up. I honestly had no idea what to do with all of it, so I went up to see my daughter. She was reading, but put her book down straight away when she saw my face. I hadnt even realised I was crying. I told her what had happened. She dashed out of her room and confronted her dad immediately. I think I stopped breathing for a moment. She deleted the messages, but not before taking photos of the whole thing. I could barely stomach reading my husbands secret love notes to another woman. Apparently, it had only been going on for a month or so, probably since he landed his new job. My mind was reeling.
Meanwhile, my daughter was already writing to the other woman. Something along the lines of, if you love him so much, youre welcome to have him. Took another screenshot as well. The woman vanished from the site as soon as she got the message. Then my daughter messaged her dad sent him the screenshots and told him, if he had any guts, hed leave. When she finished, she came over and gave me one of those hugs that makes everything slow down, kept telling me I was strong and Id get through this that shed always be by my side.
All that was left to do was wait for my husband to wake up. I couldnt predict how hed react. Before anything else could happen, his mobile started ringing of course, it was her. To my surprise, he answered, probably thinking we werent home yet. The call hardly lasted a minute. Then I heard him get up, walk to our bedroom, and start getting dressed. On his way past the living room, he paused, but I just stared out of the window. My daughter even waved at him, all sweet, with a little smile. The next time I saw him, it was just to pick up some of his things.
I still cant get my head around how easily a whole family can fall apart in an instant. How can you ever trust another man after something like this? Twenty-eight years together. All those special memories and warm words. And in the end it all comes down to divorce.