I decided to surprise my husband on our wedding anniversary by visiting him at work at 5:00 PM, only for the security guard to tell me he had resigned six months ago, and then I noticed…

I decided to surprise my husband on our silver wedding anniversary: I bought tickets to a health resort, put on my best dress, and arrived at his office by four in the afternoon. But the security guard calmly told me that he had left the company six months ago. My heart stopped, my mind refused to comprehend… And then I noticed his car across the parking lot. My husband was sitting behind the wheel, and beside him was that very woman who once handled our inheritance case. She was handing him a stack of money, kissing him on the cheek, and whispering something that turned my world upside down…

I stood there, clutching the handle of my purse, feeling like a complete fool in my festive attire. For six months, he left the house every morning in a suit, with polished shoes and a briefcase. For six months, he returned “tired,” telling tales of tough deals, a difficult boss, and bonuses. Where did he go every day? What was he doing if his company had long since forgotten him?

That night, I showed no sign of my discoveries. He came home with a huge bouquet of my favorite lilies, brought expensive wine, and apologized profusely for being “held up in a meeting.” I watched him pour the drink, feeling nauseated by his tenderness. Now every word he spoke seemed false to me, like cheap costume jewelry. I started recalling oddities I had previously ignored: he frequently changed his passwords, he had accounts I knew nothing about, and his old hiking gear disappeared from the closet.

The next day, I couldn’t hold back and drove to that woman’s address. It was a prestigious area, with a gated courtyard. I waited for three hours until a familiar car turned into the archway. My husband got out, opened the trunk, and began unloading bags of groceries as if he lived there. He acted proprietorially: opened the door with his own key, waved to someone in a window.

I entered the building behind him, my heart pounding in my temples. I went up to the floor I needed and heard not the cries of passion, but… a child’s cry and my husband’s grumbling voice: “Alright, little one, let’s make some porridge, mommy will be back soon.” I froze. Everything inside me crumbled. Did he have another family there? A child? But why was the lawyer giving him money in the parking lot?

Through acquaintances, I discovered the truth, which turned out even dirtier than an ordinary affair. My husband hadn’t just taken a mistress. He got involved in real estate scams targeting lonely elderly people, run by the same lady lawyer. Six months ago, he was cornered, faced with prison threats, and he made a deal with her: he became her “assistant” in every sense, doing the dirty work, living on her terms, essentially hiding from justice under her protection. She bought his freedom, making him her slave in return.

The money she gave him in the car was his “salary” for his silence and loyalty. He lied not because he stopped loving me, but because he feared I’d discover how much of a coward and criminal he really was. He continued the charade of being the perfect husband at home, to maintain some semblance of a normal life, while on the side, he was babysitting someone else’s child and forging signatures on documents.

Last night he came home late, and for a long time, he couldn’t sleep, sighing. I lay beside him, pretending to be asleep, wondering: how many lives is he leading at once? Who is this person I’ve spent twenty-five years with? It turns out, I never really knew the person I trusted with my life. He sold our peaceful old age for a chance not to sit behind bars, and now I am an accomplice in his lies, just because I know about it.

This morning, I found a blank divorce paper in his briefcase with his signature already in place, but no date. He prepared an escape route in case that woman decides to claim him entirely or if I figure everything out. I sit in the kitchen, looking at this piece of paper, and realize that my life has turned into a house of cards.

What should a woman do who, in one day, lost both her husband and the truth: turn him in to the police and destroy the remnants of her world, or continue to play the part of a happy family, knowing that every dinner is paid for with the blood and deceit of others?

****

I decided to surprise my husband for our wedding anniversary. I bought tickets to a spa resort, put on my best dress, and arrived at his office at five o’clock. The security guard looked surprised and said my husband had quit his job six months ago. My heart froze and my mind went blank. I was about to leave when I suddenly noticed his car parked across the street. My husband was sitting behind the wheel and he wasn’t alone… and in that moment I realized that the surprise today was actually me…
Read the continuation in the comments