My husband traded our family of four for his mistress. Three years later, I ran into them again, and it was wonderful.
Finding my family three years after my husband left them for his glamorous mistress felt like a poetic act of justice. I wasn’t happy that they died. I was able to move on and do well without them because I found strength in myself.
Two great kids, fourteen years of marriage, and a life I thought was rock solid. But when Stan brought her into our house one night, everything I cared about fell apart.
It was the beginning of the hardest and most life-changing time in my life.
Before this, I was very busy with my daily life as a mother of two.
My days were mostly filled with carpooling, helping with schoolwork, and family dinners. Max, who was 9, and Lily, who was 12, were my entire world.
I also thought we were a joyful family, even though life wasn’t perfect.
The difficulty is that Stan and I had to start over with our lives. We immediately clicked upon meeting at work.
Stan asked me to marry him not long after we became friends, and I had no reason to say no.
Even though we had many ups and downs throughout the years, our friendship stayed solid. I didn’t know how wrong I was to think that all the bad moments we experienced together had made our bond stronger.
Lately, he has been working late. But that’s normal, isn’t it?
There were a lot of projects to work on and deadlines coming up. These were only the costs of having a successful profession. I reassured myself that Dad continued to love us, despite his reduced level of involvement compared to before.
I wish I knew that wasn’t true. I wish I knew what he had been doing behind my back.
It happened on Tuesday. I remember this because I was making the kind of soup Lily liked for dinner with the little alphabet noodles.
I heard the unusual sound of heels clicking on the floor when the front door opened.
My heart skipped a beat as I saw the time. Stan got home earlier than usual.
“Stan?” I yelled and wiped my hands with a dish towel. When I walked into the living room and saw them, my stomach tightened.
Stan is with the person he loves.
She had smooth hair, a sharp smile that made you feel like prey, and a tall, impressive body. She stood close to him, as if she belonged there, with her well-groomed hand resting softly on his arm.
But my husband, Stan, looked at her with kindness, which I hadn’t seen in months.
She looked at me and said, “Well, darling,” in a voice full of disdain. “You weren’t exaggerating anything.” She really did relax. That’s too awful. Her bones are in fantastic shape.
For a while, it was challenging for me to breathe. What she said really hurt me.
“Excuse me?” I choked out.
Stan sighed as if I were the one who was being unreasonable.
“Lauren, we need to talk,” he said, folding his arms. “Hi, I’m Miranda.” I also want a divorce.
“Are you getting a divorce?” I repeated the question because I didn’t understand what he was saying. “What about our kids? What about us?
He whispered, “You’ll manage,” as if he were talking about the weather. “Child support will be sent.” But Miranda and I are being serious. I brought her here to show you that I’m not changing my mind.
He hit me one last time with a vicious indifference that I didn’t think he was capable of, as if that wasn’t enough.
“Oh, and by the way, Miranda is staying over, so you can sleep on the couch tonight or go to your mom’s house.”
What I was hearing was difficult to believe.
Even though I was really angry and upset, I wouldn’t let him enjoy my breakdown.
Instead, I turned around and hurried upstairs, shaking as I grabbed a suitcase from the closet.
I told myself to stay calm for Lily and Max. As I packed their bags, tears filled my eyes, but I kept going.
When I walked into Lily’s room, she looked up from her book. She knew right away that something was awry.
“Mom, what’s going on?” she asked.
I crouched down next to her and ran my fingers through her hair.
“We’re going to Grandma’s for a while, my dear.” “Please put some things in your bag.”
“But why? Where is Dad?” Max said, from the door.
I said, “Sometimes adults make mistakes,” without hesitating. But we’ll be okay. I swear.
I was glad they didn’t ask for more. I didn’t look back as we left the house that night.
Even though my old life was over, I had to keep it for my kids.
That night, when I drove to my mom’s house with Lily and Max sleeping in the backseat, I felt like I had the whole world on my shoulders. My mind was racing with questions, and I had a lot of them.
What could Stan do? What should I say to the kids? What shall we do with the ashes of this betrayal to rebuild our lives?
When we arrived there, my mom opened the door.
She hugged me and said, “Lauren, what happened?”
But I couldn’t say what I wanted to say. I just shook my head and let the tears flow.
The next several days were a blur of legal papers, dropping the kids off at school, and attempting to explain to them things that didn’t make sense.
The divorce went quickly, and I got a settlement that didn’t seem fair at all. I used my share of the money from the sale of the house to buy a smaller house.
I bought a small two-bedroom house for us. It was a place where I could live without fear of betrayal.
The worst part would be losing the house and the life I thought I would have. The most painful moment was witnessing Lily and Max realize that their dad wouldn’t be coming back.
At first, Stan sent child support checks on time, but that didn’t work.
By the time six months had passed, the calls and payments had completely stopped. I rationalized that he was preoccupied, or perhaps he simply required some time to adjust.
But as the weeks turned into months, it became clear that Stan was more than just not in my life anymore. He had also left the kids behind.
I later learned from mutual acquaintances that Miranda had played a significant role in this situation. She had convinced him that staying in touch with his “old life” was a waste of time.
And Stan had done what she asked, always wanting to please her. But he didn’t have the guts to face us when money problems started to show up.
Even though it broke my heart, I had to stand up for Lily and Max. They were entitled to stability even though their father was unable to give it to them.
I began to rebuild slowly, not just for them but also for myself.
Three years later, my life had found a rhythm that I loved.
Max’s love of robotics had grown, and Lily was now in high school. The happiness and laughter that filled our modest dwelling showed how far we had come.
Our past was no longer bothering us.
At that point, I thought I would never see Stan again, but fate had other plans.
On a dark afternoon, everything came full circle.
I saw them while I was juggling my umbrella and bags in one hand after I had finished shopping for groceries. Stan and Miranda were sitting at a run-down outdoor café across the street.
Furthermore, it seemed that neither of them had been lucky with time.
Stan looked thin. His once-tailored outfits were replaced by a rumpled shirt and a tie that hung loosely around his neck.
His face was wrinkled, and his hair was getting gray because he was so exhausted.
Miranda looked put together from a distance, even if she was still wearing high-end clothes. Her heels were worn out, her once-luxurious handbag had scratches on it, and her clothes were faded.
When I saw them, I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or keep walking.
But for some reason, I didn’t move. I guess it’s just curiosity.
Stan’s eyes sprang up and met mine, as if he could feel me. For a minute, his face shone with hope.
He got up and nearly knocked over his chair as he cried, “Lauren!” “Hold on!”
Even though I was unsure, I chose to get closer and carefully put my items under the awning of a nearby store.
Miranda’s face also went nasty when she saw me. She looked away quickly, as if she didn’t want to face someone she knew she couldn’t beat.
Stan’s voice broke as he cried, “Lauren, I’m so sorry for everything.” “Can we please talk?” I need to see the kids. I have to make things right.
“Make things right?” I asked. “Stan, you haven’t seen your kids in more than two years. You stopped paying child support. What exactly do you think you can fix right now?
First, he said, “I know, I know.” “I messed up. I agree with Miranda. He looked at her with a lot of tension. “We made some bad choices.”
Finally, Miranda broke her silence and said, “Oh, don’t blame your losses on me.” “You lost all that money on an investment that was supposed to be a sure thing.”
“You made me think it was a good idea!” Stan shot back at her.
Miranda rolled her eyes.
She pointed to her scuffed-up designer bag and said, “Well, you bought me this instead of saving for rent.”
I could feel the tension between them. It was like years of anger were finally coming out.
For the first time, I saw them as two broken people who had hurt themselves instead of the flashy couple who had damaged my marriage.
Miranda finally rose up and looked disgusted as she fixed her old clothes.
She said coldly, “I stayed because of the child we had together,” which was more for me than for Stan. “But don’t think I’m going to stay here any longer.” “Stan, you’re on your own.”
As she walked away, her heels clicked on the pavement, leaving Stan slumped on his chair. He didn’t stop her; he just watched her go. Then he turned to face me again.
“Please, Lauren. I’ll come by. I’ll talk to the kids. I really do miss them. I miss us.
I stared at him for a long time, hoping to see the man I loved in his face. But all I saw was a person I didn’t know very well. A man who wouldn’t trade anything.
I shook my head.
“Stan, give me your number,” I said. “The kids will call you if they want to talk to you. But you won’t come back to my house.
He winced at the seriousness of my tone, but he still nodded and jotted his number down.
“Thank you, Lauren,” he said. “I’d be thankful if they called me.”
I turned aside and put it in my pocket without looking at it.
As I walked back to my car, I felt like I was done with something. To be honest, it wasn’t revenge. But I knew I could move on without Stan feeling horrible about what he had done.
No one could take away the love and strength that my kids and I had built up over the years.
And for the first time in years, I smiled. Not because Stan failed, but because we made progress.