It doesn’t help that my husband betrayed me by having a daughter who was too young.
Greetings to all who are reading this. I never thought I’d end up in a position where my breathing is difficult. I had to get this out of my system. Perhaps someone will comprehend. Perhaps someone will learn something from my story.
My name is Helen, and I am 45 years old. I have been with Andrew for nearly a quarter of a century—twenty-four years that I thought were filled with love, respect, and mutual support. We overcame a lot together: early struggles in our marriage, sleepless nights with the kids, mortgage, and our parents’ illnesses. Through it all, I believed he was my rock, my destiny.
All these years, Andrew never gave me a reason to doubt myself or him. He wasn’t perfect, but I loved him just as he was. I never checked his phone or asked unnecessary questions. I thought our marriage was built on trust. How wrong I was…
About a month ago, we planned a trip to Andrew’s parents in the countryside for a couple of days to relax. At the last minute, he declined, citing urgent work matters. I didn’t press the issue. I gathered the kids, and off we went. On that Sunday, my daughter got restless and begged to leave earlier. We headed back in the morning. Little did I know, this decision would turn my life upside down.
When we entered the apartment, I didn’t immediately understand what was happening. The bedroom door was ajar, and strange noises were coming from inside. I pushed the door open and… Oh, God. On our bed—where our children were conceived, where we fell asleep holding hands—he wasn’t alone. Next to him was a girl. A young girl, about eighteen. I don’t know how I didn’t faint. She jumped up, pulled on some clothes, and dashed out without saying a word. Andrew stood there in shock, not even attempting to explain.
Our son, who is twenty, nearly went at him with his fists. We barely managed to hold him back. Our daughter, a twenty-two-year-old university student, screamed that he was no longer her father. They threw him out. Later, I learned that he stayed at a hotel. And I… I just sat in the kitchen, unable to believe this was happening to me.
That very day, I filed for divorce. I couldn’t and wouldn’t share air—let alone a home—with him. How could he bring another woman—a child!—into our home? Into our bed? I felt disgusting. Betrayed. Not just me—the kids too. He destroyed our family in one blow.
Later, I found out this girl was younger than our daughter. Can you imagine? Andrew is forty-four. What happened to him? Midlife crisis? Lost his mind? Or had this always been inside him, and I was blind to it?
I replay those last few years in my mind over and over. Wasn’t he happy? We traveled, spent weekends together, watched films, cooked dinners for each other. He always said he loved me. And I believed him. Now I understand that words mean nothing if a person can betray you like that.
Every night, I fall asleep with a lump in my throat. Sometimes, I start to tremble when I recall that scene in the bedroom. Tears, talking to the kids, or friends don’t help. This is a wound that won’t heal.
The children have cut off contact with him. They are my only support now. But I see they’re in pain too. They can’t understand how their own father could do this—not just to me but to them too. He took away their family. And all for what? A fleeting fling with a girl who might forget his name in a few months?
I don’t know how to live on. Everything I once thought unshakeable has collapsed. I feel lost and empty. I never imagined I’d be one of those women, whose husbands leave for someone younger. I always believed we were different. But, sadly, life’s painful lesson is that nothing lasts forever.
Sometimes I look in the mirror and ask myself: Where did I go wrong? Why did fate deal me this blow? I tried to be a good wife, mother, and homemaker. I gave myself completely—to family, home, to him. And this is what I got in return.
I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive him. Probably not. But one thing I know for sure: I will survive. For myself. For my children. To prove that while breaking a woman is easy, breaking her spirit is impossible. And tears truly don’t help. But they cleanse the soul. And one day, I will learn to smile again.
Let this be the beginning of a new life. A life without lies, without betrayal. A life where I am the main character.