hi everyone welcome back thanks for joining us today we've got a brand new story to share with you so let's begin my name is Ryan and for 8 years I believed I had a solid committed marriage with my wife Emily we weren't perfect but we had built a life together one that I thought was based on love respect and Trust in the early years things were great Emily was affectionate always full of life and we had fun together I was proud to call her my wife but lately things have changed slowly and without me realizing it she has become distant it started with less talking and fewer moments where she genuinely seemed present then the excuses began she would come home late night after night saying work had been overwhelming she was too stressed and too drained to spend time with me especially when it came to intimacy I understood that work could be demanding so I didn't pressure her I didn't push and instead I tried to be the kind of husband who supports his wife through tough times I stepped up where I could I handled more of the chores around the house even when I was exhausted from work myself if she needed space I gave it to her if she needed to rest I let her rest but no matter how much I did to support her I was slowly becoming invisible in my marriage I remember the first time I truly felt something was off it was supposed to be a simple date night just dinner at our favorite restaurant we hadn't been out together in a long time and I was looking forward to it but that evening just as I was getting ready Emily called and said she couldn't make it she sounded exhausted frustrated and rushed something came up at work she said apologizing but not sounding sorry I have to stay late at first I didn't think much of it work emergencies happen right deadlines last minute meetings all that stress I told myself to be understanding but as I sat there alone staring at the dinner reservations I had made something noded me a quick excuse and a brush off didn't cut it for me that night I tried calling her a few hours later just to check in and know how it is going no answer I texted nothing I waited nothing I kept telling myself that I was just being paranoid that I didn't want to be that guy the insecure husband who jumped to conclusions but deep down something felt wrong I just did know what it was yet it was nearly midnight when she finally walked through the door I was sitting on the couch pretending to scroll through my phone trying not to look as anxious as I felt the moment she saw me she let out a tired sigh and said I'm so sorry babe work was insane tonight I promise I'll make it up to you she came over kissed my forehead and before I could even process my emotions she disappeared into the bathroom the shower turned on and I just sat there staring at the closed door feeling Hollow I called out are you hungry I can make you something real quick she responded from the shower no it's too late to eat anything I let it go I acted normal even though I didn't feel normal inside the next day as I sat in my car before heading to work I remembered an old connection one of my wife's work friends someone who had attended our wedding and works in HR we weren't close but we'd had small conversations here and and there over the years I figured that if Emily really was drowning in work this friend might know about it maybe she could help me understand what was going on I picked up my phone and dialed her number keeping my tone light and Casual hey I was wondering would it be possible for you to help Emily get off work early today maybe just an hour or two there was a brief pause on the other end before she answered sounding genuinely confused what do you mean Emily leaves at 4 p. m. every day at that moment my stomach dropped I could feel my heartbeat in my ears wait yesterday too I asked try to keep my voice steady I can't say the exact time she replied but she definitely left before 6:00 p.
m. I didn't even realize I had stopped breathing Emily had come home late tired claiming something urgent had come up at work she had made it seem like she had no choice like she was overwhelmed like she barely had the energy to talk to me but according to her coworker she had left work hours earlier I wanted to believe there was an innocent explanation but it seems like I had just caught my wife in a lie the problem was I had no idea where she had been going and that was a question I couldn't ignore any longer at that moment I made a decision that I was going to follow her I needed to see it with my own eyes no more second guessing I told myself that if I was wrong then I'd at least have peace of mind I left work early that day and parked near her office just before 400 p. m.