I was aware that she would be running late for home her tardiness wasn't Sinister because I had stopped her lies and adultery for today at least I knew her well enough after 20 years to realize that she was organizing her thoughts before our inevitable meeting 20 years 18 of those married and I never thought of doubting her as my partner I knew she would take her time coming home she knew that if I had taken action I would have considered every possible result before pulling the trigger she had learned quickly in our relationship that a
half-baked argument based on emotions did not affect me so she would always take time to calculate her counter position before appearing before me unlike the past two decades of disagreements I was determined not to let my affection for her cloud my judgment our twins Charlie and Max were spending the night with their grandparents I wasn't concerned about them they were 16 now fine young men I had taken the time to share the truth with them as much as they needed to know their mother Chris was unfaithful to me not to them she was their mother
she adored them divorce was unavoidable but I was aware of how much they cherished her everything I was about to do was for my own sake not theirs they were old enough to have a say in their Futures they would be off to University before we knew it if they chose to remain with her I would support them as I had always done I would still be their father they resisted arguing that their mother's actions had shattered our family causing them as much much pain as she was causing me they insisted that she had shown
as little concern for them as she had for me they were right but so was I despite the upheaval that was about to unfold the only certainty I clung to was that Christine loved the boys more than anything I held on to that belief as I sat in our living room with an unopened bottle of wine and two glasses on the coffee table ready to face the storm that was about to descend upon us it started about 6 months ago I caught on almost immediately we had been together long enough that I knew her better
than I knew myself I knew when she was lying or hiding something Shifty Behavior around my birthday meant she was planning a surprise then came the conversations about Ben the new younger man in the office he was charming and funny a great coworker and addition to the team he had the most adorable young family then after hearing about him two or three times a week he disappeared then came the drinks after work at first they were every other week and she was home maybe a couple of hours later than usual after a month or so
they became weekly she was never late but after a few more weeks the alcohol on her breath was replaced by toothpaste when she kissed me hello then the kisses disappeared and she went straight to shower after barely saying hello to me or the boys when I would ask her about her evening she became evasive I went into my secret account saving up to take our family on a twoe safari traveling from the okavango Delta to Victoria Falls before a few days in Cape Town and hired a pi I told him I didn't need details just
proof they would leave work a few hours early every Friday and head to a hotel they would stay there for about 3 maybe 4 hours before separating and heading home I had pictures of them entering the room kissing as they left and kissing each other goodbye in the car park I thanked the pi and gave him a nice bonus I made extra copies of his report and met his wife Tracy she was heartbroken when I gave for the news I held her as she cried and told her I would be her shoulder to cry on
I explained I would be getting a divorce and would be happy to pay my solicitor to take her case on top of mine it would be no fault under the new laws in the UK so it would cost me too much for him to double up on the paperwork she thanked me and asked me if I planned to confront them I told her no that her husband was her business and that my wife was mine but that I wouldn't interfere if she went after my wife I would have the pictures and Report delivered to them
at work just before they left for their weekly liaison Tracy listened to me before deciding to use my delivery to confront them together and embarrass them at work I laughed and wished them well I would use that time to talk to my boys and her parents I would be honest and tell the truth I would not let her turn me into the villain while I waited I was contemplating everything and forcing myself not to succumb to Temptation and open the wine before Christine got home my couriers had sent me some films which detailed the performance
that had taken place when Tracy approached them Christine had run away while Ben pleaded with his wife that Christine meant nothing to him I was still thinking about it when I heard the door open Christine was home she came into the living room and she looked sad and defeated there was a time I would have poured her a glass of wine before pulling her feet onto my lap to give her a massage while she told me her woes but I didn't move she noted the room and my lack of movement towards her looking at my
face she realized not only that I knew but I had also been the one to blow it all up her shoulders slumped as she took the seat opposite me she looked at me again but on meeting my gaze she instantly looked away deciding instead to open the bottle of wine on the table and pour us both a glass we sat in silence for several minutes before she finally spoke you didn't have to bring his wife into this she's nice their kids are young and his family don't deserve this she told me quietly are you suggesting
that I'm not nice or that our kids deserve this because they're older I asked her in response you're right she is nice she also deserved to know her husband is Unfaithful and makes her own decisions Christine had the grace to look ashamed momentarily before resuming her defense that's not what I'm saying Scott they're young they don't have the foundation we have to work through this what makes you think we're going to work through this I asked this isn't a normal [ __ ] up Christine you've been sleeping with someone else for the last 3 months
at least and lying to me about your relationship with him for who knows how long she flinched at my words before continuing her defense whatever I've been doing I took nothing away from you she replied hotly I never neglected you or the boys I was always here you started neglecting me and the boys when you started lying to us about your actions you were neglecting us when you chose to screw him instead of being here with your family I rep replied and never say you took nothing away from me you took away 20 years of
trust in you you took that away the second I learned you preferred to sneak off to the Galaxy Hotel instead of coming home I knew I had hit a Target when she looked away when she spoke she was less defensive and quieter I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that believe it or not this wasn't about you at first it was just flirting a break from being your wife and the boy's mother then the sexual tension built and we agreed to one meeting to get over it and then we wouldn't stop I never thought about him
when I was here with you that's [ __ ] you can't say it wasn't about me and then say you did it as a break from me I told her you think I believe you never thought about him while you were here try again what were you thinking about when you sto saying hello to me and the boys so you could shower to wash him off you tell me you weren't thinking about him when you would get ready for work on Friday mornings before your hookups I could see her struggling to maintain control I had
been calm thus far we both knew losing our our tempers was a sign of weakness and neither of us was afraid of pressing our advantage she looked at me again fine I love the attention she admitted I had the young hot stud at work flirting with me wanting me a 43-year-old mother of two who has been married for 18 years he picked me over all the young things at work it was flattering listening to his compliments made me feel young and sexy again so my compliments mean nothing do they I asked stone-faced keeping my temper
under control it's not the same you're my husband you're meant to compliment me it's different when it's someone new she said desperately as if I didn't understand I don't compliment you because you are my wife I compliment you because until you let that Predator into your life I thought you were the most beautiful person on the planet you're more beautiful now at 43 than you were 20 years ago every change marks the life we've shared you were beautiful to me because of what we shared for the first time tears appeared in her eyes you said
Ed were am I not beautiful you will always be beautiful I just can't see it anymore you shared what was ours with a predator I told her bluntly heun not a predator she replied defiantly so you say but let's look at the facts he's young and handsome with a beautiful wife and gorgeous young children he doesn't appreciate that so he goes looking elsewhere instead of focusing on the young single women in the office he goes after the middle-aged married one with just as much to lose as he does he plays on the fact you've been
married and the insecurities women commonly show with age he flirts and compliments you until you give in this is about how quickly he dropped you today you meant nothing to him you were just the easiest way he could find I saw her experience shock and comprehension before the Weeping started she regained control as I poured another glass of wine after finishing mine I held off till her tears dried up when her Gaze refocused on me she was still sniffling I've been a fool haven't I she asked defeated I just nodded and let her continue so
what now we get divorced I told her simply I've already told the boys and your parents what's happening I saw she was about to interrupt so I kept going I told them you love them and what you did had nothing to do with them they're still upset but they listen to me you have a lot of making up to do but they don't hate you I told your parents because I will not let you turn me into the villain the same goes for everyone we know if you try to make this my fault I will
share the Pi's report and let them know what you did it's up to you to be honest divorce just like that no counseling just divorce she asked knowing me well enough to know I had already made my choice pretty much we're a no fault divorce country these days so I don't need your agreement though it will make the process quicker I told her before bringing out the papers it's pretty fair in terms of custody and assets the boys are old enough to pick so whoever they choose gets the house until they're 21 when we'll sell
it our income is pretty much equal so there is minimal child support and no maintenance aren't you even willing to fight for our marriage she asked defeated no I'd have gone to war for you but you killed that the second you cheated remember we stood in front of 200 people at that ridiculous oversized wedding you and your parents insisted on and you vowed to forsake all others our marriage contract died when you broke that I told her simply I knew you'd say that I had to try she told me holding back her tears so this
is it she asked no this isn't you'll always be a part of my life we have the boys you'll be sitting next to me when they graduate from University and when they get married we have 20 years of happy memories the last few months are tainted but the positive outweighs the good I told her sympathetically then why can't we try and fix our marriage because our marriage As We Knew It Is Dead we both need to grieve I need to grieve over losing you don't interrupt I told her firmly I based my life on the
fact you would always be faithful to me and the woman I met married would have been somewhere along the line she died and I need to grieve over her you need to grieve over losing me and our marriage and probably the guilt that comes with it I'm already planning on therapy my words finally caused her to lose control and she burst into an uncontrolled fit of Tears she stood up and came and sat on my lap burying her face into my neck I could have refused her but she was still the woman I had raised
my children with so I held her until she could cry no more EV eventually her tears slowed and she looked up before gently kissing me I'm so sorry Scott we'll sign and submit the papers tomorrow okay I'm going to spend the week in an Airbnb you need some alone time with the boys I'll just be down the road I replied thank you she whispered before getting up and pouring the last of the wine before returning to her original seat she looked at me thoughtfully for a few minutes before speaking again you know I've loved you
every day for 20 years even when I got stupid I still loved you do your thing therapy and I'm going to get my own and then when we're done grieving about our old marriage I'm going to track you down and seduce you into a new marriage because we're meant to grow old together and die together she downed her wine and got up to kiss me again I'm not going to ask you to spend one last night with me but at least stay in the guest room one last Saturday breakfast epilogue divorce wasn't easy the legal
process of separating nearly 20 years of a shared life was fairly easy on paper the emotional Road was longer once the boys learned to forgive Christine their initial step was to try to push us back together it took more than a few Stern conversations to get them to stop I had to lead them because deep down I could see Christine was on their side even though she never encouraged them in the end they chose to stay with Christine she was a better cook and housekeeper so I couldn't fault their choice I got a small three-bedroom
flat about 20 minutes walk away so I saw them pretty much every other day they had keys to both houses and a choice of where to go after school we made sure to have a family dinner twice a month they made us proud and got top marks at school before accepting University places at Cambridge it was one of the few times that I was thankful my dad had passed away in my 30s I never would have been able to explain his grandchildren choosing Cambridge over Oxford to him once the boys left home Christine and I
drifted into a low contact relationship we had done our best for the boys but never had the space to heal properly we spoke spoke once a month to keep track of the boys but left each other alone we went to the boys graduation together she held my hand throughout the ceremony crying softly we sold the house not long after there was enough to give the boys a decent Nest Egg to start their new lives and Pad our respective bank accounts we both earned enough to live relatively comfortably on our own I took some of the
money and took a 3-month trip to batswana about 20 minutes outside of the capital gabaron there was a golf course and hotel resort where I could rent a self-catering guest house I was having breakfast at the clubhouse one morning when I felt a shadow over my table I looked up and saw Christine Chris I said surprised what are you doing here she sat down and Shrugged batswana is where you go to escape the world we've been here enough for me to know you would stay here while in the capital that's not an answer Christine what
are you doing here I asked again frustrated I told you I was coming for you when we were done healing I know you haven't dated since we divorced and I haven't seen anyone either the only man I can spend my life with is you we've spent the last 5 years prioritizing the boys and I'm so proud of them now it's time to prioritize us what if I don't want to go back what if I don't want you back I asked her seriously then why haven't you moved on and found someone she asked me seriously when
I didn't answer she kept going I'm not saying we just magically start again I'm saying we use the time you've planned here to get to know each other again if something happens it happens if not we return to England exactly as we have been for the last few years but we will try she reminded me of the young woman I had met nearly 25 years earlier she knew what she wanted and there wasn't a lot I could do to stop her we traveled around southern Africa for nearly a month before sharing a room we arrived
at a hotel in Victoria Falls late and they only had one room left Christine accepted it and handed over her credit card before I could protest test she did not attempt to seduce me that night instead comfortably falling asleep next to me by the time I woke up the following day we were spooning and she was holding my hand tightly to her breast I gently tried to remove it from her grasp but she gripped me tighter don't you dare she told me you're the one that rolled to my side of the bed and put your
arm around me this is my hand until I give it back without saying anything else she let go and turned around to kiss me good morning before getting out of bed after breakfast at the hotel we spent the day wandering around the Falls she made sure to claim my hand at every opportunity when we returned to the hotel my resolve to keep her at arms length had faded despite her infidelity I had never stopped loving her she hadn't fought me when I had divorced her she had understood what she had done and let me go
I knew from the boys that after I had left she had devoted herself to them and become a better person and over the last month I had seen how she had changed we all take a risk when we start a relationship so perhaps I was wrong to allow her back into my life I was ready to take the opportunity since we never know unless we do
