I couldn't believe what I was hearing here I am at a major Chamber of Commerce function about to receive an award and Rhonda my wife of 10 years just whispered in my ear that she was going to leave with Gerald my business partner for a weekend of in Las Vegas immediately after the award ceremony are you out of your mind I asked quietly so as not to be heard by anyone else only with lust she whispered back for him right now I'm feeling his hard through his trousers and soon I'll be putting it in me
we need to talk I told her but not now later after we get home from the ceremony no Ron I'm telling you how it's going to be she said if you want to talk you can give me some ideas or maybe remind me of the things you've always wanted me to do with you but refused I'll be home Monday evening and we can talk then if you still feel the need this was the start of a 3-day weekend and I knew she didn't have to be back to work until Tuesday and you plotted this with
him I asked quietly of course she said his wife also knows I looked and saw my soon to be ex partner and friend sitting next to Rhonda with a eating grin on his face I wanted to punch the out but not here not in front of all these people these so-called pillars of the community I looked at Judy his wife who sat next to him she didn't look too happy at all apparently she also knew about this my mind was racing but I focused back on the present when I heard my name called by the
Master of Ceremonies I got up shook his hand and accepted the award holding it for a second as a photographer took a picture I gave my prepared acceptance speech and noticed as I did that ronda's hand was in Gerald's lap I decided to make an impromptu change in my speech on my notes I had included an acknowledgement of my wife but I ended my speech a bit early not even mentioning her name instead I thanked the community for their support and the Chamber for the award then ended my speech I didn't know if anyone would
notice the slight but Ronda mentioned it after I sat back down what didn't I even rate a mention she asked sarcastically as I took a sip of my now tepid drink I simply glared at her not saying a word so that's how it's going to be huh well like I said we'll talk Monday evening when I get back Gerald got up and headed for the podium deliberately bumping into me on his way up if you go through with this don't bother coming back I whispered to Ronda as Gerald spoke there will be nothing here for
you to come back back to to emphasize the point I slipped my ring off my finger and handed it to her she smirked as she dropped it in her purse you know why I'm doing this she asked of course you do she added it's for what you did with Judy don't lie I know all about it I have pictures so you'll say or do nothing let me do this and we'll talk when I get back don't do this Rhonda I said nothing happened between Judy and I except dinner we can talk about it after the
ceremony too late she said it's going to happen the tickets have already been bought the reservations have already been made I'm going to give Gerald my naked body this weekend I'm going to let him do whatever he wants to me and there's nothing you can say or do to stop me what if I told you he's HIV positive I asked she laughed I wouldn't believe you you'd say or do just about anything to keep me from going she said don't say I didn't warn you I told her I guarantee that if you do this you'll
regret it for the rest of your life look just enjoy the weekend without me go play golf or something when I get back things will go on as before she said I couldn't believe the nerve of this woman no they won't Rhonda I told her we'll see about that she said a minute or two later Gerald returned and took his seat Ronda turned to him and I could see she had placed her hand back in his lap disgusted I turned away from her finally the event was over and we got up to leave this is
your last chance Ronda I said she and Gerald smirked as they looked at me we're leaving now Ron she said I may call you or not either way I'll see you Monday no hard feelings partner Gerald said I promise not to damage her too badly for you we're done Gerald I told him calmly as partners and friends I don't ever want to see or hear from you again we'll see about that partner he said as he guided Rhonda away I turned and looked at Judy who had tears falling down her face do you need a
ride home I asked her she shook her head no I have an Uber coming for me she said thanks for asking anyway didn't you tell them that nothing happened between us I asked that it was just a dinner and a conversation I tried but they wouldn't listen she said Gerald has pictures of us at the restaurant and Ronda insists it was a Prelude to an affair you know how she can get sometimes yeah I knew all right until now the only complaint I had about Rhonda was her uncanny ability to act on false assumptions and
once she got something in her head there was almost nothing anyone could do to change her mind I see I told her I'm sorry Ron she said you don't deserve this I only hope he thought enough to bring condoms it doesn't matter I said whether he uses a condom or not is immaterial the fact that she's going to let him through her is all that matters no I'm finished with both of them what are you going to do she asked what I need to I told her what about you I told Gerald if he went
through with this I'd divorce him she said and that's exactly what I intend to do this isn't the first time he's cheated on me but by God it'll be the last good for you I said let me know if there's anything I can do if you like I can refer you to a good lawyer thanks Ron she said said I appreciate that with that she left and I followed shortly making my way back to the car on the way home I thought about the last 10 years with Ronda we married about 5 years after Gerald
and I went into business together Gerald introduced me to her after we had been in business together for about 4 years by then he and Judy had been married for 3 years Rhonda and I dated fell in love and and got married Gerald was the best man at our wedding and I never would have believed he would be capable of doing something like this I never thought Ronda would either by the time we got married the business was growing significantly so my lawyer suggested I have her sign a prenuptial agreement to protect my assets which
included my home and the business she didn't like it but she signed it anyway I made sure the agreement was Equitable and included a clause for INF idity I had a lot to do and not a whole lot of time to get it done it was still fairly early in the evening when I got home so I called my lawyer Jim Simpson on his cell Hey Ron he said I thought you and Ronda would be celebrating your award tonight what's going on he listened as I told him what happened earlier in the evening oh my
God Ron I'm so sorry to hear that he said when I finished you want me to start drawing up papers yes Jim I said I want a divorce for adultery based on our prenuptial and I want you to draw up papers dissolving the partnership when Gerald and I drew up the partnership we included a clause that said the partnership could be dissolved if one or more of the partners engaged in morally unacceptable behavior that could significantly impact the operation of the business I felt this certainly fell into that category are you sure about that that
he asked yes I said absolutely I want it reorganized as a sole proprietor ship if possible I know we had talked about incorporating it as a limited liability company before maybe this is the time to do that all right I'll get the ball rolling on that Jim said it's going to take some time though I know I said but I want the partnership dissolved as fast as possible and I want my losses mitigated as much as possible consider it done my friend he said thanks I said ending the call I knew that under the terms
of the agreement I would have to pay Gerald something to get him out of the company so the less I had to give him the better I knew Jim would come through for me a couple of hours later I got a call from Ronda I just wanted to let you know we're at the hotel in Vegas she said and I'm so ready for a weekend of hot Rhonda you should know before you do this that Gerald is HIV positive I said if you go through with this you'll regret it for the rest of your life
stop this nonsense and come home right now if you do then maybe and I do mean maybe we can fix our marriage oh Ron she said with a laugh are you still on that get over yourself this is going to happen I am going to let Gerald my brains out all weekend long long in fact I'm getting just thinking about it maybe if you're a good boy I'll feed you some of his when I get home Rhonda I'm warning you I began to say but she had already ended the call that was it I had
warned her but she refused to listen the rest of my now screwed up weekend was spent exercising Rhonda from my life on Jim's advice I went to the bank on Saturday morning and took care of things there paying off her credit card before cancelling it I got three voicemails from Ronda and a few text messages over the weekend she was doing her best to get me riled up oh yeah she moaned in one of her voicemails Gerald's is buried deep in me right now Ron it's so much bigger than yours and feels so much better
in case you're wondering I've SW him several times already I know I've never done that for you but he is just so delicious maybe I'll let him get me got to go now he's getting ready once again bye now bye the other voicemails were very similar I forwarded all of them to Jim so he could have them as proof of ronda's adultery I also forwarded them to Judy so she could use them in her divorce from Gerald I called a locksmith and had all of the locks changed on the doors I wasn't worried about keeping
the house as I had bought it before we got married and the mortgage was in my name only I tossed all of her clothes and prized possessions into trash bags and crammed them into her car leaving enough room for her to drive I pulled the car out of the garage and left it in the driveway I pulled down all of the photos that included Ronda I broke up the large wedding portrait that hung over the fireplace before placing the broken pieces inside to be burned by the time I was finished there was no evidence that
she had ever been in the place after listening to her voicemails the next morning I called her mother and said we need to talk she invited me over for lunch so I went after eating a sandwich she asked me what was going on so I told her everything I even played the voicemails Rhonda had left by the time I finished she was inconsolable that stupid stupid girl she said I can't believe she would do something like this to you I'm so sorry Ron of course she can stay here until she gets back on her feet
but I'm going to tan her hide for this I'm sorry as well Mom I told her I always thought of Rhonda's mother as Mom especially since my own mother died from a stroke a few years before she's going to need all the help and support you can give her of course she said but I'm still going to put her over my knee I chuckled and gave her a hug please stay in touch Ron she said as we broke the hug I promised I would and left she was still wiping tears from her face when I
left from there I went to a Tavern that served the juiciest burgers and enjoyed one with a couple of beers Jim called me on Monday to say he had the paperwork drawn up so I went to his office everything looked good so I paid his retainer and left the papers would be filed with the court the next day which was Tuesday where would you like her served Jim asked preferably at her place of work I said she humiliated me in public so I think it's only fair I return the favor okay he said before I
left I got a couple more voicemails from Rhonda that day the last one letting me know she was on her way home I got a good laugh at that Gerald dropped her off that evening at about 5:30 then took off apparently he was a bit too cowardly to face me after what he had done I waited and heard her come onto the porch I heard her trying her keys but none of them worked finally she rang the doorbell I ignored it for a few minutes and she began pounding on the door let me in damn
it she yelled I got up and walked to the door I opened it and stepped outside she looked at me before trying to walk inside but I stopped her what are you doing I live here too no you don't I told her not anymore you gave up that right when you left Friday night but I told you I would be back and we could discuss things if you still wanted to she said and why is my car in the driveway why isn't it in the garage and what's all that stuff in it that's all your
stuff Rhonda I said like I said you don't live here anymore look I know you're upset she said we can talk about it if you want I wanted to talk with you on Friday but you weren't interested remember I asked I practically begged you to listen to me but you Flatout refused and insisted on spending the weekend with Gerald that's right she said since you with his wife I figured I deserve to get some revenge and what proof do you have that I had with Judy I asked show me she pulled out her phone and
showed me a picture of Judy and me at a table in a restaurant what's that she asked that's two people talking over dinner I said there's no in that picture and nothing happened between Judy and I for that matter I have never been with another woman since you and I became exclusive then why were you having dinner with her Rhonda asked surely you expected something afterward there you go again making false assumptions I said what are you talking about she asked that's what I wanted to talk to you about on Friday but you refused to
listen to me I said tell me did Gerald ever use a condom this weekend of course not she said you know I hate condoms I see I said and I guess you let him finish inside you multiple times that's right she said I still have some of his inside me right now I was going to let you clean it out of me and if you were repentant I was going to let you have with me but I don't think that's going to happen so you were planning to kill me then I said her eyes grew
wide of course not she said where did you get that silly idea from do you remember a few months back when he said he wasn't feeling too well I asked that was just a few weeks after he returned from a trip back East yeah I remember she said I suggested he go see his doctor and get checked out he never told me what the doctor said but Judy learned he tested positive for HIV you want to know how she learned about it I'll tell you she learned about it because he infected her she tested positive
just recently that's what we were talking about at dinner that night at the time he infected her he didn't know he had it but he sure as hell knew this last weekend when he was you I handed her a copy of Gerald's test results Judy had given me the night we had dinner Rhonda's face turned white and her eyes widened I even told you on Friday but you refused to listen oh my God you were telling the truth I'm going to get sick she doubled over and vomited in the front yard I stood and watched
as she wretched several times in the front yard when she finished she looked at me scared I'm going to die aren't I she asked I Shrugged my shoulders I'm not a doctor so I don't know Judy said her doctor told her it's not the death sentence it was a few years ago but it's still pretty rough at any rate I suggest you go see Dr Barnes first thing in the morning and let him know have him run some tests on you maybe if he can catch it early enough he can do something but I do
know that our marriage is dead where will I go she asked tears falling down her face your mother said you can stay with her until you get on your feet I said my mother you told my mother she asked shocked yes she deserves to know the truth don't you think I guess she said and you'll be served with divorce papers at work sometime this week I told her please no I don't want a divorce can't we work through this no we probably could have if you had talked to me on Friday instead of leaving me
to spend the weekend with him in Vegas but you just had to have things your way you made your bed Rhonda now you get to lie in it so what were you doing with Judy and in that restaurant she asked I already told you talking I said she got her test results and wanted to talk to me she asked if I had any idea he was positive of course I told her the truth I didn't I was trying to find a way to help the two of them get through this but it seems Gerald decided
to have her followed he got those pictures of us in the restaurant naturally when you saw them you made your usual false assumptions and and here we are I hope it was all worth it to you please can't you just give me one more chance she begged I'm dying here I've been dying since you walked out on me Friday night I said but I love you she cried yeah right I thought don't you have any love for me at all love you right now I don't even like you now get off my lawn I walked
back inside and slamed the door locking it behind me I looked through the window and saw her sobbing as she knelt on the lawn she looked totally defeated and forlorn but right then I didn't care eventually she turned and slowly ambled to her car still crying as I watched she backed out of the driveway and drove off still crying the next day I got to the office early hoping to catch Gerald when he came in I had already advised security to to confiscate his badge when he came in and had a couple security officers Waiting
by his office when he arrived he gave me a smirk but lost it when he saw the officers what's this all about he asked they're here to confiscate your badge and make sure you don't take any company property when you leave I told him leave I'm not going anywhere wrong answer I told him as of today the partnership is dissolved you no longer work here bull you can't do that read the agreement we both signed I said tossing a copy of it on his desk I highlighted the appropriate Clause the dissolution of the partnership is
being filed this morning and the company is temporarily being reorganized as a sole proprietorship I'll give you 15 minutes to pack your trash and get off the property before I have you escorted out is this all because I was with your wife over the weekend he asked partly it's also for deliberately exposing her to HIV which I've been told is a crime in this state what he asked I saw your test results Judy showed them to me that's what we were discussing that day in the restaurant she told me you infected her as well I
was planning to make you a silent partner so you could keep your medical coverage and still earn an income but what you did this weekend was beyond the pale you know you're infected but you still chose to spend the weekend with Rhonda without informing her that's illegal in this state the two of you had this all planned out except she didn't know your HIV positive in my view what you did violates the terms of our partnership agreement I had considered giving you a severance package but in light of your actions I've changed my mind now
get out you can't do this he exclaimed I'll fight you on this so help me God I'll start spreading rumors that you've been half the female staff here threatening their jobs if they don't go along with what you want really I asked you'd deliberately slander me in the community for revenge on top of deliberately infecting my wife with HIV so she could infect me godamn right by the time I'm done you won't have any business at all I smiled and pulled an audio recorder from my pocket I hit a button and played our conversation back
to him I think that should add a few million to the lawsuit and help secure a conviction not to mention the fact that you made your claim in front of at least two witnesses right I asked looking at the two security guards who smiled and nodded their heads I looked at my watch you know I used to think you were my best friend I also used to think you were quite intelligent I see now that my initial assessment of you was wrong you have 10 minutes to pack up and get the the hell off my
property I looked at the guards before speaking again keep an eye on him make sure he doesn't touch his computer and only takes what's his yes sir Mr Hastings one of the guards said Gerald packed his stuff as the security guards watched on his way out he stopped by my office I'm sorry Ron he said just go get out after Gerald left I called a meeting of all employees it was crowded in the main office office but I felt they deserved to know there would be changes I told them that Gerald was no longer with
the company and the partnership had been dissolved I assured them that this change wouldn't affect their jobs in the long run but could cause some short-term disruption one of the employees asked why Gerald left but all I would say is that it was a personal matter the next several weeks were a blur Ronda was served with divorce papers at her place of work on Thursday which prompted a great deal of Gossip her mother told me she had gone to see the doctor on Tuesday but it would be a while before she got the results of
her tests thankfully Ronda didn't Deluge me with calls or texts it seems she finally realized that she had made a huge mistake one that would affect her for the rest of her life realizing there would be no reconciliation she signed the papers Jim told me the divorce would be final in 90 days Judy filed for divorce against Gerald on the grounds of adultery she told me he was living in a motel room that was rented by the week until he could find something else but he had another problem after ronda's visit Dr Barnes reported Gerald
to the authorities from what I learned the state we live in requires those infected with HIV to inform their Partners before any activity takes place since Ronda said Gerald never informed her he could receive up to 20 years in prison I also learned that this was one of those laws many prosecutors didn't like to enforce since there was too great a chance of backlash but the local authorities decided to go after Gerald based on ronda's testimony a week or so after being kicked out of his house police showed up at the motel where he was
staying and took him into custody concerned that he could present a danger to the general population he was placed in solitary confinement Gerald's trial became something of a circus the prosecuting attorney painted him as a cruel manipulative s who deliberately set out to infect me his partner with the Disease by first infecting Ronda Ronda testified as did I Judy also testified the prosecutor also played the Audio I captured in my office putting Gerald in an even worse position it didn't take long for the jury to convict disgusted by what he heard the judge sentenced him
to the maximum allowable by law 20 years in the State Penitentiary but Gerald's problems were far from over now he was in the middle of a divorce as well as civil litigation after Judy's divorce was finalized she sold her home and moved out of the area Ronda contacted me a few days before our divorce was Final and asked me if I would have dinner with her after thinking about it I agreed I felt it was time for closure we met at a quiet restaurant where we enjoyed a final meal I hope you're not too scared
or ashamed to be seen with me she said we're not going to be swapping any bodily fluids so it shouldn't be a problem I told her half jokingly I got the results of my test I'm positive I'm not surprised but I am sorry to hear that I told her it's not your fault you tried to warn me but I wouldn't listen it's a mistake I'll be paying for the rest of my life so what is the doctor doing I asked he's got me on an anti-retroviral therapy it'll never be cured but he tells me I
can live a fairly normal life if I take the drug every day of course I had to let my boss know he's letting me tell a commute so I can work from home and Mom says I can stay with her as long as I need to that's good to hear I said my lawyer is also filing a lawsuit against Gerald I've been told it's pretty much a slam dunk with his conviction but collecting may be an issue with him being in prison and all I see I told her well I happen to know that his
401k was pretty substantial even after subtracting Judy's portion she also sold their house so maybe you can get his half of that have you spoken with her recently I have she's out of the area but we still talk from time to time I'll mention that to her and see what she says what happened to you Rhonda I asked asked after a while I don't get it I wanted to have kids with you spend the rest of my life with you I don't know she said quietly when Gerald showed me those pictures of you with Judy
I lost it I just knew you were having in with her I really jumped the shark on that didn't I just a bit but why didn't you just talk to me I asked I was angry I didn't want to hear anything you had to say Judy tried to warn me as well but I figured she was in cahoots with you and would say anything to stop me I even told you that Friday about Gerald I said twice I hoped you would have gotten the hint frankly I didn't want to hear anything you had to say
she told me and now I'm paying the price I'll be paying it for the rest of my life can you ever forgive me for being so stupid I don't know right now it's all I can do to be civil around you I thank you for that at least she said I know it's probably not easy for you so how are you holding up I manage I stay pretty busy with the business now that Gerald is gone my workload has doubled so there's no shortage of things to do any women in your life she asked no
I'm not in the market for a relationship probably won't be for quite a while Once Bitten Twice Shy you know I'm sorry she said I've learned a thing or two myself from all of this I said what's that she asked never trust anyone I said she looked at me shocked I knew Gerald for years before I met you that is I thought I knew him I had no idea he was capable of doing what he did and the things I learned about him during their divorce frankly make me sick to my stomach and what you
did certainly didn't help I'm sorry she said yeah well it is what it is I said I see you're still wearing your rings I added looking at her left hand wek still technically married she said at least for a few more days if you want them back you can have them but I was hoping you'd let me keep them I don't want them I just take them down and sell them anyway why would you want them as a reminder she said of what I once had and threw away they're yours I said do with them
what you want thank you she said quietly a tear falling down her cheek I'd better get going now I said I have a lot to do yet tonight tell your mother I said hello and good luck I will she said and thanks Ron I really am sorry about all this yeah me too Rhonda goodbye I could hear her sobbing as I left I wasn't as angry as I was when this all first went down but I still felt sad it's not easy ending a decade long relationship with someone you thought you'd spend the rest of
your life with work went on as normal and within a year things had settled down to a steady roar I had plenty of opportunities but chose not to date or pursue a relationship I still had some serious Trust issues after what Ronda and Gerald had done for me life consisted of working eating and sleeping I had no social life whatsoever a year and a half after my divorce Denise my secretary introduced me to her younger sister Angela at a company event she was a couple of years younger than me and had just gotten through a
divorce from her husband who left her for another woman we began dating taking things one step at a time slowly both of us had been burned by our previous spouses and still had some trust issues but as we spent more time together our trust in each other grew we dated several times over the course of a month before we ended up spending the night together in my bed a few months later I popped the question and she said yes our wedding is set for the spring to be followed up with a 5-day Caribbean cruise we
extended an invitation to ronda's mother but we don't know if she plans to attend I'm still hurting from what Ronda and Gerald did but Angela has done a superb job of healing the scars I've done my best to help her heal as well and I'm certainly looking forward to spending the rest of my life with her thinking about Angela I'm often reminded of the old saw that says sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us and so we've reached
the end of today's story was it what you expected or did it take a Twist you didn't see coming I'm curious to hear your thoughts share them in the comments below and let's get a conversation going if this story kept you hooked make sure to hit that like button and if you're new here or just haven't subscribed yet now's the perfect time to join our community I bring you fresh captivating stories every day so click that subscribe button and turn on notifications so you never miss out thanks for watching and I'll see you in the
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