She fell asleep mid-conversation with him. Her thumb was still on the screen, the chat with Justin still open. I reached to take the phone, turn it off, put it on the charger. But curiosity got the better of me.
I had been married to Alicia for seven years. I had watched my own parents tear each other apart in a messy divorce when I was nine, and I swore I would never let that happen to me. So I did everything right. Vacations twice a year, romantic dates every month, thoughtful gifts, open communication.
I was patient in the bedroom, always asking if she was comfortable, always open to trying whatever she wanted. She was conservative, shy about new things, and I never pushed. I found the phone in her hand. The last message from Justin asked if she was still awake.
I scrolled up. The conversation was deeply inappropriate. They had been texting for at least two months. And in one message, he thanked her for coming over.
He said he would love to see her again. It wasn’t a one-night stand. It was a full-blown affair, physical and emotional, and I had no idea. I took pictures of the chat and exported the entire thread.
I was tempted to shake her awake and scream. But I didn’t. I made a plan. The next day, she knew something was wrong.
She kept asking. I deflected, then lied and said it was a problem at work. She kept pushing, and I think part of her suspected I had seen her phone because she had woken up to find it charging. That week, I met with a divorce lawyer.
He told me we lived in a no-fault state, so proof of infidelity wouldn’t sway much. She would still walk away with something. I hated it, but I prepared the papers anyway. The plan was to confront her, then have her served that same night.
That evening, I sat her down. “I need to talk to you about something. ” She looked concerned. I admitted I had lied about work.
The first thing she said was, “You lied to me. ”
I told her I knew about Justin. I saw her react, then try to hide it. I told her I had loved her too much, done too much for her, to be repaid with cheating.
I asked her why. “So, you checked my phone? ” She sounded annoyed. “You fell asleep while texting him.
”
She said I had no right. I said we were married, there should be nothing to hide. She laughed and told me to let her go through my phone if I was so sure. I held it out.
She didn’t take it. She knew there was nothing there. I asked again why she cheated. She said it didn’t matter because I was making her the villain.
I told her she was the villain because there was no good reason. She didn’t cheat to save a life. She cheated because she was horny, wanted attention, or both. She tried another angle.
“Do you even understand what you read? ” Her arguments were weak, and it was sad watching her try to act unremorseful. Finally, she gave me her answer. She said I wasn’t pleasing her the way she wanted to be pleased.
I called it a lie. I had always been open, always asked, always tried new things. She had never suggested anything, always shied away. I told her she was full of it.
“Well, he makes me feel better than you do. ”
I held myself back from exploding. I told her she could believe whatever she wanted, but at the end of the day, it was her loss. I said I was going to divorce her, and she would regret it.
Her voice was quivering, but she still pushed. She said it was my loss. She said she had made a mistake and I was making a big deal out of it. She said I would be miserable.
She said she was out of my league from the start, and I would never find anyone who treated me the way she did. “If cheating is part of the way you treat me, I’m happy to never meet anyone like you again. ”
She told me to f*** off. The argument went on for hours.
When the doorbell rang, I told her it was for her. She went and collected the divorce papers. She didn’t react. I told her she had to be out of the house by the next day.
“Or what? ”
I realized I couldn’t force her out. She locked herself in the bedroom. I slept in the guest room.
We lived in that house together for weeks, speaking less than twenty words to each other. She signed the papers, thankfully. I got tested for STDs, since I had still been sleeping with her after the affair started. I was clean.
She was lucky. The divorce went the way my lawyer said it would. She was bitter, so there was no agreement. We went to court.
The judge awarded me the house, which was what I wanted most, but I had to refinance and give her a cut. I had to pay alimony for four years. I hated it. She tried to gloat about the alimony after it was final.
I ignored her. But I had a plan. I wasn’t going to do the cliché revenge. I couldn’t track down Justin, I only knew his first name.
So I focused on myself. I sold the house and moved to a smaller, better-suited place. I had extra money each month. I went to Japan, something I had wanted to do for years.
I posted pictures. My favorite band was on tour in another city a week later; I couldn’t wait the month for them to come to mine, so I went. I posted more pictures. I did a supercar driving experience.
I was having fun, and I wasn’t going to let Alicia take that from me. The thing that finally pushed her over the edge was a female friend inviting me to a new restaurant. I posted pictures of the meal. In the background of one, you could see manicured nails on the hand of the person across from me.
The next morning, I woke up to a message from Alicia. It was the longest conversation we’d had since the divorce. She asked how I was. I said fine.
She asked what I’d been up to. I said work. She said, “Is that all? ” I said yes.
She said she saw I was having a lot of fun. I told her life takes you in unexpected directions, so you should enjoy yourself. Then she said she had something important to tell me. She asked if we could meet.
I didn’t want to, but I was curious. We met at McDonald’s a few days later. She was completely different. Passive, well-behaved, soft-spoken.
I asked her what she had to say before she could start small talk. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. ”
I knew where this was going. I was satisfied inside.
She said she had handled my confrontation badly. She said she was hurt and embarrassed when she was caught, and she lashed out to save her ego instead of trying to save our marriage. She said she was hurt that I went ahead with the divorce. But then, “When I saw you out there living your best life, it reminded me of the man I fell in love with.
I can’t believe I threw that away. I want to give us another chance. ”
I was quiet for a moment, figuring out what to say. Then it came to me.
“No way in hell. ”
She was shocked. I stood up, and loudly, I repeated it. I told her no way in hell I would get back with her.
“You cheated on me. When I confronted you, you were defensive and far from apologetic. I divorced you and you said I’d be miserable. You saw me living my life and going on dates, and that’s when you knew you wanted me back.
I’m not miserable without you, Alicia. ”
Her mouth was open, and she was panicking. She was about to stand and bolt, but I moved out before her. I passed a few people with their phones out.
I didn’t care, as long as they captured her. That was the last time we ever spoke. I haven’t seen any videos online, but I hope they exist. I’m glad I got to hit back in my own way.
I’m taking a break from serious relationships for a while. Maybe one day I’ll try again, but for now, I’m just happy it’s over.
