When my son introduced us to his new girlfriend, I expected a pleasant evening. I didn’t expect the moment that would unravel my entire life.
It began like any other quiet night. The house was hushed, that late-night stillness where even the walls seem to rest. I stood in the kitchen, absentmindedly wiping the counters for the third time, when I heard footsteps.
“Mom?” Ryan’s voice was soft, uncertain. “You’re still up?”
I turned to see him in the doorway—barefoot, hair damp from a shower, sticking up like it always had when he was little. Some habits never change.
“Couldn’t sleep,” I said, glancing back at the cloth in my hand. “Thought I’d keep busy. What about you?”
He shrugged, offering a sheepish smile. “Same. Tried a shower, figured it might help.”
I nodded toward the fridge. “Ice cream?”
His grin widened. “Do we still have the good kind?”
“Have you ever known your mother to stock anything less?” I teased, pulling out the chocolate fudge brownie tub.
“Perfect,” he said, grabbing two spoons.
We sat down at the table, passing the ice cream between us like old times.
“She’s special,” Ryan said after a pause, his voice softer now. “Sophie. The girl I’m seeing.”
“I figured,” I smiled. “You’ve had that glow. She makes you happy.”
“She does,” he nodded. “And it’s more than just dating. I want her in my life—for real.”
Hearing him speak with such tenderness, so open and genuine, filled me with a quiet joy. My son, who’d always kept his emotions guarded, was letting someone in. And I was excited to meet her.
I just didn’t know that Sophie would change everything.
It happened when she visited. We were all settling in when she caught sight of a family photo on the shelf. Her face turned pale. Her eyes locked on one man—my husband.
She knew him.
And not in a vague, passing way.
As truths began to unravel, so did the life I thought I knew. My husband had been living a lie. And Sophie? She held the key to a secret that shattered our family.
Now, as I piece together the fragments of betrayal and choose what to do with the truth, I’m left with a question no wife wants to ask:
Do I seek revenge—or walk away for good?
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