My husband and I fought like crazy due to our poor financial situation and the fact that he was always home late. I decided to follow him one day and was shocked when I saw him going into his brother’s house, but he was greeted by a woman.
“We can’t keep going like this. I thought you earned much more. Where is our money going every month?” I accused my husband, Wyatt, who looked exasperated. I knew it wasn’t fair to blame him for our financial situation. I was not helping things either. But I didn’t understand what was happening.
He rubbed his forehead and looked at the floor. “I don’t know what to tell you. Things are more expensive right now. I’m doing my best. I am,” he said, his voice sad.
“I’m sorry. I know. It’s just… I don’t understand how we used to make it fine to the end of the month, but we can’t now,” I apologized. But something in my gut told me that Wyatt was not being entirely truthful. Yes, times were tough, and I was no longer working, but we should have a little leftover to save. At least $50. But nothing was going into our savings accounts. I was worried about the future.
I parked, slammed the door, and stormed into that house, ready to blaze a trail of fire on those two cheaters. I would not forgive Wyatt this time.
I quit my part-time job a few months ago because I had a chronic health condition that only worsened with stress and anxiety, so I quit. Wyatt was the sole provider, but as the person in charge of paying bills, I knew things were bad now. They weren’t a few months ago, and we hadn’t changed our spending habits.
Wyatt must be hiding some kind of expense. Or… he was hiding something worse.
Wyatt and I already had several fights. One, in particular, happened because of his brother, Dawson, and his wife, Faye. You didn’t want them as family. They were greedy and stingy, as they proved some time ago when we were about to be homeless.
When Wyatt and I married, we were late on rent several times due to different circumstances, including my medical bills. They refused to house us for one single day.
“That’s not my problem,” Faye told me when I begged her because we had no other options. Luckily, one friend lent us enough money to rent a small room until we got back on our feet. We worked like crazy to pay that friend back and rent another apartment.
Sometime later, we were at a family gathering, and I talked to Wyatt’s aunt about how hard my health situation had gotten and how I might have to quit my job. Faye rolled her eyes at me but said nothing. I ignored her to keep the peace.
Later that same night, the subject of kids came up, and I expressed how badly I wanted to start our family and how I dreamed of being a mother all my life. This time, Faye didn’t stay quiet.
“You? A mother? HA! With all your issues and how badly you two handle money, don’t!”
“Because no one here is going to bail you out when you can’t pay rent, even with a baby in your arms!” she scoffed hatefully. “Also, who wants to deal with a mentally unstable mother?”
The room stayed quiet, and I looked at Wyatt to defend myself. But he didn’t. We left that gathering soon after. I fought with my husband a lot that night. In fact, we almost broke up. But in the end, we made up and tried to move on, avoiding Faye and Dawson as much as possible.
However, something was going on now, and I wasn’t sure what it was.
But it might be something I would never be able to forgive.
***
I was driving behind my husband’s car one night. Yes, I got desperate and waited for him outside his work. He told me he was coming home late, but I saw him leaving at 5 p.m. The drive was excruciating. A million scenarios ran through my head. Where is he going? What is he doing? Is he cheating? God, could I ever forgive cheating?
To my shock, I saw my husband… holding a baby…
However, Wyatt turned to a familiar street, and I saw him park on his brother’s driveway. Why is he here? We agreed to avoid them. What was happening?
He got out, and the front door opened, revealing Faye, who smiled when my husband got close, then wrapped him in her arms. Of course, I thought the worst. Was he genuinely cheating on me with Faye? A woman who had no respect for me or any sympathy. Also, where was Dawson? Would Wyatt truly betray his brother? None of this made any sense.
But I was not going to sit in my car and overthink myself to death. I parked, slammed the door, and stormed into that house, ready to blaze a trail of fire on those two cheaters. I would not forgive Wyatt this time.
To my shock, I saw my husband… holding a baby and another baby in Faye’s arms. What? Faye and Dawson didn’t have kids, as far as I knew. Well, we hadn’t talked to them in some time, but this was surprising.
“What’s happening here?…