I Called The Hotel Room Where My Wife Was With Her Lover— What I Said Made Everyone In That Hospital

A few months ago, Jason and I celebrated our 20th anniversary with our two daughters, Jasmine, 16, Casey, 13, and our son, Jake, 15. My name is Jason Bennett, a 42-year-old happy father and husband. At least I was a happy husband until I wasn't anymore.

When we got married, Lena had just turned 20, and I was her first and only love. I was two years older and had several other girlfriends before we got married. She was a pretty girl, 5'7 tall, blonde hair, blue eyes, all wrapped up in a nice 105 lbs package. We had an amazing marriage and worked hard to give our children a good home in a happy environment. For the past 20 years, we have spent all our time together and done everything as a family. Happy times, birthdays, first days of school, plays, graduations, even bad times brought us closer. There were Jake's broken bones in soccer, sprained ankles, stitches from accidents with girls at soccer, and even Lena's fear of cancer. I remember spending all those months taking her to the hospital, staying with her through chemotherapy and blood transfusions, taking care of the children, and trying to keep everything together. Her recovery 7 years ago brought the family even closer together. And we celebrated the blessing that Lena beat cancer, and we remained a strong family.

As you can imagine, raising three kids, paying all the bills, and trying to save for college wasn't easy. The first thing to do is start going to the gym and worry about your diet or appearance. In your 20s, you can easily put on a pound or a kilo every year. But neither of us cared as we were both more focused on saving for our children's future. I worked as a dentist with my own small practice, and Lena was a stay-at-home mom for many years. We both worked a lot, but we were always there for the kids. Even though our lives had become routine, our love and intimacy were never lacking, and we always made time for each other, making sure we were both happy in bed. We weren't wild, but we were more passionate than some of the stories we read together. We both seemed happy and satisfied with our love making and relationship.

Four years ago, we got new neighbors, Maria and Roger. They were in their late 30s, had no children, and liked to party on the weekends. Maria was a fitness instructor at an upscale gym and had an amazing body. Roger was 30 years old and also in good shape as one would expect from a young man married to such a beautiful woman as Maria. When Lina turned 38, she was about 30 lb overweight, which didn't bother me at all since I also had about 40 extra pounds from years of hard work when we didn't have time to exercise or take care of ourselves. Maria convinced Lina that she was a beautiful woman and could easily lose weight if she started going to the gym with her. Maria even offered Lina a job at the gym once she got in shape, suggesting she could become a fitness instructor, too. Two years later, just before Lena would have turned 40, she had lost all the extra weight maintaining her 20-year-old body. She looked amazing, and I always complimented her on how beautiful she was. Lena became a different person, more confident and energetic. Our night life improved thanks to her new energy level. Lena rediscovered her youth and I tried to keep up and make her happy. Of course, with a new body came new clothes and a sense of fashion. With the help of her new friend, Maria, Lena now wore more revealing, attractive clothes. Lena enjoyed her new body and loved to show it off in tighter, more fashionable outfits.

At first, I was a little concerned when she went off to work looking like a young woman, while I spent my day wearing an elderly dad's body in a dentist coat. When we walked together, I now looked more like her father than her partner or husband. Sure always tried to make me feel important, and that those looks didn't matter because I was the same man she had loved for the last 20 years, and would love me the same for the next 20. The difference was that now I could enjoy a pretty wife, not the overweight woman I lived with before. I told her that I loved this woman anyway, and her looks didn't matter. For her 40th birthday, I threw a big party and invited all our friends and work colleagues. I rented a small room at a local hotel with a band, and fully catered the party with an open bar. She wore her prettiest little dress, new heels, and looked like a supermodel after a day at the salon. I watched the men stare at her, and I could tell she loved the attention. Her new level of confidence was obvious, and she became more open and free-spirited rather than the 40-year-old mother I was used to. It was a great party, and she made sure to thank Maria for helping her regain her youth and how all that work helped her become who she was, and how it helped her marriage. I had to admit that I loved looking at her new body and her new intimate positions. What I didn't like was watching her slow dance and flirt with several young men from her gym classes. In all her years of marriage, she had never danced with other men or flirted openly, but now she seemed to enjoy the attention. It bothered me, but I let her enjoy the party and planned to discuss my feelings later. When I mentioned it that night after the party, she apologized and explained that she never wanted me to feel jealous or awkward and that she would never do that again. She explained that she just got caught up in all the excitement and drinking that night. She made up for it in bed. She was a tiger s and thanked me for the party in her own special way.

Life went on and everything returned to normal except that Lena was home late several times a week due to her fitness classes at the gym. I made sure I was home with the kids and cooking dinner on the nights she got home late from her workouts. On Thursdays, Jake had his orthodontic appointment at my dental clinic. Since I had other patients, I usually arranged for Lena to bring him after school. Jake complained about being picked up and wanted to walk to the clinic himself because he said at 15 he didn't want to be picked up by his parents. I explained that some of the streets he had to cross were too dangerous and if he wanted to have his teeth fixed, he had to come with us. No exceptions. Of course, he agreed. And I saw him every Thursday after his mom dropped him off. Thursday appointments had become mom's routine. One day, Lena was busy at the gym and forgot to pick him up. After 40 minutes, Jake decided to walk to the clinic himself. It was one of the few times that anyone in my family saw me upset. Lena was apologetic and unhappy with herself when she saw that I had lost my temper and let them both know how I felt. Lena vowed that it would never happen again. And after I cooled down, I accepted it as a mistake. No harm, no foul, and everything was back to normal in the Bennett house once again. She made up with me in bed that night and life went on.

From a financial point of view, things were going well. The dental practice was thriving and the family seemed happy except for me. Over the previous weeks, I noticed that our night life had decreased from four or five nights a week to one or two and was no longer at the level we used to enjoy. Lena began to indulge her desires more. She was worried about her appearance, had facials done, and had her hair and nails done weekly. It seems that once she hit 40, she desperately wanted to turn back time. The closet was filled with new clothes and shoes. And when I protested about the money she was spending, I was greeted by an angry woman and a cold wife who coldly told me that I was the one benefiting from the new young pretty wife and that all the hard work was hers done to look like it was for me. I wanted to tell her that despite her best efforts, I was not getting any satisfaction and was having terrible intimacy. I told her that I missed the old Lina, but that I still loved her just as much as the new Lina. More late evenings, time at the gym, and a few evenings with Maria, our neighbor, and her fitness instructor at the gym. That is when I made the decision to take her away for the weekend to reconnect and try to get things back on track. I loved Lena, but I needed to insist on my own and return everything to normal. The following week, I planned to take her out to dinner on Friday night and tell her about our vacation plans over a romantic dinner. On Tuesday evening, I told her that I had made a reservation for Friday evening and had already arranged for her parents to come watch the children. The next morning, I watched her getting ready for work. She was wearing another new outfit that was a little frilly for a fitness instructor along with dark tights and red high heels. She looked hot as hell, but too dressed up for work at a gym. When I asked her about her outfit, she explained that they were having a special promotion day at the gym and she wanted to look extra nice for the new potential clients. I knew better than to start a fight. So, I left the house that Thursday morning wondering if I'd ever get my old Lina back. I loved her, but I didn't love this new woman. Perhaps it was my lack of self-confidence because I never lost the extra weight. And when we were together, we no longer looked like a couple. now had a trophy wife without the love and intimacy we once shared. And I fought and prayed that our weekend getaway would help us reunite.

Unfortunately, the events of that week did not contain a single escape, not a single date. It was Thursday at 400 p.m. when I received a call from Holy Cross Hospital. I was giving a dental consultation to a patient when the call came in that Jake was in the emergency room and needed immediate surgery. They explained that I needed to get there immediately. I ran out to my car and rushed like crazy to the hospital, which was 15 minutes away. I called Lena several times, but no one answered. I called her parents and asked them to pick up the girls and come to the hospital to be with their brother. I left Lena several messages on her phone, wondering and worrying about where she was. She always answered the phone, but today, for some reason, she didn't answer. When I arrived at the hospital, I met with the doctors, signed all sorts of papers, handed over my insurance card, and spent a minute with my son, who was unconscious and covered in blood. I kissed his forehead and felt tears streaming down my face as he was wheeled into the operating room. I was alone and scared to death when I started worrying about Lina again. They took me to the emergency room of the operating room where I met my daughters as well as Lena's parents, Edward and Mary. They turned to me for answers and I told them everything I knew, including their missing daughter. We came to the conclusion that Lena did not pick up Jake from school and he decided to walk to the clinic himself. I told them I was really worried about Lena because she wasn't answering the phone or picking Jake up from school. They realized how unusual it was as we stood in a private waiting room trying to figure out what was going on. "Let me call her gym again and see if they know anything," I said, dialing the gym's number. "Hello, Elevate Fitness. How can I help you?" Came the reply. "Hello, Jason Bennett. Any news from Lena? I need to talk to her right now," I said urgently. "Hello, Jason." "No, I haven't seen her since she left for lunch." The receptionist replied. Our son Jake was in an accident and is in the hospital. I really need to find her. Do you know who she went to lunch with? I asked. Yes. She left at 1:00 in the afternoon with Mark, one of our VIP clients. Do you happen to have his cell phone number? Her phone must be out of order. And maybe he can help me find her. I requested. I found his information in our client database. His cell number is 56455641. "Thank you. If you hear from her, please ask her to call me as soon as possible," I said, ending the call. I hung up and immediately dialed his number. There was no answer, and it also went straight to voicemail, and I suddenly had a very bad feeling. Not only was I inconsolable for my son, who was about to undergo major surgery, but also because my wife seemed to have gone missing with some gym client. Tears stream down my face from the stress I was experiencing. Lina's mom, Mary, told me to hang in there. I felt anger begin to boil inside me when I heard Jasmine say. I found mommy daddy. Jasmine screamed, holding her phone. What do you mean? I asked. Mom installed this Find Me app on our phones to keep track of us. And it works on her phone too. She is right there, she said, pointing to the flashing red dot on her phone. This is cool. Where is it? I asked. She zoomed in on her phone and within seconds it gave us the location. It was the Marriott Hotel in the city center. When everyone heard this, they turned to me with a surprised look. I quickly got an idea on how to contact her. Unfortunately, if my idea had worked, it would have meant the end of my marriage. Everyone watched me press buttons on my phone, wondering what I was doing. When I called the hotel and asked for Mr. Mark Reynolds room. They put me on standby and a moment later I heard the phone ring. After eight rings, the man finally answered in a disappointed tone. "Hello," he said. "Hello, is this Mr. Reynolds?" I asked. "Yes, how can I help you?" he replied. "Could you please put me through to Mrs. Bennett?" I requested. There was a short pause before he answered. "Sorry, Mrs. Bennett is not here. You must have the wrong number." In a confident, controlled voice, I said. Mark, listen carefully. I am her husband and her son is in critical condition in the hospital. Look, I know she is there and I need to give her the details now. Please just give her the phone. After a long silence, I spoke in anger. Mark, if her son dies before I talk to her, I will find you and kill you with my bare hands. You understand? Now give her the phone. Damn it. I heard the phone being passed and then Lena's voice. Hello, she answered in a nervous voice. On the contrary, I was firm and controlled when she answered. Lena, listen carefully. Jake was hit by a car while walking to my clinic. He is in surgery and in critical condition. When you are done having fun with your boyfriend, please come to emergency room 6 at Holy Cross Hospital. You understand? I heard her scream when I was disconnected from the connection. I was so focused at that moment that I forgot that my two girls and her parents were listening to the conversation. Now they were looking at me in complete shock. All the emotions of that day and hearing my wife talking on the phone to her lover was all my body could handle and I actually started crying for the first time in my life. I cried in front of my family. I was in a lot of pain over Jake's accident and the loss of my wife. I could no longer be resilient and strong. I was on my knees and sobbing and my children hugged me and cried. Mary and Edward stood next to us and also cried. It was a sad scene, but I knew everyone needed my strength, so I stood up, kissed my girls, wiped my eyes, and talked to everyone. I apologize for what you just heard, but I lost my cool when I heard him answer the phone. Yeah, it looks like Lena spent the day in bed with some client from the gym and forgot to pick up Jake. She is with him now, but I am sure she'll be here soon. Now that she knows what happened, please keep her away from me because I am not sure what I will do in the state I am in, I said, addressing everyone. I saw the anger in her mother's eyes. Mary was a tough woman and didn't raise her daughter that way. She didn't approve of her daughter's recent behavior changes and told her so, but she would never have believed that her little girl would do such a thing. Jasmine was still crying and asked, "Dad, is mom cheating on you?" It seems so. But you can ask her when she gets here. For now, let's focus on praying for your brother. He needs all our prayers right now. We'll deal with mom later, I replied.

"Oh my god, I need to go now. I forgot to pick up my son from school and he got hit by a car. It is all my fault. My sweet boy is in surgery and my husband knows about us. I am really screwed and have no idea what to do." Lena screamed to Mark, putting on her dress and heels. She grabbed her purse and ran to the elevator, turning her phone back on. As the elevator descended to the first floor, the phone was turned on again and began beeping with dozens of messages. She got into the car and rushed to the hospital, thinking about nothing but her son. Guilt began to throb through her body as she drove, and tears continued to fall from her eyes no matter how many times she wiped them. This should never have happened, and she realized how stupid she had been. Eventually, she realized that she had been foolish and was putting herself before her family. She drove to the hospital building, left the car parked at the main entrance, and ran inside, screaming that she needed to get to her son. The security guard, who had seen all this before and understood the situation, took the car keys from her and led her to the waiting room. 20 minutes after leaving the hotel, she walked into the surgical emergency room, only to come face to face with her mother. Mary walked up to her daughter and immediately slapped her across the face with such force that it would have knocked a grown man off his feet. Lena's head was practically torn off and her face turned red from her mother's blow. "You are trash. We raised you better than this. It is all your fault. I hope you are happy," she said through tears. "Mom, everything is wrong." Her father grabbed Mary and looked at Lena with a sad face. "Lena, stop it. We all know what you did today. It is a shame you didn't care about your son more than you did about your lover. Now your son is fighting for his life because you were in the arms of another man." It was then that our daughter Jasmine screamed sobbing. "I hate you. You cheated on dad and now Jake might die. I hate you. I hope you die." "Yeah, it was a car accident." Lena looked in my direction, but seeing the expression on my face, she turned away and sat down alone on one of the chairs away from the others. We sat there for the next 30 minutes, not knowing what was happening to Jake until the doctor came to talk to the family. He talked about all the broken bones they had set and a punctured lung that had already been taken care of. But the problem was some internal bleeding. He explained that Jake had lost a lot of blood and was in serious danger. He said he would need blood and wanted to take some samples to see if we could donate. Of course, we all agreed. While we were waiting for our blood to be drawn, I looked at Lena and had to ask, "Will we learn anything from the blood test?" Lena, "Jake is my son, right?" She cried harder than ever, hiding her head between her knees. She rocked back and forth and cried like she had never cried before. It turned out that my blood was the same as Jake's and we ended up donating several units of blood. A few minutes after we donated blood, I asked everyone to leave Lena and me alone for a few minutes. After they left us alone, I looked closely at Lena, who was trying to avoid eye contact. I noticed how disheveled her clothes were and realized that she must have run out of the hotel room to get here. "Lena, you look terrible. You are not wearing your tights. Your makeup is a mess and you haven't even combed your hair. You smell like sex. You couldn't be more disrespectful if you tried," I commented. This made her snap her head up and speak for the first time since she arrived. "He is not my boyfriend. Please don't say that. There is no one else. I love only you." "Lena," I said softly. "If he is not your boyfriend, then you are just sleeping with random guys. Please show me some respect. I am not an idiot for the last 2 months. You have been denying me intimacy. Hell, even last night you pretended to have a headache and turned me down again. Why, Lena? Did you want to be fresh and ready to meet your boyfriend today? Look, now is not the time or place to discuss this. Just go home, clean yourself up, and come back looking presentable. Our children and your parents don't need to see you in this state. I don't want to discuss your betrayal or our divorce until Jake gets better." "No, Jason, you can't divorce me. I love you. Please don't say that. I need to worry about my son. I need to focus on Jake, not what you did to our family. Just go home and clean yourself up. If you can't drive, I'll ask your father to drive you or call a taxi. But you need to leave now. Jake won't be out of surgery for a while, and you need to be here when he wakes up. The last thing he needs is to see you like this." She stood up, tears still flowing. "I am so sorry. I'll leave." Two hours later, Lena returned. No makeup, her hair in a ponytail, jeans, and a sweater. She had stopped crying, but she looked terrible because of the tears and humiliation. Now, she sat with her mom and dad, and her girls stayed next to me. I told my girls that we needed to stop resenting their mother and that we needed to focus on Jake. I explained that we would have time to talk about this later, but right now we needed to be a family. So, for the next two days, we took turns keeping watch over Jake, who remained in a medicallyinduced coma. Finally, on the third day, positive news came from the doctors, and Jake was fine. He would have to stay in the hospital for a while, but in about a week, he would be able to return home. We all cried and hugged each other when we heard the good news. Lena tried to warm up to me, but I didn't want to participate and gently pushed her away, hugging my girls. Lena's world collapsed, and she had no idea how to return to her family and save her marriage since the family took turns staying at the hospital. There were no overnight accommodations for Lena and me. But on the third day, I decided to tell Lena how I wanted to live further. "Lena, now that Jake is better, I'll sleep at home again. Obviously, I don't want you in my bed. And since you are the one taking on new lovers, I think it is only fair that you move your things to the guest room." "Please, Jason, not this. Please don't kick me out. You know I love you right now until Jake is fully recovered. It won't be like that. You are the mother of our children, and we will need your help in Jake's recovery. But until I decide what the future holds for me, you and I are no longer a couple. Yes, legally we are still married. But I no longer think of you as my wife," I said firmly. Tears started flowing again. But she understood and went to the guest room. I talked to the girls and they understood. We all agreed not to tell Jake what was going on until he was better. I turned the living room into Jake's recovery room. I rented a hospital bed and a wheelchair, hired a day nurse, and prepared for his return home. Since Jake was in the living room and couldn't move, he wouldn't know about us sleeping separately while the girls kept our secret. His recovery was our priority.

The truck driver turned out to be on his phone at the time of the incident. During the investigation, police discovered that the driver was intoxicated and sending text messages from his phone when he hit Jake, who was crossing the street. The trial received national attention due to the already high crime rate and current dissatisfaction with distracted driving laws. Our lawyers knew we had a win-win case and sued for an extremely large dollar amount. After the jury heard the whole story, the insurance company realized they were in trouble and offered us a hefty 8 figure settlement rather than risk even higher damages from the jury. This did little to assuage our anger and grief, but it did allow Jake to receive the best possible medical treatment and physical therapy. It was also enough to secure his future, pay for the kids' college, and allow me to take time off from work and be there for Jake for the year and a half it took for him to fully recover.

When my mother slapped me, my world became clear again. I looked around the room and saw all the people I had let down and hurt. Feelings of remorse, guilt, pain, and failure flooded my body, and all I wanted to do was run and hide. I begged for some forgiveness, but I was only treated like a scoundrel. The pain intensified when I heard Jasmine tell me that she hated me and wanted me to die. All I could do was cry and feel sorry for myself. The thought that all of this was my fault filled me with a feeling of fear and sadness. I tried to explain that I didn't have an affair and it was a mistake. But my father stopped me from deliluding myself when he told me to stop lying and that we wouldn't be here if I had just remembered to pick up my son instead of spreading my legs for another man. I realized that this was all my fault and if Jake didn't pull through, I would kill myself because I couldn't handle what I'd done. When we had to give blood, the hatred I felt in that room was overwhelming. When Jason asked if Jake was really his son, how could he think that? I realized what I had done and what they were thinking and I again wanted to run out of the room and hide. After a long time, I was finally able to stop crying. That is when Jason asked everyone to leave us alone for a few minutes. I suddenly became nervous and didn't want to meet him like that. When he noticed how I looked and how my tights were missing, I realized that I had left the hotel without thinking about how I was dressed because all I cared about was seeing Jake. Then I cringed and cried when he said I smelled like sex. That is when I realized how badly I'd screwed up. He was right. I needed to get home, get cleaned up, and be there for Jake when he woke up. Then I got angry when he called Mark my boyfriend, and I had to correct him. But when Jason explained that Mark was either my boyfriend or I was just a my arguments became irrelevant. Divorce. Why would he say this? Oh god, no. Not this. This should never have happened. I can't lose Jason. I love him. Mark was just a distraction. I know it was wrong, but there is no love. He should have realized that it was a mistake and I would never do that again. He loves me. I know that. I have to find a way to fix everything, but how?

My wife and girls were all involved in the recovery process after Jake was discharged from the hospital. We brought him home and introduced him to his new room, which included a hospital bed, a remote for the new television, and video games. We wanted him to feel as comfortable as possible during his rehabilitation. We had several day nurses help us during this time, which turned out to be a real blessing. Mary and Edward came everyday to help, and together with our daughters, we all got used to our new life. Edward and I spent a lot of time discussing things and my plans. Her parents wanted what was best for the family and suggested counseling to try to stay together. I told them several times that I was not ready and that I wanted to continue to focus on helping Jake get through his difficult time. Lina and I only talked when we were with Jake. Hearing the girls talk about how their mother had made some mistakes. He realized that there was a big problem. Jake has always been the most sensitive person in the family. And one day when we were alone, he asked me what was going on and asked me to forgive her. He reminded me that his mom loved me and he could tell she was hurt. I had to blink away a small tear and tell him that our problems were none of his business and to focus on getting better. It was at that moment that I realized that I needed to face the truth and make some decisions. I told Lena we were going out to dinner on Friday night to talk. Mary and Edward were babysitting. That Friday night, we went to our favorite Italian restaurant. And after a few cocktails, I decided it was time to talk and asked the waiter to give us some time before we ordered. It was the first time since that fateful day that I spoke directly to Lina. Up until that night, I only answered questions or made conversation. So, for the first time since the accident, I spoke directly with Lina about our future together. "I know it was hard for you, and it is unfair that you sleep in the guest room. Since the accident, I haven't had time to think about our future, but over the past few days, I think I have a solution that will relieve all the stress the family is experiencing due to our situation. I'll look for an apartment close to the house and you can move into the master bedroom again. As soon as Jake gets back on his feet, I will begin divorce proceedings. I want to wait until he gets better before he finds out the whole reason why we broke up." I saw a tear roll from her right eye. As I finished my third glass, I felt like a boy who had lost his best friend and was holding back tears over my loss. All my years of love for this woman had been destroyed by one selfish act, and now we were both paying for our actions. "Jason, is there any way you can forgive me and let me back into your life?" "Lena, I love you and probably always will. Besides Jake's accident, losing you is the hardest thing that has ever happened to me. I just don't see a way back. Your selfish act of putting your boyfriend before our family and betraying my love is something I am not sure I can ever handle. Our son Jake almost died because you needed to be with Mark. Think about it and put yourself in my shoes." "Please don't say his name. Since that day, I have hated myself. I don't blame you for hating me either. What I did was unforgivable. To make matters worse, I betrayed the only man I've ever loved for what? One stupid affair with a man I never even wanted in my life. I know I screwed up and I don't deserve anything from you or the girls, but is there anything I can do?" "Lena, I don't think so. As far as I know, you didn't do anything to resolve the situation, and that just shows me that you really don't care. Once we get divorced, you can go back to your boyfriend or someone else with your new body and looks. I am sure you can get any man you like," I said sarcastically. "Okay, I deserve it. But after the accident, all I did was try to be with Jake. I tried not to think about what I did to you. Let me make things right and give me another chance." "Please do what you want, Lena. I am not making any promises here. I'll wait a few weeks before I start looking for an apartment. But honestly, whenever I think about the months leading up to the accident, the way you treated me, the lack of intimacy, and your narcissism, I have to believe that you really don't care. I was by your side during your illness and worshiped the ground you walked on. You took all this love and threw it away. You gave what was once mine to another man. You let him use you and only God knows what you did to him. I don't know how I can forget this. Lena, tell me, how long had you been dating Mark before that day?" "I've never been with him before. It only happened once, I swear. And there never was anyone else." "This was not the answer to my question," I asked. "How long have you been dating Mark? Obviously, you two had been making plans before that day. I am guessing you had lunch, maybe an after hours drink, a special text message or an email or two. If I check your phone, text messages or email, will I find a relationship? You see, giving yourself to another man is more than sex. The moment you started thinking about him, giving him your attention and intimacy, it turned into an affair. So, I'll ask again, and please be honest. Your lies or deceit will not help our future." "I understand your point of view and I see how much I screwed everything up. I think it started about 3 months before the accident, just before my 40th birthday. I felt old, but when he found out I was turning 40, he started telling me how young I looked and giving me all sorts of compliments. I am sorry. I know it was wrong, but I liked them and I liked hearing that I was desirable to a younger man. I felt hot and he kept flirting and I let it take over me. You are the only man I've ever been with. And now, 20 years later, I feel like a school girl again. He kept trying to ask me out to dinner, and the constant flirting made me feel so young. When he invited me to lunch that day, he took me straight to his hotel room and told me he would order room service. It only took a few minutes before he seduced me. And since then, I regret my actions every minute. I swear it only happened once, and I will never do anything like that again." "Lena, I noticed how much you like to dance and flirt with the young guys at your gym. I am sure you remember our conversation about this. Well, since you started working out at the gym with Maria, you have changed. Honestly, I don't like the new Lina and what she has become. I don't blame you for wanting to look young and enjoy your life or wanting more than I can give you. I just wish you would have told me this instead of looking outside of our marriage. I don't want to live with this woman and feel like I need to compete with younger guys or that you are doing something behind my back. I lost confidence in myself, in our marriage, in the trust I once had in you and in our life together. This is not the best recipe for a healthy marriage. I am not sure what you can do to fix this or if it can ever be fixed." We ate in silence, digesting our conversation. Edward looked hopeful when we walked into the house, but I just shook my head. I thanked him for looking after the children and went up to my bedroom alone. Mary saw Lena's tears and realized that nothing had changed. At least we tried.

A month later, Lena surprised me by telling me she had made dinner reservations again. This time, she was in charge and started the conversation. "Jason, you were right about everything. For the last two years, I really lived without you and thought only about myself. Trying to get my body in shape. What I did was unforgivable, and I cannot take it back or change the past. But let me tell you how I am going to fix everything." Trying to remain calm, she continued. "I went to a therapist to help me deal with the guilt I felt about my actions. Every night, I cry for hours thinking about how I almost lost my little boy and destroyed the man I love. My therapist was a savior and helped me understand all the pain my selfish actions caused and how I hurt you in the worst way possible. She gave me several reasons for my wrong choice. She said it was a cry for attention or perhaps a midlife crisis, but I disagreed with her and took full responsibility for my actions. I spoiled it all, made the wrong choice, and convinced myself that I deserve to enjoy my newfound youth after working so hard to look good. At first, I only did it to get in shape, but after I lost weight, I started getting a lot of attention from men, and it made me feel young, hot, and desirable, which didn't help when I turned 40 years old." I could tell she was trying her best to keep it together. And I just sat quietly as she continued, "What is really crazy is that I loved our life, our children, and our marriage. I never thought about hurting you or cheating on you, but that is exactly what happened. It all started with innocent flirting. Then you saw some of this at my birthday, but of course I didn't listen. Then there were lunches and more flirting until I allowed myself to go and ruin my life for a meaningless afternoon of intimacy. I hate myself for what I did. And now I realize that this is not who I am. I want you to know how sorry I am for the pain I caused you and the harm I caused our son. You can't even imagine the feeling of guilt and pain I live with every day. It was never about my love for you or our marriage. My actions were completely selfish. What I tell you is not an excuse and I don't expect you to forgive me because I broke my vows, my promise to you, and betrayed your trust and love. I will understand if you want to get a divorce after what I did, and I will be sad. But you need to be happy and be with someone you can trust. In the meantime, I plan to try to win you back, Jason. The last time we had dinner together, you said I didn't do anything to save our marriage. And I told you that I was so worried about our son that I didn't know how to save us. After you pointed this out, I spent the last month trying to show you what I did to get you back." She controlled her emotions and said in a serious tone, "First of all, today I submitted my resignation and will be a stay at home. Mom, I'll be caring for Jake full-time and we can get rid of the daycare workers. I told Mr. Connor, my boss at the gym, about the affair with the client. You all know about his position in the community in the church. So, while I was there, he called Mark's company and said that they would terminate their gym membership if Mark continued to come to the gym. Obviously, Elevate Fitness didn't want to lose an important client, but Mr. Connor insisted, saying it was a matter of principle. I found out before we came here tonight that Mark's wife, Patricia Reynolds, had received an anonymous call about our affair. I don't know who made that call, but I decided to go see Patricia myself and apologize for what we had done. I broke down and cried when I told her the whole story and how I tried to improve my relationship with you, the only man I have ever loved. She was much nicer than I would have been, but I think she understood how terrible I felt. Patricia tried to console me. She said it wasn't all my fault as Mark was a real ladies man and had a talent for seducing women. But she was strict and told me to never disrespect the man I love again. She wished me luck in getting back together. She said that this was not the first time this happened, but that it was the last time. I think she was going to see a lawyer after I left. I called Maria and told her I was canceling my gym membership. I also plan to continue therapy. I understand that I am a grown woman and I have a family that needs me. I intend to be the best mom and wife possible if I get the chance again. I also gave away all my new clothes and kept only a few items that were more suitable for women my age." This conversation gave me some hope as she continued. "Over the past few weeks, I have read dozens of articles about affairs. I have even read several stories in which the wife undergoes a polygraph test to answer all the questions that an offended husband might have. From what I've read, there are about 20 common questions that need to be answered. So, last week, I made an appointment and went to an office downtown that specializes in performing lie detector tests. I asked them to ask me all the questions that I had prepared. They said the questions were unorthodox and not what they usually asked, but agreed to my request. They said they would add them to their regular questions at random. I gave them a list of questions that I knew you would be interested in and answered them honestly in a desperate voice." She said, "This envelope contains the answers to your questions. I want you to know that I did not open the envelope or look at the results. I know the truth and I am confident that these results will allow you to understand that I am telling the absolute truth. I will even voluntarily agree to take a test every few months to prove how much I love you and that you can trust me again. I also met with a lawyer and asked her to prepare a postnuptial agreement to prove how serious I am and to try to regain your trust. The postnuptial agreement states that if I ever screw up again, I will give up custody of the children and leave our home without support or child support. I've read that this is common for cheaters like me. Yes, I know who I am now and what I have done. I accept this title. No matter how dirty it makes me feel, I also know that I need to atone for what I did, and I promise to always put you first," she said as tears flowed from her eyes onto the table. "In the envelope, you will find a post-nuptual agreement along with the results of a polygraph test." I sat there stunned by her actions and her revelations about what she had done. My wife understood the impact this had on our family and our marriage. "Well, Lena, I have to admit that I am surprised by your actions. This does give me food for thought, but I have one serious question. Why are you trying so hard to save this marriage? I mean, you obviously lost respect for me as your husband, and we're looking for something better. Now, with your looks and great body, you can have any man you want. You need to be honest and ask yourself why you want to stay with me, a middle-aged, overweight man. You've already made it clear that you want more than I could give you. Knowing how you felt about me, I can't understand why you want me now. I think you just feel guilty about getting caught and want forgiveness to ease that guilt." "No, that is not the point. I want us to come back because I love you. You were there when I was sick. You took care of me, nursed me back to health, and never complained. All these years, you were always there for me. And I always felt your unconditional love. I took it all for granted. And now I understand how precious that love was. I don't need anyone else. And I can't even imagine being with anyone else. It was always you and I threw it away. And honestly, Jason, you've always been everything I needed at night. You always made me happy. I just took everything for granted and stopped thinking about anyone else but myself. And it will never

happen again. Now she was sobbing uncontrollably in the restaurant, making hiccuping sounds from crying so hard. Now other visitors were looking at us. I walked over to her, hugged her, and held her while she cried on my shoulder. My heart was breaking again from all of her pain. And I wasn't sure how much longer I could take all these emotions.

After she calmed down, she handed me a manila envelope and told me to read the report later that evening when I was alone in bed. It definitely piqued my interest and made me wonder what I could learn. Just before we pulled into the driveway, she looked at me with the saddest eyes I've ever seen and said, "Please don't leave us, Jason. Don't leave our house. I am happy to stay in the guest room if you don't want me in your bed. I understand why you wouldn't want me there because when I think about how I would react if you did what I did. Well, let's just say I understand and I will be there as much as you want. I just want to be with you and for our family to be together again. Please don't leave us. I know you will never forgive me, but please give me a chance to win your heart back one more time."

I smiled at her father as we walked into the house, giving him a small ray of hope that we would be together again. After they left, we put the kids to bed, and we went to our bedrooms, kissing each other for the first time since the accident. Once in my room, I showered, brushed my teeth, climbed into bed, and looked at the manila envelope, wondering what answers I would find inside. Would it make any difference? Did I want her to come back after everything that happened?

When I opened the file, I was shocked to discover the amount of detail in the polygraph test report. I knew that the answers would most likely determine our future as husband and wife. I went through all the questions and answers, all the data, and then the summary. Clearly, she had done a lot of research because all the questions I had now had answers, and they were in my hands. I wasn't sure I was ready, but I would soon find out the truth. The questions seemed to be jumbled and out of order to prevent her from knowing what would happen next. It was funny as far as I could tell from the questions Lina came up with because a real lie detector wouldn't ask questions that way.

"Is your name Lina Bennett?" "Yes." "Have you cheated on your husband and family?" "Yes." "Do you love Mark?" "Number." "Do you want to be with Mark again?" "Number." "Do you have any feelings for Mark?" "Number." "Did you have sexual intercourse with him?" "Yes." "Have you used illegal substances or alcohol?" "Number." "Did you plan this affair?" "Number." "Number was this your first time with Mark?" "Yes." "Did you use protection?" "Yes." "Was he a better lover than your husband?" "Number." "Was he bigger than your husband?" "Number." "Was this your first time having sex with Mark?" "Yes." "Did you have oral sex with him?" "Number." "Have you kissed Mark?" "Yes." "Did you kiss him before that day?" "Number." "Have you ever let him touch you before that day?" "Number." "If you hadn't been caught, would you have done it again?" "Number." "Since you got married, have you had sex with anyone else?" "Number." "Do you love your husband?" "Yes." "Did your husband do anything bad that made you cheat on him?" "Number." "Do you want to get a divorce?" "Number." "Will you ever cheat again?" "Number." "Do you find your husband attractive?" "Yes." "Do you want to be with someone else?" "Number." "Are you willing to do anything to be forgiven by Jason?" "Yes."

After reading the answers, I slept soundly that night, still unsure about my future. But somehow the answers to these questions brought me some relief. The next morning, I spoke with my children and shared with them some information about the extent of her betrayal as well as her actions to make things right. "Since we are still a family, I wanted them to contribute to our future. Children, as you already know, I was planning to move out and find an apartment. But last night, your mother asked me to stay. I want this family to heal and get through this. But I need to know how you feel. Can we forgive your mom, accept her back, and work on getting our family back together? We all make mistakes, and mom made a big one, but I believe she deserves another chance. I need to hear how you feel before I make any decisions for the family."

I looked at my son and said, "Jake, you suffered physically because of your mom's mistake. How do you feel about what I said?" "Dad, I don't blame mom. I shouldn't have walked home. It was my fault that I disobeyed your orders to never walk home. If I had not walked home that day, we would all have been happy. It is my fault," he cried. My heart broke as I watched my son take the blame for all the mistakes made that day. I was proud of him for taking the blame and standing up for his mom. And I patted him on the top of the head. "Son, let's not discuss guilt. This is in the past and we need to focus on the present and our future. What we do now is all that matters."

The girl started talking. "Dad, we don't want you to divorce, Mom. Yes, we are still angry, but if there is any way to forgive her, we need to stay together as a family. Please, Dad, don't get a divorce. Let's give her one more chance."

"To be completely honest, I am not sure if that is an option right now. But maybe there is a way we can stay together as a family. You understand that if I stay in the house, then everything will be different between me and your mother. She will sleep in the guest room. The love we once shared has been destroyed and we may not be the same for a while. And I honestly don't know if we will ever be the same again."

"Dad, we understand. But it will be much better if you both stay here with us and don't move. Maybe in time we can all return everything to the way it was." Now I was proud of my girls and realized that we really raised good children. At that moment I knew that we would try to save our family and forgive.

We all went up to Lena's room and told her we wanted to have a family meeting and asked her to join us. Lena looked terrible. She had bags under her bloodshot eyes. She was obviously suffering from stress and crying because of her family's coldness. Her life became a living hell. Oddly enough, the only person who spoke to her and undoubtedly forgave her was Jake, her son who suffered the most. He was the first to forgive his mother. It was our first family meeting since the incident, and Lena was nervous as she sat alone on the couch. I walked over and sat next to her, took her hand, knowing this would be a difficult conversation.

"I will speak for all of us. Lena, what you did damaged this family and left me with the most difficult decision of my life. You may not like what I decided, but I have no other way to maintain my self-respect as a man." I watched as she sat quietly, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. "The children have expressed their wishes, and we want our family to stay together. Until last night, I didn't think there was a way to stop me from leaving you and moving to a new apartment. But after I read the lie detector test report and what you did to try to save our marriage, I was touched. You have surprised me with your efforts over the past month, Lena. To be honest, your repentance and actions made me reconsider my decisions. Your deception was devastating, but the real damage was done by the way you treated me and my family over the last 6 months. Then, when I found out that you had mentally left us and were dating another man, I realized that I was going to divorce you and end our marriage. On top of the pain it caused, I was furious because your deception was partially responsible for Jake's injuries and it was unforgivable."

I saw a tear fall from her eyes and continued. "After thinking about the situation, I believe in my heart that if this situation had been reversed and I had taken a mistress who caused Jake's accident, there would have been no discussion and you would have kicked me out already. But for some reason, I can't explain. I still love you and losing you would hurt me even more than you already caused me. It is a real quagmire, but my love for you is still strong. Today, we had a family meeting about our future because this was a big decision. I needed the kid's input, and as a family, the final decision was for us to try to stay together and work on healing."

She was clearly relieved, and a smile appeared on her face. "Don't look so happy yet. You see, despite the children's wishes, I cannot remain married to you knowing that you deceived me. You broke your promise to be faithful and abandoned everyone else. You broke our marriage contract, and if I stay married to you, I'll accept that everything was okay. This may sound vindictive, but I am still considering getting a divorce."

Her smile instantly changed to an expression of horror, and tears flowed down her cheeks. "Let me finish before you have a nervous breakdown. Like I said, I still love you and I don't want our life together to end." Now she was looking at me with a confused expression. "We'll get a divorce and start all over again if that is what you still want. The current living conditions will not change and you and I will meet and work on our future together by starting over. I can understand why you want to stay married. Don't get me wrong, it won't be easy. We will both have the freedom to live as if we were single and we can date other people. This means that you have the freedom to explore your desires and see if being married to me is really what you want. I will have the same freedom."

Everyone looked at me as I explained our future. "Don't misunderstand what I am suggesting here. I have no desire or plans to date others. But we both know you had desires outside of our marriage. And I can't risk you doing it again. If you do this, I might also want to be able to find someone else." I had to stop for a drink because my mouth was dry and my emotions were running high. "The next 6 months to a year will allow us both to find out what you really want in your life. It will also give me time to see if I can live with the knowledge that you needed another man in your life. I haven't mentioned this before, but my confidence and self-esteem have become an additional casualty of your betrayal. And it is something that I will need to resolve and restore before I can commit myself to you again. I liked your idea of a postnuptial agreement and almost accepted your proposal. But I realize that staying married under these circumstances would mean condoning what you did. And I still wonder if you want more than I can give you. According to my plan, you will have the freedom to make your own decisions for the future. Depending on how things work out between us, I may try to trust you again. If all goes well, the prenuptial agreement and new vows will be signed at our wedding ceremony. Yes, we will have a wedding ceremony to publicly commit ourselves to each other once again."

Without stopping, I continued, "During this time, consultation will be mandatory. I will also be seeing a counselor to help me deal with my anger and trust issues, and we will also be attending couples counseling as you have hurt us all in different ways, and we all need to work with a professional. The simple solution would be to just get a divorce and move on. But we love you and I want to make an effort to stay together. You also need to work on repairing your relationship with your parents. If you want to stay with your family, you have a lot of work to do. Last night, you told me that you would do anything for me to stay. If you still want this, then be prepared for a long healing process."

I stopped and let everything digest. And we sat there until the pressure of silence became unbearable. "So, Lina, are you still ready to do whatever it takes? Do you still want to try to keep this family together?"

Lina clasped her head in her hand in tears. "Yes, I love you. I don't want to divorce, but I understand how you feel. Thank you. I know I don't deserve a second chance. I thought about what you said, and if things had been different, I would have divorced you already. Give me one more chance is all I ask, and I will prove to you that you are everything I want and no one else. I promise I will make it up to everyone. I am so sorry and I pray that someday you can all forgive me for what I did."

I stood there as the girls came up and hugged their mother. I held Jake's hand and for the first time in months, we were together again. At that moment, we knew we had turned the corner and would emerge stronger from all this drama. It took me over 5 months to let her into my bed again. I had to give her credit because she did everything she could to win back my trust and love. I won't go into all the details, but she made it clear to us all that reuniting our family was her main goal, and she brought us all back. After a long recovery, dozens of counseling sessions, and family outings, from that day on, we spent all our free time together as a family. Lena came to my bed several times during the year, but ultimately, it was just a way for both of us to get rid of our physical frustration. There was no love making. Our time was never more than a few minutes because my mind kept thinking about that terrible day. Neither of us had met or even discussed anyone else. My own therapy sessions helped me accept what was happening and regain my confidence. After losing interest in intimacy with Lina, I was finally able to perform and get some physical satisfaction. But love making took much longer. After 10 months, we did complete our sessions, but it was several years before we experienced the level of intimacy we once shared. Her betrayal left a lasting wound that I have never been able to fully heal. Lena's commitment was strong, and she proved to me that she was completely devoted to me and was not interested in anyone else. Her love and encouragement helped me get my confidence and self-respect back to an acceptable level, and I was finally happy again.

A year after this meeting, we had a small wedding ceremony with a few friends, her parents, and children. We exchanged vows and signed prenuptial agreements. During our small reception, she gave a short speech to everyone, apologizing for her actions that had hurt the entire family and thanking everyone for their support. She promised to be a loving mother and a faithful wife. Many tears of happiness were shed that day, and I even felt a few tears fall from my eyes. We remained married and found a new kind of happiness together for the next 20 years. We watched our children get married and have children. All in all, it was a good life, even if a shadow of doubt would occasionally cross my mind during quiet moments alone. The events of that tragic day faded with time, but they were never completely forgotten.

On our 20th wedding anniversary, the second one, that is, we sat in our backyard watching the sunset. Our grandchildren were playing inside and the sound of their laughter filled the air. "Jason," Lena said softly. "After all these years, do you ever regret giving me a second chance?" I took her hand and looked into her eyes, seeing the woman who had both broken my heart and helped me rebuild it. I didn't immediately answer, letting the weight of her questions settle between us. "I've learned that life gives us no perfect choices," I finally said. "Only decisions we're willing to live with." She nodded, understanding the complexity behind my words. We sat in comfortable silence, two people who had weathered the worst storm of their lives together, and emerged on the other side, scarred, changed, but still standing.

As for Mark Reynolds, he paid a heavy price for his pardon and our family's trauma. His wife divorced him, taking custody of their children and a substantial portion of his assets. His business partners distanced themselves from him after the scandal spread through their social circles. Desperate to fill the void in his life, Mark sought solace in a series of meaningless relationships and increasingly self-destructive behavior. His once successful career spiraled downward as he became more erratic and unreliable. He traveled abroad frequently seeking distraction in exotic locations and the company of strangers. During one such trip, he contracted HIV. But in his chaotic lifestyle, he didn't seek medical attention until symptoms became severe. By then, his condition had progressed significantly. In his final months, he reached out to former friends and family, seeking reconciliation, but most had moved on with their lives. He died alone in a hospital room, tended by nurses who knew nothing of the man he once was or the lives he had affected. I heard about his death through a mutual acquaintance years later. I felt no joy at the news, only a distant sense of finality. Lena never mentioned his name again after learning of his fate. But I noticed her lighting a candle that evening, a silent acknowledgement of how fragile life is and how our choices ripple through the lives of others in ways we cannot always foresee.

That night, as I stood by our bedroom window, watching the moonlight cast shadows across our yard, I reflected on our journey. Had I truly forgiven Lina? Perhaps not completely. Had I made the right choice in staying? I still didn't know for certain. But as I turned to look at her sleeping form, I realized that some questions don't have clear answers. Some wounds never fully heal, and some decisions can never be evaluated in terms of right or wrong. All I knew was that we had built something from the ashes of our broken marriage. Not perfect, not unmarked by the past, but real and enduring in its own way. And perhaps in the end, that was enough.

That is the end of today's story. If this story resonated with you, don't forget to like, subscribe, and turn on notifications. A new story drops every week right here on Blood Never Lies. See you in the next one.