My husband left me for my best friend after my miscarriagethree years later, I bumped into them at a petrol station and couldnt stop smiling.
After I lost our baby, my husband walked out on me for my schoolfriend. Three years later, fate let me see the consequences of their betrayal firsthand.
I always thought infidelity happened to other peoplesomething you read about in dramatic online stories or whispered gossip over dinner. Not us. Never us.
For five years, Michael and I built a life together. It wasnt lavish, but it was oursfilm nights on the sofa, lazy Sunday mornings with coffee, inside jokes only we understood. And all that time, there was Annamy best friend since school, my sister in everything but blood. She was there for every big moment, even standing beside me as my maid of honour, squeezing my hands and crying happy tears at my wedding.
When I got pregnant, I thought it was just the next chapter of our perfect life. But then Michael changed.
At first, it was small thingsstaying late at work, his smile not reaching his eyes. Then it got worse. He barely looked at me. Our conversations became one-word answers. Nights were spent with his back turned, like I wasnt even there.
I didnt understand. Exhausted, heavily pregnant, I desperately tried to fix whatever was breaking between us. So I turned to Anna.
I dont know whats happening, I sobbed into the phone, curled up in the dark while Michael slept soundly beside me. Its like hes already gone.
Helen, youre overthinking this, she said gently. He loves you. Its just stress.
I wanted to believe her.
But the constant tensionsleepless nights, the loneliness despite having a husbandwore me down. Then, one morning, I woke up with a dull ache in my stomach. By evening, I was in the hospital, staring at the doctors moving lips but hearing nothing.
No heartbeat. No baby.
They say grief comes in waves. Mine was an avalanche.
The miscarriage shattered me, but Michael? He was already gone. He sat beside me in the hospital, cold and silent, never taking my hand, never offering a word of comfort. Just sitting there like a man waiting for a bus, not grieving his lost child.
A month later, he finally said the words I think hed rehearsed for weeks.
Im not happy anymore, Helen.
And that was it. No explanation, no emotion. Just a hollow excuse.
The day Michael left, there was no shouting, no tears. Just icy silence.
Im not happy anymore, Helen.
I blinked at him across the kitchen table, his words crushing my chest like a stone.
What? My voice trembled.
He sighed, rubbing his temples like *I* was the problem.
I just dont feel anything anymore. Its been a long time.
*Long time.*
I swallowed hard.
Since I lost the baby?
His jaw tightened.
Its not about that.
The lie was almost laughable.
I searched his face for any hint of guilt, regret*anything*. But he just sat there, refusing to meet my eyes.
Thats it? Five years, and you just walk away? My hands clenched under the table.
Another sigh, this time annoyed.
I dont want to argue, Helen.
I let out a sharp, unsteady laughthe kind that comes when youre past breaking.
Oh, you dont *want* to argue? Funny, because I didnt get a choice in any of this.
He stood, grabbing his keys.
Ill stay at a mates.
Before I could respond, the door slammed.
Anna, my best friend, followed soon after. Shed been my rock, my lifeline. Then, suddenly, she vanished. Calls went unanswered. Messages ignored. Then, one day, I was blocked everywhere.
I didnt understanduntil I did.
Mum found out first. One evening, she called, her voice tense.
Helen, love you need to see this.
She sent me a link to Annas Instagram.
And there they were.
Michael and Anna. Hugging on a beach, laughing like theyd been in love for years.
I scrolled with shaking handsphoto after photo, week after week. Fancy restaurants, ski resorts, cosy nights by the fire. Posted freely, openlywhile I was still his *wife*.
The betrayal burned like acid. But if they thought Id collapse, they were wrong.
I turned my pain into power. Michael had been careless, too wrapped up in his new life to cover his tracks. In court, his infidelity became my advantage. I walked away with the house, half his savings, and the satisfaction of knowing he had to start over.
He stole my trust. I took what was mine.
Starting over wasnt easy. But life rewards resilience.
A year later, I met Daniel.
He was everything Michael wasntkind, attentive, never making me feel like my emotions were too much. We built a real life, not some social-media fantasy. Soon after, our daughter was bornmy mini-me with his smile.
Then fate handed me the perfect ending.
One evening, I stopped at a petrol station. And there they were.
Michael and Anna.
But no designer clothes, no picture-perfect smiles. Their cara rusted old thing, an argument in the middle of the shop, a crying toddler, a declined card.
We cant even afford *petrol* now? Anna hissed.
You knew money was tight, Michael snapped.
Anna let out a bitter laugh.
I think Helen won in the end.
I started the car and drove hometo my real happiness.
