I Quietly Left After Discovering My Wife’s Affair After 3.5 Years….-Reddit Cheating Stories

I suppose I never thought to look that far ahead. I had a fight-or-flight response going on, and I knew I didn’t want to be around this woman any longer.

“I have an idea, and I feel very sympathetic to your situation,”

Ray added.

“When the time comes, I have a mobile trailer on my land in case you feel the need to go. It might require some work and isn’t very good. Why don’t you visit and see if you could imagine yourself briefly residing in anything like that? I’ll give you a terrific bargain on it, at least. You could even park it on a lovely piece of property I own. I would appreciate it if you could watch it for me. It could be beneficial to escape your predicament. Just a thought.”

I took a moment to comprehend his concept.

“Hell honey, if I could have escaped my crazy ex-husband years ago, I would have jumped at the chance to go live in his trailer or anything just to get my head on straight,”

added the bartender, who had been listening in on the chat.

Perhaps this was just what I needed, but I felt as though I had wandered into the Twilight Zone.

“Yes, I’ll think about it and maybe check it out,”

I said to Ray after a while.

We split up and agreed to get together at his house in a few days. I began to feel as though I had some perspective and an opportunity to escape what I thought was a terrible heartache combined with a nightmare.

I knew one thing for sure: I would never, ever want to spend time with my wife again. I find cheating to be so disgusting, and it has always been the one thing I thought I would never put up with.

I sat on the couch when I arrived home that evening after Cathy. Cathy asked me where I had been when she came out.

“Where have you been?”

I questioned, turning to face her.

“You know I went to grab drinks,”

she said.

I directly inquired:

“Are you having an affair?”

She appeared surprised, but she soon collected herself and responded:

“No, why would you ask me that?”

I informed her that I had heard she might be seeing someone at work.

“Who told you that?”

she said.

“Someone I know,”

I said, but I kept the name a secret.

After saying:

“You’re being ridiculous,”

she accused me of being intoxicated and insane and inquired about my whereabouts.

“We’re going to a bar to enjoy some drinks with our friends,”

I remarked.

Despite her obvious desire to ask more questions, she returned to our bedroom and went to bed. Now that I had proof that she had been deceiving me for months, I made the decision to sleep on the sofa.

I couldn’t sleep at all because I kept seeing her in bed with this guy. I felt sorry for myself, disgusted, and hurt, but then I thought about Ray’s trailer.

The thought of it cheered me up, and it was almost like a revelation. Something must be wrong with me since the fight-or-flight response automatically activated amid the pain I was experiencing, and I preferred the flight response.

We didn’t talk much the following morning and carried on with the weekend as if nothing had occurred. I scheduled a meeting with Ray a few days later.

I noticed that Ray had a lovely ranch when I got there, and the trailer was actually quite nice, about 26 feet long and fully furnished. It brought back memories of a fun spring break trip I took with pals while I was in college.

Ray accepted the money I offered him for the trailer. To be honest, I almost took it from him.

I drove over to see his ranch property after he gave me directions. There were hiking and biking paths close by, and the area was lovely with lots of trees and scrub vegetation.

Ray had a little cabin on a hilltop overlooking the property with electricity and water accessible for the trailer, and it was close to the foothills of some mountains. Ray promised to set up the trailer for me and pull it to the location.

I tried to get Cathy to come clean over the course of the following few weeks, but all I got was gaslighting. I even bluntly warned her that there would be no turning back if I discovered she was cheating.

As a result, she became even more engrossed in her affair fog and began to lash out at me with denials. I nearly laughed at how awful the denial was.

I scolded myself for not capturing pictures of the two of them, and I had no tangible evidence that she had cheated. I decided that I wanted to leave this marriage after going through this emotional anguish.

Instead of communicating my feelings to Cathy, I simply began planning. While she was at work, I started quietly removing my possessions from the apartment and transferring them to the trailer.

At least I felt like I was doing something about it. I saw a difference in Cathy during this period.

Although she had been behaving more politely toward me, I believed it was too little, too late. I felt I needed a break too, so she kept going on company outings after work.

One night I got ready too, just as she was leaving. After glancing at me, she inquired about my destination.

“Meeting up with some friends. You wouldn’t enjoy all the shop talk, and you don’t know them,”

all I said was.

I interrupted her as she began to ask more questions. She used to say precisely this to me whenever I asked if I might accompany her on office excursions.

“All right, have a good time,”

she added with a somewhat offended expression.

“I definitely will,”

I replied.

I began making new acquaintances while working on the trailer and hanging out with Ray at the bar. I felt better after spending time with Ray’s wonderful family and friends.

I also made the decision to cut back on my drinking because I didn’t want to form any unhealthy habits. I knew better than to drown myself in sympathy, even though it would have been so simple at this point.

Cathy informed me that the next week she would be traveling for work. She stated the executive team and a few department heads were going.

When I inquired who was going,

“I hope you have a great time with your boyfriend,”

I added, glancing at her.

I immediately regretted saying that because it sparked a furious argument.

Although, as Ray had informed me, it didn’t really matter. I now regret not knowing more about her affair partner, AP.

“It doesn’t matter who the other guy is,”

Ray replied.

“The fact that she chose to leave you is all that matters. She destroyed the marriage whether she admits it or not, brother. Facts are facts.”

Ray ought to write a book for the betrayed. Damn it, I had the ideal opportunity to move out entirely during Cathy’s work vacation.

When she was gone, I collected everything valuable that was mine, including clothes, laptops, and equipment. I didn’t take any shared goods or furniture.

I left a note before I left. It was a lengthy explanation at first, but I chose to make it brief.

“I hope it was worth it,”

I wrote on a piece of paper. On top of the note on the kitchen table, I set my wedding ring.

I felt like a great weight had been lifted as I left. I was liberated.

The hurt would take time to heal, and there would be baggage to cope with, but I had started. I needed time to myself and to swiftly and quietly get rid of her.

The fact that I hadn’t challenged her or coerced a confession didn’t make me proud. I hadn’t screamed or shouted.

She didn’t deserve it in my opinion. She disregarded everything we owned, including our plans for the future, our aspirations for a home and a family, and now it was all gone.

There was no turning back. I owed her absolutely nothing; she could handle the consequences.

I hadn’t planned anything or called a lawyer. I just wanted a new beginning and some clarity.

The air from the mountains was just what I needed when I got inside my trailer. I resumed running the next week, and it was wonderful to be alive.