Just To Be With You

14

It was just after my fifty-second birthday when I heard the rumor.

Twenty years of marriage down the drain.

I should've known. The past few months Derek had hardly been around, and whenever he was he never wanted to do anything with me. I know I'm older, but I still wanted my husband to love me.

We had twenty loving years. We had our fights, just like any normal couple would. But he showed no signs of unfaithfulness.

Derek had been promoted to the manager of his branch in our forties. We celebrated by going on a trip to Hawaii. It was more romantic than our honeymoon even was.

A few months ago, he hired a new assistant, around the time he became distant with me. He would stay at work late and leave early. During the weekend he would have work conferences. I had my suspicions after I met his assistant. The boy looked almost identical to me when I met Derek. He was probably in his late twenties.

I didn't want to accuse him of anything, but when one of his coworkers came to me, informing me of his infidelity, I couldn't help but blame myself. I felt less than, worthless. I wasn't enough to keep him happy.

That was almost a week ago. I have yet to talk to him about the accusations, which I knew he would deny. I needed proof that it was true or a lie. I didn't even know if I wanted the truth. I couldn't handle heartbreak again. Life had not turned out the way I had always dreamed. I wanted to marry the love of my life, have a few kids, and live happily ever after. Now I'm here, with the man who I thought was my soulmate passed away, and married to a man who was cheating on me.

I had come up with a plan with the coworker. He would send me their emails and the security footage he found of them. He just wanted to be sure if it was still happening or not. My phone buzzes on my nightstand. I slowly reach over and grab the phone, a video and some photos attached to the message.

"I'm sorry." The message read, and I knew, it was the thing I was dreading to see.