Then he started complaining. “You just lie around all day,” he grumbled one evening, kicking off his shoes. “This house is a mess.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Arnie, my back is killing me, and I feel nauseous all the time. I can barely stand without feeling dizzy.”
Then Arnie started coming home late, always glued to his phone, texting someone.
It made me uneasy, but every time I asked, he brushed it off. “Just work,” he’d say.
One night, I was eight months pregnant. My belly was massive, my feet were swollen, and even breathing felt like a struggle. Arnie came home late again, reeking of women’s perfume.
“Where have you been?” I asked.stared at Arnie, waiting for an answer. His eyes darted around the room, avoiding my gaze. “I had to work late at the office,” he mumbled, his voice unconvincing. “There was a big project we needed to wrap up.” But the smell of that foreign perfume lingered in the air, a constant reminder of his lies.
As the days passed, his behavior grew more erratic. He would come home in the middle of the night, stumbling drunk, and pass out on the couch without a word to me. One morning, I found a lipstick stain on his collar. That was the final straw. I knew I couldn’t stay in this toxic relationship any longer, not for me and certainly not for the baby growing inside me.
I started to quietly gather evidence. I used my old college skills in computer hacking to access his phone messages and found countless texts to a woman named Stacy. They were filled with lovey – dovey words and plans to meet. I printed them all out, along with photos of them together that I found on his social media accounts.
I also reached out to an old friend who was a lawyer. She listened sympathetically as I poured my heart out about Arnie’s betrayal. “Don’t worry, Sarah,” she said. “We’ll make sure you get what you deserve.” She helped me file for divorce and started the process of ensuring I would get full custody of the baby and a fair share of our assets.
A few weeks later, when I was nine months pregnant, Arnie finally decided to come clean. He sat me down one evening, looking sheepish. “Sarah, I’m leaving you,” he said bluntly. “I’ve found someone else. Stacy is the love of my life, and I want to be with her.”
