She Lost Her Trust
Jill was astonished by what she saw. The idea that her husband was capable of doing something like this to her never crossed her mind. Her trust in him was shaken after more than a decade of being together.
Her hand brushed across her cheek as she rose from her seat. She was about to announce her presence, but Sebastian wasn't aware she was there. It was the worst thing he could have done to her, and she wasn't going to let it go.
Something Didn’t Feel Right
There was a subtle change at first. It was normal for Sebastian to be absent for extended periods of time. Having to travel for work all the time was part of his job as a businessman. The whole situation seemed strange, however.
It happened only once a week at first. He went out with colleagues rather than coming home for dinner with his wife. It seemed like he was doing that to Jill.
He Provided For Them
He was a great husband, and she was grateful for him. Despite their limited resources, he worked tirelessly to provide them with everything they needed. Her devotion to him was never questioned until one day.
In the beginning, she didn't think much of his business dinners. She understood how important a good relationship with his clients was to him. He was trying to do what he could, according to her.
She Believed Him
Things began to change as the days went by. The frequency of one visit per week soon increased to two visits per week, and then to three visits per week. It's true, Sebastian used to have dinner with his colleagues three times a week.
She thought it was odd, but he explained that it was for a good reason. These dinners were a crucial part of the finalizing process for their deal with a client. As a result, Jill believed him.
A Strange Smell
Suddenly, everything changed one night. During the evening of a Friday, Sebastian was out with his colleagues while Jill was doing their laundry at home. When the smell of an unfamiliar scent reached her nose, she was about to dump his white dress shirts in the washing machine.
Her nose moved slowly toward the white fabric as she frowned. The scent caused her eyebrows to furrow. Those white fabrics weren't covered in her perfume.
Her Discovery
Her first instinct was to grab the blazer that he had worn the night before rather than to assume anything. As it turned out, it also smelled like perfume. Only a receipt from the night before was found inside its pockets.
She didn't intend to look at it at first, but couldn't resist. Her gaze scanned the long list of items on the paper. Until she glanced over the tip, nothing seemed too interesting.
A Big Tip
When she saw the amount, her eyes grew wide. Despite an $80 bill, Sebastian tipped the waitress $50. Was there a mistake on his part? Her jaw dropped when she saw the amount. Perhaps he was just being generous, she shrugged.
Once again, she grabbed his shirt and put the blazer down. Once he got home, she asked him about it. She expected that he would be able to explain the perfume in a reasonable way. Suddenly, she saw bright spots of lipstick along the collar as she was about to wash the shirt. She felt her stomach drop.
True Love
As a child, Jill Anderson lived an exciting life in Houston, Texas. A mutual friend introduced her to Sebastian, and the two fell in love right away. As a successful businessman, he didn't require her to work.
After meeting, they were married within six months. It was impossible for her to doubt Sebastian's loyalty to her, and she considered him to be her closest friend.
A Good Life
Their first house was a lavish one near his workplace once they were married. Her daily routine included making his breakfast, cooking, and cleaning while he was at work. It was sometimes necessary for him to go on business trips, but Jill never complained.
It was evident to her that he was working hard to make the two of them as comfortable as possible. Despite his busy schedule, he gave her everything she wanted. The situation appeared perfect, but was it really?
The New Normal
As soon as a new client was added to his work, things began to change. As a result, Sebastian was required to spend one night a week at a restaurant with colleagues. As Jill only ever spent the evenings with her husband, she wasn't happy with this arrangement at first.
However, she eventually adapted to it. Six nights a week, she got him all to herself. It wasn't long before the arrangement changed again.
Things Changed
At first, they wanted to have a company dinner once a week, but soon, that changed into twice a week, and before she knew it, it was three times a week. That’s right, she only got to spend four nights a week at home with her husband.
She tried not to have a poor attitude about it, but she was sad that her husband couldn’t be around as often as she wanted him to be.
Important Work
She never understood why they had to have three dinners a week, but every time she asked Sebastian about it, he said they were trying to finalize a deal with their new client. She knew how important his work was, and she didn’t want to stand in the way of it.
She let it continue without any questions. As far as she was concerned, he was sacrificing three nights of his free time to give her a better life. But she had no idea what was really going on.
Dinner For One
It was a casual Tuesday afternoon. Jill had just arrived at her local Costco to grab herself something to eat. Sebastian was having dinner with colleagues that night, and she didn’t feel like cooking for one.
She aimlessly walked through the store, tossing this and that into a basket. She stopped in her tracks when she heard someone calling her name. When she turned around, she was surprised to see a familiar face.
A Familiar Face
Debby was the wife of one of Sebastian’s colleagues. Jill smiled widely at the familiar face. She and Debby always got on when they attended work conferences with their husbands. “What brings you to the store at this hour?” Debby chuckled.
“Oh, nothing. Just getting food for one since Sebastian has that dinner with the company tonight,” Jill grinned back. But she quickly noticed the confusion on Debby’s face.
Confusion
“They have another dinner tonight? That's strange,” She frowned, “Tony never mentioned anything about a dinner,” She said, referring to her husband who had been working on this project with Sebastian.
Jill was confused, but she knew there had to be a reasonable explanation for this. Perhaps they had forgotten to invite Tony. Noticing the concern on Debby’s face, she smiled politely, “Perhaps I had it wrong.”
Alone
She didn’t want to read too much into it. She quickly said goodbye to Debby and then went about her shopping. She spent that night alone at home, and Sebastian only returned hours later.
When she told her husband about what had happened, he laughed it off. “They didn’t invite Tony. You know how he always puts his foot in his mouth! They don’t want him to scare off the new client,” he explained, and she believed him.
All Seemed Well
For the next little while, all seemed well in their household. He was still going out three nights a week, but he had begun bringing home flowers to make it up to his wife. “I hate not being able to spend all of my nights with you,” he would tell her.
She thought she was the luckiest woman in the world. But what once was sweet quickly went sour one Friday night.
Doing Chores
Sebastian was out with colleagues once again, and Jill decided to do their laundry one day early. She was sipping on a glass of red wine and listening to her favorite songs while sorting their laundry into two separate piles.
She grabbed the pile of lighter clothes first and headed for the washing machine. One by one, she tossed her husband’s dress shirts into the machine, eager to get the chore out of the way. But as she tossed one onto the pile, an unfamiliar scent reached her nose.
Not Her Perfume
She grabbed it from the machine and raised it to her nose, inhaling sharply. Her eyebrows furrowed at the scent. The entire shirt smelled of perfume, but it wasn’t the one she used.
Her stomach twisted into a tight knot, but she knew better than to assume. She decided to grab the blazer he’d worn the night before. When she brought it up to her nose, it too smelled like the same perfume.
The Receipt
Suddenly, she didn’t feel so sure about herself. She needed answers and decided to go through his pockets. Something wasn’t adding up. When she reached her hand inside, she found a receipt.
She wasn’t going to look at it at first, but she couldn’t help herself. Staring at the paper, she went down the long list of items. Nothing seemed too interesting until her eyes glanced over the tip.
Lipstick Stains
Her eyes grew wide when she saw the amount. Sebastian had tipped the waitress $50 on an $80 bill. Did he make a mistake? She was astonished by the amount. But she shrugged it off, maybe he was just being generous.
She placed the blazer down and grabbed ahold of his shirt again. She decided to ask him about it once he got home. She thought he’d have a reasonable explanation for all of it. But just as she was about to toss it in the wash, she saw the bright spots of lipstick along the collar. Her stomach dropped.
Waiting For Him
At first, she decided to wait until he got home, but as the hours passed by, and her brain filled with more questions, she decided that she couldn’t wait any longer. She needed answers now.
She got up off the couch and reached for her coat. She grabbed hold of her car keys and rushed for the front door. Had she made a mistake putting so much faith in her husband? Her heart was racing.
What Would She Do?
The journey to the expensive restaurant seemed to last a lifetime as she drove through the busy streets. She didn’t know what she was going to do once she got there. She couldn’t confront him in front of all of his colleagues; that would humiliate him.
When she finally got there, she hesitantly stepped out of her car. She slowly approached the door and asked to be seated in the back corner of the restaurant. She wanted to see what was going on without him knowing that she was there.
There He Was
At first, she couldn’t spot his table. She was looking at the bigger tables with more than two people, but he was nowhere to be seen in these crowds. But before long, her eyes fell upon the man she loved.
He was sitting alone at a table for one. She was beyond confused. Where were his colleagues? She wanted to walk up to him and ask him, but before she could, someone approached him.
Being Friendly
The young waitress walked toward her husband and placed a plate of food before him. He grinned at the woman, thanking her as she winked down at him. Jill narrowed her eyes at them. Why were they being so friendly?
But just then, she watched in horror as her husband rubbed his hand up and down the waitress’s arm, speaking to her as she giggled. Then, something even worse happened.
A Kiss
The waitress glanced around herself, making sure that no one was looking at them. She didn’t notice Jill’s eyes before she bent down and placed a gentle kiss on Sebastian’s lips. Jill’s heart shattered in her chest.
She was beyond confused, but the grin on her husband’s face made it very clear. He was seeing this woman.
It Made Sense
Jill sank back in her chair. Suddenly, it all made sense. All this time, Sebastian had been lying to her. He wasn’t going out to dinner with colleagues three times a week, he was coming here to see this woman.
All along, he had been playing Jill for a fool. She couldn’t believe that she had allowed this to happen for so long. She was shattered.
How Could He?
Jill couldn’t believe her eyes. After all these years, she never thought her husband could do anything like this to her. After more than a decade together, she thought that she could trust him, but she was wrong.
She got up from her spot and wiped a hand across her cheek. Sebastian had no idea that she was there, but she was about to announce her presence. He wasn’t going to get away with this.
Determination
She walked with determination toward his table, wiping the tears that were still pouring down her cheeks. For the first time in her life, she finally saw him for who he really was. He was a liar and a cheater.
When she finally reached his table, he glanced up from his plate of food. As soon as he saw her face, his smile faltered, “Jill-” but she didn’t give him a chance to speak as she removed the ring from her finger and tossed it on the table.
He Messed Up
He pushed his chair out, rushing after her as she made her way out of the restaurant. Tears were streaming down his face. He knew that he had been caught and that there was nothing he could do to take this back.
“Jill, wait!” But she didn’t. She got into her car and shut the door in his face. As she drove off, she promised herself that she would never go back to the man who broke her heart.