Eye-opener
For most people, being married also means accepting your partner’s past and imperfections. However, that doesn’t mean you also have to accept things you never knew about your partner, especially when it is something dark and twisted. Lavona had always dreamt of a beautiful married life, not until she discovered the dark secret her husband had been hiding.
Lavona and Charles live in Texas with their baby, Taylor. Like everybody, they began as an ideal family with a very straightforward living. Charles preferred to let Lavona live as a housewife while he provided everything for their family. Or so it seemed.
Sad Changes
Everything started when Charles began to drift away from Lavona. It was way too sudden, knowing that the two had already known each other for ten years. They have been married to each other for 7 years, but Charles seemed to ignore her more and more as each day passed.
The Beginning
Lavona was born and raised in Port Isabel, Texas. She always had her version of the American dream. When Lavona graduated from college, she met Charles years after, and they decided to marry each other. And not long later, they were about to face a huge deal.
Independent
The couple soon had their first child called Taylor. When Taylor came, Charles wanted to be the one to provide for their family’s daily needs and asked Lavona to quit her job. However, it was quite uncomfortable for Lavona as she wanted to earn money to sustain their needs. Later on, this issue would cause a massive rift between them.
The Sweetest
At first, when Charles asked her to quit her job to take care of their baby, Lavona thought it was a sweet gesture of Charles. However, it did not last as long as she thought it would.
The Root
When Charles first became withdrawn and more distant, Lavona thought it was the pressure of working and providing for the whole family taking a toll on him. She tried to do all she could to help and support him but he rejected her help at every turn. All she had was her baby and for a while, she thought it was going to be enough. But she couldn’t be more wrong.
Longing
The fact that Charles was becoming too busy and lacked time for their relationship made Lavona wonder. Often, he spent his week fishing outside their house, but Lavona never stopped him. She became too selfless to the point that she ignored her feeling of longing for Charle’s time and love. For 3 years, they continued like this until suddenly, she received unexpected news.
Unexpected Surprise
The day came when Lavona finally wanted to change their routine as a married couple. Suddenly, Lavona found out she was pregnant again and was excited to tell the good news to Charles. She just thought the baby might bring them closer like before.
Hello, Goodbye
Unfortunately, that didn’t make any difference. Charles still hated spending his free time without Lavona. Although, Lavona wanted to have a special bond with him but decided to respect Charles. Knowing that she was pregnant, the emotional damage of his rejection doubled.
Pointless
Lavona had enough of feeling like living alone in the three years of their relationship, but she had no choice. She then started to do things that could make her feel better, such as watching movies alone and spending time with her friends, as it was pointless to demand. But even that wasn’t enough.
Emotional Stage
Even though Lavona wanted to do anything just to forget about Charles, she remained emotional. She could not help being disappointed that she thought that the baby might bring Charles closer to her. It just didn’t happen that way.
Hint of Sunshine
During Lavona’s pregnancy, she was so glad as it looked like Charles was spending more time with her. They had the chance to buy things for the upcoming baby, but it did not last long.
All Alone
During the 9th month of Lavona’s pregnancy, Charles did not change. But what made it worse was the day she was about to deliver the baby. Lavona made it all alone without her husband, and what was about to come would make her stronger.
D-Day
When Lavona felt the first contraction, she called the midwife without help from her husband. Until Taylor had the baby, people tried to contact Charles, but he could not be reached as usual.
It’s Raining Problems
With the addition of a new person to the household, Charles’ finances was stretched to the max. They were having more problems and Charles was withdrawing even more. Lavona mentioned getting a job to support the family and Charles shut down that conversation quickly. She didn’t know what else to do.
Deeper Issue
Lavona wondered why they suffered much even though Charles told her he was bringing home all his salaries. But later, Lavona would discover the truth, Charles was bringing less and less money, and the reason behind it was about to hit her hard.
Food Budget
Lavona felt she had to do something. She then cut down the costs of their groceries and went for cheaper products. However, when she used their card, it was declined. At that moment, Lavona knew she had to confront Charles.
Bunch of Lies
When she confronted Charles, he kept stuttering. It looked like he was lying to her, but Lavona pressured him. Later that day, Charles finally told her he hadn’t been going to work on Mondays and spent that time letting the stress out. Lavona was furious and wondered where he was going on Mondays. However, she was about to find out where.
Uncovering the Truth
Lavona took out all the bills and monthly statements for their joint bank account to figure out where the money was going. If Charles wasn't willing to assist, she would have to devise a plan independently. She needed to look for areas where she could decrease costs. Did her husband's odd behavior have anything to do with the unexplained $95.00 monthly debit order, "STOR336," that kept popping up? Lavona would soon learn the answer.
The Storage
Lavona found that it was a company called STORE-IT, which was so familiar. Charles had acquired the storage facility from his father years ago, but Lavona had utterly forgotten about it. The fact that she had never been inside leading her to believe that Charles had also forgotten about it and that the key had long since been lost. Exactly how she was wrong
Glimpse of Hope
Peter Fazekas
Lavona thought there might be something in there that could be sold and help them financially. She then decided to visit the storage unit but noticed she did not have the room's key. She asked the manager and was shocked when he said, "We don't keep tenant keys on the property for security concerns, so I can't let you in." He continued, "But I know Charles well; on Monday, he had your key."
Lavona’s Turn
“Wait... what?” Lavona stutter-spoke. She hadn't heard anything from Charles concerning the storage unit. In fact, it had been seven years since he had inherited it, and he hadn't mentioned it since. The manager appeared unaware of Lavona's shocked expression when he said, "If you need a duplicate, I can deliver it to you tomorrow." Lavona made the decision to gather herself. She had to figure out what was going on. She responded, putting on her biggest, phoniest smile, "Thank you! That'd be fantastic! ”
Spine-Tingling
Lavona felt uneasy as she plotted the act toward Charles. The following day when the time reached 4:55 AM, Lavona sighed. Taylor started crying as soon as the birds started making their awful morning call. She prepared the meal for Charles even though she was too betrayed by him. Later that day, she finally drove toward the secret hideout of Charles.
Left Covered
When she arrived at the location, she immediately went inside the storage unit while her body was shaking. She then saw a mysterious car covered in a blanket and surrounded by many boxes. At that moment, she thought it might be the answer to their many problems, and she was so wrong.
Green Lunch Box
Lavona knew very little about automobiles. She was just aware of its dustiness. She bounced Taylor up and down as she walked around it, looking inside for hints while Taylor grew niggly. She could tell from glancing through the grimy windows that this car had lately been occupied. A bright green lunchbox and a brown A3 folder were visible through the dust on the passenger seat. Her heart sank.
Unreasonable
Lavona kept overthinking, she thought Charles might have an affair, but it was weird if they would meet in the storage unit and not in hotel rooms. However, she could not enter inside and had no choice but to look at the windows instead to see what was inside. She made some clearings, and some additional light entered. In the back, she could make out stacks of paper. Nothing spoke to her—not a few crumpled beer cans, not a box of Camel's. But she wasn't going anywhere right now. Lavona then had a flashback.
Charles’ Hobby
After minutes of stressing out, Lavona remembered that Charles always loved to keep the keys in their home garage. It was his solution to keep him from losing the keys all of the time. Before being pulled to one little, round box that was glaringly dust-free, Lavona searched the storage area, gazing over the stacks of boxes and garbage. And her instinct was right.
The Secret
As the metal door shrieked, she threw it up while slightly flinching. She could just make out the vast object covered in a white sheet in the storage unit's gloom. Being acutely aware that she wasn't supposed to be there, she ripped it off to reveal the old dusty car. She would need to dust the car first before starting to organize it. But after she cracked up the trunk, she discovered all the proof of her husband's double life.
Ours
Inside the trunk of the car were the documents that showed that the things inside the storage belonged to Charles. There was also a large box with her name written on it that had been scribbled off. Apparently, Charles had inherited it from his beloved grandmother, who also left her box of family heirlooms for Lavona. Charles never told her about this. She was about to be more shocked.
Two-timing
Inside the A3 folder in the car, she saw pictures of a pretty blond woman and a gap-toothed boy that looked about 7 years old. On the back of the photos were the inscription “Marie and Josh, love dad.” The file also contained documents that showed Charles was the boy’s father. Apparently, all this while, Charles had been juggling both families and that was why he was never around.
Hurt and disappointed, Lavona went to confront him and she found him waiting at home with divorce papers. Apparently, he had been sitting on it for a while and didn’t know how to give them to her. When the storage unit’s manager told him his wife had come looking for him, he knew the jig was up and his wife would never forgive him.