Having spent twenty years of marriage and raised four children together, I thought my marriage was unbreakable and based on trust. But the last few weeks had been stressful; he was going out late, he justified it with deadlines and overtime work.

His actions seemed strange, therefore I made the decision to help him in a unique way. I was eager to surprise him, so I packed a tasty meal and went to his office. However, when his coworkers told me that he had been laid off and hadn’t been back for three months, my elation quickly turned to horror and perplexity. It seemed like my world was falling apart.

The Doubting Morning

The following morning, while making breakfast and observing him getting ready for his imaginary job, I made the decision to subtly address him. “How’s work going by the way? You made reference to a promotion, right? I questioned in jest.

He didn’t pause at all. “What?” Oh, no worries. “There’s still a lot of work to get that promotion, dear,” he answered, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I played along, watching him go, kissing him good-bye, my heart hammering in my chest. Emboldened to find out the truth, I followed him into a cab.