When I visited my sick mother-in-law to give my exhausted husband a break, I expected tension. But nothing could have prepared me for what I discovered. She wasn’t sick at all. And when she revealed the truth, my world came crashing down. If Jacob wasn’t with her every night… where was he?
How is this possible? I thought to myself.
Every night, Jacob came here. Or at least, that’s what he told me.
But when I stared at my perfectly healthy mother-in-law, a terrifying realization dawned on me. Something is wrong. Something very, very wrong.
A woman standing in her house | Source: Midjourney
I’ve been married to Jacob for eight years. Long enough to know that his mother, Linda, has never been my biggest fan.
From the moment we met, she made it clear to me that I wasn’t good enough for her son.
She wanted him to marry someone prettier, richer, and classier. Not me.
Over the years, I’ve tried everything to win her over. I’ve been kind, brought gifts for the holidays, smiled in response to backhanded compliments, and ignored the way she always made me feel like an outsider.
But no matter what I did, it was never enough.
A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
Ultimately, Jacob and I decided it was best for me to stay away. Less contact, less drama.
Then, a month ago, Jacob sat me down, his expression unusually serious.
“Mom is sick, Carol. She needs me.”
Her words made my heart skip a beat. Even though she and I had our differences, the idea of her fighting alone made me uncomfortable.
He went on to explain that she was really not well. Too weak to cook and barely able to move.
An elderly woman kissing her coat | Source: Pexels
And yet, he was her only family. So, every night after work, he drove an hour to the next town to take care of her.
I didn’t complain. How could I?
He was a good son.
And honestly? I felt guilty for not taking care of her myself.
But last week, something changed.
Jacob came home looking completely exhausted. Not just tired, but completely drained.
His face was pale and his eyes bloodshot. He kicked off his shoes and collapsed on the sofa, groaning as if every muscle in his body ached.
A man sitting on the sofa | Source: Midjourney
“I just need an hour, baby,” he mumbled, already half asleep. “Then I’ll go to Mommy’s.”
I watched him struggle to keep his eyes open. He was out of breath.
That’s when something shifted inside me.
I felt bad. He worked full-time and spent all his nights taking care of his mother. It wasn’t fair.
So, while he was sleeping, I made a decision.
I grabbed my purse, did some shopping, and headed over to Linda’s house, mentally preparing myself for her usual cold reception.
A car driving at night | Source: Pexels
I told myself it didn’t matter if she was rude. She was sick. She needed help.
I knocked on his door, getting ready.
And then the door opened.
And my world turned upside down.
Linda stood there, perfectly fine.
She wasn’t sick. She wasn’t weak.
She wasn’t even in her pajamas. She was fully dressed, wearing makeup, with freshly painted nails.
And before I could even realize it, she burst into tears.
“Oh my God!” she said tearfully, grabbing my hands. “Carol, what happened? I haven’t seen Jacob in three months! Is he okay?”
A woman talks to her daughter-in-law | Source: Midjourney
I felt my whole body go cold. I hadn’t even realized I’d dropped the groceries on his doorstep.
“What?” I whispered. “What do you mean, you didn’t see it?”
Linda wiped away her tears, looking as confused as I was.
“I… I thought something happened to him! He stopped visiting me months ago! He doesn’t answer my calls. He doesn’t even text me…”
My heart stopped.
No. No, no, no.
“He told me he comes here every night,” I said, shaking my head. “He told me you were sick and needed help!”
A worried woman standing outside | Source: Midjourney
His face contorted in shock.
“Sick? I’m fine! I go to my gardening club every weekend! Carol, what’s going on?”
I stepped back, shaking my head. None of this made any sense.
Jacob drove out every night after work. I watched him leave. I heard the exhaustion in his voice, and I even saw it on his face.
Had he been lying all this time?
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to stay calm. Think, Carol. Think.
Then I took out my phone, my hands shaking, and dialed Jacob’s number.
A woman using her phone | Source: Pexels
It rang once. Then twice.
I went straight to voicemail.
I tried again.
Always the voicemail.
A deep, gut-wrenching fear settled inside me. Something is wrong.
I looked at Linda. She was still crying.
It only meant one thing. He hadn’t visited his mother. He hadn’t been here in months.
I took a slow, steady breath and made a decision.
“Don’t tell him I was here,” I said, my voice eerily calm. “Please.”
Linda nodded. “Okay… I hope everything’s okay.”
I turned around and rushed to my car.
A close-up of a woman walking | Source: Midjourney
The drive home was a blur.
My hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white. My mind raced through all the possibilities… an affair, a gambling problem, a second job.
But nothing made sense.
Jacob wasn’t one to lie. At least, I didn’t think so.
But then again, I never thought he would lie about it.
Halfway home, an idea struck me. A reckless, impulsive, and desperate thought.
If Jacob hadn’t visited his mother during this time, there was only one way to find out where he’d gone. So instead of driving straight home, I parked two blocks from our house and waited.
A close-up of a taillight | Source: Pexels
The minutes seemed like hours, my fingers drumming anxiously against the steering wheel.
Then, at exactly 9:15 p.m., Jacob’s car pulled out of our driveway.
My breath caught. There it is.
My heart was pounding as I started the engine and followed him.
I drive in silence, following him at a good distance. As expected, he didn’t head towards the town of Linda.
He went in the opposite direction.
Thirty minutes later, he turned into a quiet suburban neighborhood.
Cars on a road | Source: Pexels
My stomach knotted as I parked down the street and watched.
Jacob stopped in front of a small, modest house. He got out and walked to the door.
He knocked twice.
And then he walked right in. I had no idea who this house was. And I wasn’t ready to find out.
My hands shook as I reached for my phone.
My first instinct was to call him, demand an explanation, and force him to come out and face me. But I stopped.
I needed to see the truth. I needed to see it for myself.
A woman sitting in her car | Source: Midjourney
Before I could talk myself out of it, I got out of the car. My legs were shaking as I walked down the path.
I knocked.
Twice.
Then the door opened.
A woman in her thirties was standing there. She had blonde hair and looked really cute in her hoodie and pajama pants.
Her eyes widened when she saw me.
Close-up of a woman’s eyes | Source: Midjourney
Then, before I could even comprehend her reaction, a little boy appeared from behind her.
He couldn’t have been more than five years old.
And he had Jacob’s eyes. Jacob’s hair.
That’s when Jacob appeared and saw me.
“Carol? Carol, what are you doing here?” he asked.
I stared at the little boy, then the woman, and finally my husband.
And suddenly, something clicked.
Exhaustion. Late nights. The distance between us.
Jacob had not taken care of his sick mother.
He was here.
With them.
A woman standing in the doorway | Source: Midjourney
I felt numb. My body was detached from my mind, as if I were floating outside myself, watching a scene that seemed straight out of a soap opera.
“Do you have a son?” The words barely resembled my own.
Jacob’s lips parted, but no sound came out.
The woman, who I now realized must have been his ex-girlfriend, looked from one to the other, her face distraught.
“You never told him?” she whispered.
I let out a shaky laugh.
Jacob lied. He lied to my face.
I turned to the woman. “Did you know he was married?”
A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
She hesitated. Then, with a guilty look, she nodded.
“I… I knew about you. But Jacob said you knew about him.” Her eyes turned to the boy, who was still clutching her leg.
A new wave of betrayal has fallen upon me.
Jacob had a whole second life. A secret child. A secret home. A second family.
Meanwhile, I sat at home, feeling sorry for him and thinking what a good son he was.
At that moment, I wanted to scream and throw things, but I didn’t.
Instinctively, I smiled and said two words.
“Keep it,” I told the woman.
A woman smiling at another woman | Source: Midjourney
Then I turned around and left. I never looked back.
That night was one of the hardest of my life, but it made me realize that I had to be strong for myself. I couldn’t let one man ruin everything.
So I filed for divorce the next morning. I was sure I wanted to get rid of the man I thought was my husband.
Soon, Jacob came crawling back, begging for another chance, but I was done. I told him I couldn’t live with a man who didn’t think twice before betraying me like that.
An upset man | Source: Pexels
He kept begging me to let him explain why he thought it was okay to support this woman and her child. He said things like, “They needed me,” and “It’s not like I don’t love you,” but I wasn’t in the mood for explanations.
Not now.
Not after learning the truth.
There’s one thing I want to say to all of you. If you ever feel like something isn’t right, trust your instincts. Don’t ignore the signs that tell you to dig deeper.
Do what your instinct tells you to do.
A woman standing by a window | Source: Pexels
If you enjoyed reading this story, here’s another one you might enjoy: Little children can’t lie. So when five-year-old Lisa answered her father’s phone and whispered, “I can’t keep secrets from Mommy,” her mother, Laura, froze. She grabbed the phone, and what she heard next marked the beginning of the search for a heartbreaking truth.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the story. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims regarding the accuracy of events or character portrayals and are not responsible for any misinterpretations. This story is provided “as is,” and the opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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