When Angela stumbles upon her late husband’s wristwatch inside her second husband Bryan’s nightstand drawer, her world shatters. She confronts Bryan, but his answers reveal a devastating truth that tears her life apart.
I don’t know how to begin, but maybe it’s best if I just tell it as it happened. There are days that start out ordinary, and then, in the blink of an eye, everything changes. This was one of those days.
A thoughtful woman | Source: Midjourney
I was tidying up the house, keeping busy, keeping my mind from wandering too much into the past. Bryan’s side of the bed was its usual mess, with socks kicked off hurriedly and his nightstand drawer slightly open.
I wasn’t snooping, I swear, but something about that open drawer caught my eye. Maybe it was just instinct, or maybe it was fate pushing me toward the truth.
When I opened it fully, I didn’t expect to find anything out of the ordinary. But then I saw it.
An open drawer | Source: Pexels
A wristwatch. And not just any wristwatch. It had belonged to my late husband Jeff. The one I gave him on our first anniversary, with the words “Forever Yours, A.” engraved on the back. My heart stopped and literally skipped a beat as I picked it up with trembling hands.
I knew that watch like I knew my heartbeat. But it shouldn’t be here. Bryan didn’t even know Jeff. I only met him six months after Jeff died. I felt a cold wave of confusion wash over me.
How could Bryan have this? It didn’t make sense. Nothing about this made sense.
A shocked woman | Source: Midjourney
I dropped the watch, my hands shaking too much to hold onto it. It fell to the carpet with a soft thud, but the noise echoed in my head like a bomb going off.
When Bryan came home that evening, I didn’t even let him take off his coat before I confronted him. My voice was tight, barely controlled, as I held up the watch in front of him.
“Where did you get this?”
The look on his face told me everything and nothing at the same time.
A man with an unreadable expression | Source: Midjourney
He went pale, eyes wide like he’d seen a ghost. He just stared at the watch, his mouth opening and closing like he couldn’t find the words. The silence stretched between us, thick and heavy, until I thought I might scream just to break it.
Finally, Bryan spoke, but his voice was so soft that I had to strain to hear him. “I… I didn’t want you to find out like this.”
“Find out what?” I snapped, my frustration bubbling over.
An angry woman | Source: Midjourney
He looked away, running a hand through his hair, his whole body tense like he was bracing for impact. “Angela, there’s something I need to tell you. Something I should have told you from the beginning, but I didn’t know how.”
I felt a chill run down my spine. “What are you talking about?”
“Jeff was… Jeff was my brother.”
I stared at him, my mind rejecting the words. It felt like someone had punched me in the stomach, and I couldn’t breathe.
A woman gasping in shock | Source: Midjourney
“Your brother? But Jeff never said he had a brother… and you never said anything either. We’ve been married three years! How could you—”
“I didn’t just not say anything, Angela. I hid it. Years ago, I changed my name, left the country, and cut all ties with my past. I was bitter, angry, and I couldn’t stand being around my family anymore. Jeff and I had a falling out. A big one. And I thought the only way to move on was to leave it all behind, including him.”
Bryan’s voice cracked, and he looked at me with such sorrow in his eyes that it made my heart ache.
A sad man | Source: Midjourney
“I didn’t know Jeff was gone until months later. By the time I came back, it was too late. He was already dead. I went to his grave, and that’s when I saw you.”
I could feel tears prickling at the corners of my eyes, but I blinked them back, refusing to let them fall. “You saw me there? At Jeff’s grave?”
Bryan nodded, his hands shaking. “Yes. I didn’t know who you were at first, but when I found out, I… I don’t know, Angela. I was drawn to you.”
A thoughtful man | Source: Midjourney
“Maybe it was guilt, or maybe it was something else, but I couldn’t stay away. And then… then we fell in love.”
I felt like the room was spinning. This man, the one I had trusted, had kept this from me? This wasn’t just some mistake; this was my entire life, everything I thought I knew, turned upside down.
“But the watch,” I managed to say, my voice shaking as much as my hands. “How did you get Jeff’s watch?”
A woman speaking to her husband | Source: Midjourney
“After I came back, I found my mother at Jeff’s grave. She forgave me, even though I didn’t deserve it. And she gave me this,” he gestured to the watch, his voice heavy with regret. “It was the only thing she had left of Jeff. A way to make peace, she said. I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid you’d hate me.”
I stood there, staring at the man I thought I knew, and I couldn’t make sense of anything anymore.
Close up of a woman’s face | Source: Midjourney
His words kept circling in my head, wrapping tighter around my heart, choking the life out of me. Jeff’s brother. How had I missed it? How could I have been so blind?
“Angela, please,” he started, taking a step closer. But I held up my hand to stop him, needing distance, needing to breathe. I couldn’t look at him without seeing all the lies, all the secrets that had been hiding in plain sight.
“I… I can’t do this,” I said, my voice sounding foreign, hollow.
A woman standing in a kitchen | Source: Midjourney
The room felt like it was closing in on me, the walls pushing in until there was no space left to think, to feel anything but the overwhelming weight of betrayal.
“Angela, listen to me,” Bryan pleaded, his voice breaking. “I know I should have told you from the beginning, but I didn’t want to lose you.”
“But you already have,” I whispered, barely able to say the words out loud. They hurt too much, like shards of glass scraping against my throat.
A heartbroken woman | Source: Midjourney
“You lost me the moment you decided to hide this from me. You let me fall in love with a lie.”
He shook his head, desperation in his eyes. “No, it wasn’t a lie. My love for you is real. Everything we’ve built together, it’s real. I swear to you, Angela, I never meant to deceive you.”
“Maybe not,” I said, my voice trembling as I fought to keep it together. “But you did. You deceived me every day you looked me in the eye and didn’t tell me the truth. I trusted you, Bryan. I trusted you with everything I had left after Jeff, and now… now I don’t even know who you are.”
A woman pointing her finger | Source: Midjourney
The silence that followed was heavy and suffocating. Bryan’s shoulders slumped, his face a mask of sorrow and regret. I could see the pain in his eyes, but it didn’t change the fact that I felt like I’d been living in someone else’s story, a story I didn’t sign up for.
I turned away from him, the tears I’d been holding back finally spilling over.
“I need to pack,” I muttered, more to myself than to him. I needed to move, to do something, anything, to keep from falling apart completely.
A woman in a darkened hallway | Source: Midjourney
“Please, Angela, don’t go,” Bryan begged, but his voice sounded distant. It was as if it was coming from the other end of a tunnel. “We can work through this. We can—”
“There’s nothing to work through,” I interrupted, choking on my own words. “I can’t stay in this marriage, Bryan. Not after this. I can’t stay with someone I don’t even recognize anymore.”
I walked to the bedroom, each step feeling heavier than the last. My hands shook as I pulled out a suitcase, the sound of the zipper echoing in the room.
A woman packing a suitcase | Source: Pexels
Bryan stood in the doorway, his face pale, watching me pack with a helplessness that almost broke me. Almost. But the anger and betrayal were stronger, driving me forward and pushing me to leave behind everything we had built.
“Angela, please,” he said one last time, his voice so soft, so broken, it was almost a whisper.
But I couldn’t stop. If I stopped, I’d crumble, and I couldn’t afford that. Not now. Not ever.
A woman hanging her head | Source: Midjourney
I zipped up the suitcase and lifted it from the bed. My heart pounded as I walked past him without a word. As I reached the front door, I hesitated, just for a moment.
Part of me wanted to turn back, to give him one last look, but I couldn’t. I knew if I did, I might lose the strength I’d gathered to walk away.
So I stepped out the door, the cool evening air hitting my face like a slap. I didn’t look back as I walked to my car and climbed in, each step feeling like I was tearing my heart out.
A woman in a car | Source: Midjourney
But I kept going because there was no other choice. The man I loved, the man I thought I knew, was a stranger. And I couldn’t live with that. Not anymore.
Little Boy Cries & Begs Mom Not to Take Him to Daycare until She Storms into Facility – Story of the Day
A three-year-old throws tantrums and begs his mother not to go to daycare. Worried, she goes in unannounced and what she sees shocks her.
“No, mommy, no!” Johnny threw himself on the floor and started screaming. Marla Evans sighed. Not again! She looked at her watch. If he threw a full tantrum, she would be late yet again.
She gazed at her three-year-old with exasperation. Johnny had been going to daycare for two years and always loved it. For the last week, out of the blue, he’d been making a scene, begging Marla not to take him.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
She’d spoken to her pediatrician, and the doctor had told her that toddlers often went through the ‘terrible threes.’ “Stop it!” Marla heard herself scream, then she saw the look of fear in her son’s eyes. Something wasn’t right.
Marla sat down on the floor next to Johnny and coaxed him into her lap. He sobbed, pressing his little face against hers. Marla decided this was more than a tantrum, but what could be wrong?
“Honey,” Marla said gently. “I’m sorry. Mommy didn’t mean to snap.” She rocked him until he stopped crying and asked gently, “Why don’t you like daycare anymore?”
Raising a child is about setting and respecting boundaries.
Johnny shivered in her arms and whispered, “I don’t like!”
“But why, sweetie?” Marla asked. “Are the other kids mean?” But Johnny wouldn’t answer. Marla sighed. “Baby, mommy needs to go to work, but I tell you what… I’m going to come and get you from daycare early today, OK?”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
Johnny sat up in her lap. “No lunch?” He looked up at her anxiously. “No lunch, mommy?”
Lunch? The worried mom frowned. What was happening with her son?
Marla dropped Johnny off after promising she’d fetch him before lunch. He walked into the daycare quietly but threw Marla a pleading look that left her heartbroken.
She went to work and asked her boss for the afternoon off to deal with a personal issue. Thankfully, her boss was a mom too and understood!
Marla was determined to get to the bottom of Johnny’s reluctance to go to daycare. She decided to drop in — not before lunchtime as she promised Johnny — but during the meal.
Johnny’s daycare didn’t allow the parents into the children’s playrooms or the dining room, but each door of the facility had a large, clear glass window. Hopefully, Marla would be able to see what — if anything — was going on.
When she arrived, the receptionist told her the children were having lunch. Marla walked to the dining room and peered in. The kids were all sitting at their tables, eating.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
A teacher or an assistant supervised each table. Marla quickly spotted Johnny. There was a woman Marla didn’t recognize sitting next to him.
As Marla watched, the woman picked up Johnny’s spoon, scooped up a portion of mashed potatoes, and pressed it against his lips. “Eat!” she cried. Johnny shook his head violently, his mouth firmly closed, tears running down his cheeks.
“Open your mouth and eat!” the woman said angrily. Johnny was looking deeply distressed. The woman cried, “You are going to sit here until you clear your plate!”
Marla saw a small portion of mince, mash, and vegetables left on Johnny’s plate, and she knew her son. Johnny was not a big eater; she never pushed it when he told her he’d had enough.
Johnny opened his mouth to protest, and the teacher quickly pushed the spoon in. Marla saw her son choke and sputter. She’d had enough! She opened the door and stormed in.
“Get away from my son!” she cried.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
The woman looked up, and her mouth hung open. “Parents aren’t allowed in the dining room!” she cried.
“Then they should be,” Marla said, reining in her anger. “Can’t you see Johnny’s had enough? He’s a healthy boy, but he is not a big eater. As an educator, you should know how traumatic force-feeding a child can be.
“Being forced to clean up the plate is an old-fashioned notion. You should be aware of the statistics and the causes of obesity and eating disorders in children.
“And one of them is making food an issue! My little boy is an active child, and if he feels he’s had enough, you need to respect that and not force him to eat.
“As for shoving food into a child’s mouth in that way, it is reprehensible! You should certainly know better. These children are not puppets for you to manipulate at will!
“They are little people with needs and a will of their own. If you don’t respect their boundaries, you teach them they don’t deserve respect. I don’t think that is a message you want to pass on!”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
The teacher flushed a bright red and got to her feet. “I never…” she cried.
“That’s a pity,” Marla said crisply. “Because if this happens again, I will ensure you are out of a job! I’m not sending my son to daycare to be brutalized!”
Marla walked over to Johnny and tenderly wiped his mouth. “Come on, honey,” she said gently. “Mommy promised you a treat this afternoon!”
Marla had a long talk with Johnny, and there was no tantrum the next morning. Over the next few weeks, she popped into the daycare at lunch times just to keep an eye on things.
The teacher never forced Johnny to eat again, and the boy recovered his good humor and enthusiasm.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
What can we learn from this story?
- Children and their boundaries should be respected. Johnny’s teacher was teaching him that adults had the right to impose their will on children against their welfare.
- Raising a child is about setting and respecting boundaries — theirs and ours. A child whose boundaries are not respected is insecure and has low self-esteem.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a little boy who learns all about love by watching how his father treats his mother.
This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life.
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