A woman told her daughter that her father had passed away – years later, the girl uncovered a heartbreaking truth

When Cassie returns from a getaway with her husband and son, she walks into her home to see a cryptic message from her mother — telling her to watch a video. As Cassie presses play, her entire life changes. In the end, she’s left wondering which of her parents are worthy of forgiveness.

In my eyes, my father could do no wrong. He was everything I needed him to be and more. He was a businessman who was always traveling, but he ensured that he made enough time for me.

“You’re my little girl, Cassie,” he would say, bopping my nose with his index finger. “You’re the most special.”

My parents always went out of their way for me — ensuring that despite their busy schedules, we would have family dinner almost every night.

It was the one thing that kept me grounded while both of my friends from school were in the middle of their parents’ messy divorces.

“I think it’s trendy now,” I told my mother as she cut slices of banana bread for me after school one day.

“Cas, you cannot think that divorce is trendy,” she laughed. “It’s devastating and traumatic, and very few families actually keep things civil.”

“I’m just saying that it’s trendy because a lot of kids live between two homes,” I explained to her. “It’s one of those things we were talking about in class today.”

I was fourteen, and the world seemed more dramatic than it should have been.

But what I didn’t know was that my words seemed to be an incantation that settled over our home.

A few weeks after that conversation, my father went away on a business trip. A few hours after he had been gone, there was news of his passing.

“How?” I asked. “How did he die?”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Cassie,” she replied. “I’m just saying what the paramedics told me.”

“So what will we do next?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” she asked, puzzled by the question.

“For the funeral?” I asked. “Aren’t we going to have one?”

“I don’t think so,” my mother replied. “Dad wanted to be cremated and have his ashes spread at the beach. Let’s do that instead.”

I couldn’t fathom why my mother would want to do that — but at the end of the day, she knew my father best. And the longer I thought about it, the more beautiful and sentimental a private ceremony at the beach felt.

“Don’t be difficult, Cassie,” my mother said when she saw me thinking about my next move.

“I’m not,” I said. “Really. I was just thinking about it. It’s a great idea, Mom.”

I could have fought her for a send-off that I thought would have been more appropriate. But what use would it have been? At the end of the day, we had both lost him.

The months following the beach ceremony felt weighted, and I knew that I was becoming deeply depressed — my father had been our world. And his absence was felt more than anything.

But, with time, I learned to live with it.

Last week, I decided to book a cabin in the woods for a little family vacation. My son was adamant that camping was the new best thing, and I knew that despite the wonders of nature, I wasn’t going to camp in a tent without a bathroom in sight.

Instead, I thought that a cabin would be the best option — my husband, Derek, could camp outside with Drew, our son, if he insisted on it.

We had a dog, therefore, I asked my mother to house-sit for the week so that we could be at peace, knowing that Romeo was taken care of.

A week away was more than enough to restore my mind — and eventually, when we went back home, I was surprised to see that my mother wasn’t there. In fact, it looked like she had never been there.

But there, on the coffee table, was a note beneath the TV remote.

Watch this, Cassie. I’m sorry. — Mom

I didn’t know what was in store for me, but while Derek got Drew into the bath, I put the TV on and began to watch whatever my mother had planned.

The TV flickered to life, and there he was, my father, his voice a long-lost melody, his image aged but still, unmistakably him.

Tears streamed down my face as the realization that he was still alive enveloped me in a mix of joy and disbelief.

The video message was nothing short of unpredictable.

My dear Cassie, I’m still here, alive. I’m so sorry for the pain that you must have felt from my loss. But it was needed. I needed to be removed from your life because of the sordid truth of my past. Your mother knows everything, please ask her for the truth.

My health is on a steady decline, and I would love to see you and explain it all.

Love you, Dad.

Without telling Derek or Drew anything, I grabbed the car keys and ran out. I needed my mother to explain.

“So, I bet you’ve got questions for me,” she said, opening the door.

“Explain it all,” I said.

“Cassie, it’s heavy. You look tired from your trip; are you sure you want to do this now?” she asked.

I nodded. It was now or never. I needed to know why my father faked his own death to get out of our lives.

My mother made us some tea and took out some shortbread.

“Darling,” she said. “I’ll understand if you don’t forgive me, but there’s so much about that time that I need to tell you.”

I sipped my tea, trying to figure out what my mother was about to tell me.

“I remember that you were telling me about your friend’s parents getting divorced. Do you remember that?” she asked.

I nodded. Of course, I did. It was the strangest thing, but it was so common when I was in school.

“Well, your father and I were not legally married. So when I told him about our conversation regarding divorce, he was actually relieved. Without being married, there would be no divorce.”

“What’s the big deal?” I asked.

“Then I found out that the real reason that we didn’t get married was because your father was already married to another woman.”

“What?” I exclaimed, almost dropping my cup. “To who?”

“To a woman in the town where he always had his business trips.”

“You didn’t know?” I asked, unable to believe her words.

“Of course not!” she exclaimed. “But when I pressed him about it, he decided to choose that family over us. So, I told him that the story was going to be his death.”

We were both silent for a moment.

Turns out that my mother told him that she would never tell me the truth, not when he was my favorite person. She couldn’t burst my bubble in that way. And she refused to let him see me one more time.

“It was better for you to think that it was an accident,” my mother said. “It just made more sense.”

Now, I understood why we didn’t have a funeral for him.

“What did we throw into the sea, then?” I asked.

“Dust,” she replied with a straight face.

My mother had spoken to him twice over the years. The second time being a day ago.

During their meeting, my father confessed his imminent death due to illness and requested that she give me the recording. My mother, torn by guilt and love, chose to write me the note and have the recording all set for me to watch.

“I would have taken the secret to my grave,” she said. “But knowing that he was ill and wanted to see you just struck something in me.”

Compelled by a need to confront the reality of my father’s existence, I traveled to the state where he lived with his other family.

I spent a few weeks with my father — going in and out of hospitals, watching him take an array of different medication, and growing weaker by the day.

Sitting at his bedside, I listened to his stories, the regrets, the moments of joy, and the love he had for all his children — myself included.

When things started to go downhill, I asked Derek to fly over with Drew. It was going to be a fleeting moment, but at least I’d know that my son had met my father.

A few days later, my father died.

Even now, I don’t know if I’ve forgiven him for the lie of having a double life. I just know that when it came to it in the end — I wanted to spend time with him. I had shoved my feelings aside, hoping for memories that I could figure out later.

But now that the dust has settled, I’m trying to figure out if I should forgive my mother for lying.

What would you do?

After 23 Years of Marriage, Wife Asks Husband on a Date and Learns He Is Ashamed of Her — Story of the Day

A woman decides to ask her husband out on a date to rekindle their flame. He refused, admitting he was ashamed of her, only to learn an important lesson from one of his good friends later.

Jack and Mary had been married for 23 years with four children who needed constant attention from Mary. Their life was a routine, something that no longer excited the couple.

Their daily routine differed from one another. Jack would come home from work, lay on the couch, and watch television until dinner. Meanwhile, Mary worked the entire day, cooking dinner, washing everyone’s clothes, caring for their youngest child, and guiding the other kids with their homework.

When Mary would finally have free time late at night, she’d watch romantic films and imagine herself in them. She’s been dreaming of going on a date, as she and her husband haven’t gone on one in a while.

Mary wanted to go on a date with her husband, as they haven't been on one in a while. | Source: Shutterstock

Mary wanted to go on a date with her husband, as they haven’t been on one in a while. | Source: Shutterstock

However, when Mary looked at herself in the mirror, she was saddened by what she saw. She looked nothing like the women in the movies.

She glanced at her wedding photo in front of the mirror and couldn’t believe her eyes. She now saw a tired, sad old woman instead of the cheerful young girl she once was.

Shaking the thought, she decided to change her reality. The next day, when Jack returned from work, she sat him down at the dinner table.

“Jack, I was thinking… maybe we can go on a date? There’s a nice place that opened downtown. Maybe we can go check it out,” she suggested.

Jack scoffed and was surprised that Mary even initiated it. “Date? Why would we go on a date? Is today a special day or something?” he asked.

Mary always looked tired, as she looked after the entire household every single day. | Source: Pexels

Mary always looked tired, as she looked after the entire household every single day. | Source: Pexels

Mary shook her head. “Well, we don’t have to wait for a special day to go out on a date… we can make any day special,” she smiled kindly.

Instead of feeling touched by Mary’s gesture, Jack started to feel irritated. “Look at you!” he told Mary. “You look terrible. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Mary felt hurt by her husband’s harsh words, especially since she looked that way because she had just finished cleaning their house. “I just finished doing all the housework; that’s why I look like this,” she justified.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You look like this every day. You used to take care of yourself, fix your hair, dress up well, but now you look like an old maid. I don’t know when you started to let go of yourself,” Jack told her.

Mary’s eyes filled with tears. “Even when you cry, you look terrible. Do you want the truth? I’m ashamed of you. I can’t take you out like this,” Jack said before walking out the front door.

Mary couldn't help but cry after hearing such hurtful words from her husband. | Source: Pexels

Mary couldn’t help but cry after hearing such hurtful words from her husband. | Source: Pexels

Jack went to his friend Samuel’s house and invited him to a bar for a beer. But Samuel turned him down immediately. “Sorry, mate. I’m going on a date with my wife. There’s this new place downtown I wanna take her to.”

Jack was offended that his friend refused a trip to the bar for a date with his wife. Then he saw Samuel’s wife heading down the stairs. She looked beautiful in her dress and had a big smile as she held flowers in her arms.

“Sam, I just found this bouquet on the table in our room. Did you put them there?” she beamed, kissing Samuel on the cheek.

“Yep, surprise! Also, here…” he said, taking a paper bag from behind the front door. His wife opened it and inside was a beautiful evening dress.

“Oh, Sam. This is beautiful! You are the best husband! Let me change quickly. I will wear this dress on our date,” she said excitedly, rushing back upstairs.

Samuel surprised his wife with flowers before their date. | Source: Pexels

Samuel surprised his wife with flowers before their date. | Source: Pexels

Jack was stunned at what he had just witnessed. “Sam, your wife is beautiful, and you two look so in love! My wife always looks miserable. She barely ever smiles nowadays,” he said.

“When was the last time you asked Mary out on a date?” Samuel asked his friend.

“I can’t remember… two years ago, maybe?” he replied.

“You last asked her out on a date two years ago, and now you’re complaining to me that she doesn’t smile?!” Samuel said, hitting his friend playfully on the arm.

Shaking his head, Samuel decided to give Jack a valuable piece of advice. “You know, mate. I make every single day special for my wife. She’s the light of our home. She deserves all the love and appreciation from me. She’s always been beautiful, but every day, she puts in extra effort to look even more beautiful – because she feels loved.”

Samuel makes every day special for him and his wife. | Source: Pexels

Samuel makes every day special for him and his wife. | Source: Pexels

Jack stood there, quietly absorbing what Samuel was saying. He realized he had a responsibility he hadn’t been fulfilling toward his wife.

“When I take my wife on a date, it’s not because it’s a special day. It’s because I choose to make every day special. Try it, mate. It might work wonders on your marriage,” Samuel suggested.

Jack nodded, realizing that what Samuel said was what Mary was trying to tell him earlier. “Thanks, Sam. Well, enjoy your date tonight. I’ll go back home now.”

When Jack returned home, he had a gift for Mary. “I’m sorry for hurting you with my words earlier today. I was being disrespectful, and you didn’t deserve that,” he said, handing her the gift box. “Would you like to go out on a date with me tomorrow? I booked us a table at that cool place downtown…”

Jack surprised Mary with a gift before asking her out on a date. | Source: Pexels

Jack surprised Mary with a gift before asking her out on a date. | Source: Pexels

Mary looked at Jack, surprised. She was thrilled and smiled the same cheerful smile she used to show him every day when they were younger. She opened the gift box and saw a beautiful silver necklace.

“This is so beautiful, Jack. Thank you. I would love to go on a date with you tomorrow,” she replied.

The following day, Jack saw Mary transform right in front of his eyes. She looked breathtaking, and he was reminded that he had the most beautiful woman by his side. He was happy, and so was she.

Since then, both Mary and Jack have made it a point to work on their relationship. They rekindled the flame between them, and it did wonders not only for themselves but also for their family life.

What can we learn from this story?

  • You don’t need a special day to celebrate. You can make every day special. Jack initially believed dates should only be celebrated on special occasions. His good friend Samuel made him realize that every day could be memorable, and it was up to him to make it that way.
  • Show your loved ones your love, support, and appreciation every day. We often overlook the little things our loved ones do for us every day. It’s important to pay attention to them and show your appreciation so that love continues to bloom at home.

Share this story with your loved ones. It might inspire them and make their day.

If you liked this story, you might like this one about a wealthy inventor who abandoned his wife for a younger woman, only for her to save him from a thief later on.

This account is inspired by our reader’s story 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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