My Wife Slept With My Brother While I Was Caring For Our Father—They Walked Into Court Smirking…

My wife slept with my brother while I was caring for our father. They walked into court smirking, but what I revealed left her speechless. I'm a 32-year-old male and Anna, a 31-year-old female, were what everyone called the perfect couple.

You know the type. College sweethearts, dated for 4 years, married for three, had our whole lives planned out and everything. I'm a software developer.

Yeah. Yeah. Typical Reddit guy.

Laugh out loud. And she works or worked, I guess, in marketing. We had this nice house in one of those cookie cutter suburbs where all the houses look the same, but everyone pretends they're special.

We even had the whole white picket fence life going. Two dogs, Max and Bella, both rescue muts because we're those people. A garden she never took care of but insisted on having.

And one of those fancy Pelaton bikes that ended up being an expensive clothes hanger. Living the millennial dream, right? I actually met Anna at this super lame frat party in college.

I was this awkward computer science major and she was this gorgeous marketing major who was way out of my league. Like the kind of girl I would have been too scared to even talk to. But I was drunk enough to try this terrible pickup line about Java and coffee.

Computer science majors will get it. And instead of cringing, she actually laughed. I still don't know if it was a pity laugh, but hey, it worked.

We started hanging out and things just clicked. She was into all the nerdy stuff I was into. Later, I found out she was faking most of it, but that's a whole other story.

We had this thing where we'd binge watch entire seasons of shows in one weekend. The Office was our jam. We even did Jim and Pam costumes for Halloween one year.

Cringe, I know, but we were that couple. I busted my ass in the relationship. Not going to lie.

I was that guy who remembered not just anniversaries, but random stuff like our first pizza date or the first time we went grocery shopping together. Stupid stuff. But she used to love it.

I'd plan these elaborate date nights, surprise her with little gifts for no reason, even learn to cook her favorite pasta from scratch. I spent like 6 hours watching YouTube videos to get it right. The first two years of marriage were actually pretty great.

We'd cook together on Sundays. Well, I'd cook and she'd supervise while drinking coffee and playing on her phone, but it was our thing. Weekends were for hiking with the dogs or having these epic game nights with our friends.

We were that annoying couple that posted everything on Instagram with stupid captions like living my best life with my person, mostly her posting, but I played along. Our friends used to joke that we were couple goals, you know, the kind that makes single people want to throw up. I even got along great with her family at first.

Her dad and I would watch football together, even though I don't really care about sports, but you do what you got to do. Her mom was always trying to feed me these amazing Italian dishes because she thought I was too skinny. Her brother became one of my gaming buddies.

We'd play Call of Duty every Thursday night. My family loved her, too. Like, really loved her.

My mom was always saying how she finally had the daughter she always wanted. Sorry, Jenny. I guess being my actual sister wasn't enough.

My brother Ryan and Anna got along super well. We had all these plans, you know, talking about having kids in a couple of years, looking at houses and better school districts, even started a savings account for a down payment. Anna had names picked out for our future kids, which thank God that didn't happen.

We were doing everything right according to society's little checklist. I remember this one night, maybe 6 months before everything went to hell. We were sitting on our back deck, planning our future, talking about growing old together, traveling once we retired, all that naive romantic crap you think about before life kicks you in the teeth.

Man, if I could go back and tell myself what was coming. But yeah, that was the beginning. The calm before the storm, I guess.

Looking back now, there were probably red flags I missed. But isn't that always how these stories go? When you're wearing rosecolored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags, right?

I saw that quote on Reddit. It's actually pretty fitting. So, around year 3 of marriage, things started changing.

It was subtle at first. You know how it is. Those little things you notice but try to convince yourself aren't a big deal.

Anna started working late, like a lot. And I'm not talking about regular big project at work late. I'm talking about coming home at 10:00 p.

m. smelling like she took a bath in someone else's cologne. But stupid me, I actually believed her excuses about client dinners and team building events.

I should have known something was up when she started dressing up way more for these work events than she ever did for our date nights. Speaking of date nights, those became a joke. We used to have this rule about Friday being our night.

No phones, no work, just us hanging out and doing whatever. But suddenly, every time I planned something, she'd either be too tired or she'd spend the whole time on her phone. I remember this one time I spent like 3 hours cooking this fancy steak dinner.

got the recipe from our cooking and she barely looked up from her phone the whole time. When I called her out on it, she got all defensive like, "God, can't I check my work emails? Some of us have important jobs.

" Yeah, because apparently my software developer job at a Fortune 500 company was just me playing Minecraft all day or something. Remember those cute little things we used to do? The random memes we'd send each other all day, the inside jokes, the stupid Tik Tok dances she used to make me do?

All gone. She stopped asking about my day, stopped caring if I ate lunch, stopped doing basically anything that showed she gave a crap about me as a person. Even the dogs noticed something was up.

Max and Bella used to be her babies. She was the one who insisted on adopting them. But suddenly, she couldn't be bothered to walk them or play with them.

It was always, "I'm too tired or you do it. They're your dogs, too. " They started getting really mopey when she was around.

Like, they could sense something was wrong. The weird part, she was still totally into family gatherings and stuff, like really into them. Always asking when we were going to my parents next, wanting to hang out with my brother Ryan, acting all perfect daughter-in-law in front of my mom.

Meanwhile, my sister Jenny was giving me these looks like she wanted to tell me something, but couldn't. I should have pushed her harder about that, but honestly, I didn't want to know. I tried talking to Anna about all this multiple times, actually, but every conversation went the same way.

One day, I sat across from her, feeling the weight in my chest grow heavier. "I feel like we're drifting apart," I said, my voice careful, but the words still felt like they might crack under the pressure. She rolled her eyes, barely glancing up from her phone.

"Oh my god, you're so needy. I'm just busy with work," she said, her tone clipped, dismissive, like I was asking for something ridiculous. I swallowed the frustration bubbling up.

"I miss spending time together," I said. My words quieter this time, but I meant them just the same. She sighed, exasperated, like I had asked her to move a mountain.

Not everything is about you. I'm stressed. All right.

I took a slow breath, steadying myself. Maybe we could try couples therapy just to She scoffed, cutting me off before I could even finish. We don't need therapy.

You need to stop being so insecure. Silence stretched between us. She went back to scrolling on her phone.

And me? I just sat there realizing she wasn't busy. She just didn't care.

Classic gaslighting, right? But when you're in it, you don't see it that way. I actually started believing maybe I was too needy.

I started going to therapy on my own, which actually helped a lot later when everything blew up. What made me matter is that she was still posting all these happy couple pics on Instagram. Like she'd make me take 50 photos for her to get the perfect spontaneous shot of us enjoying life, then go right back to ignoring me.

Our social media life looked perfect while our real life was falling apart. Peak millennial marriage problems, I guess. I started noticing other sketchy stuff, too.

She'd leave the room to take phone calls, changed her phone password, started doing her own laundry after years of just mixing all our stuff together, got a gym membership at some fancy place across town when there was a perfectly good gym 5 minutes from our house. You know, the greatest hits of your spouse is cheating that you read about but think will never happen to you. My friends tried to warn me.

My buddy Mike, who'd been through his own divorce hell, kept saying things like, "Bro, something's not right and you deserve better than this. " But I'd defend her, make excuses. She's just stressed about work or things will get better once this big project is done.

I even tried the whole winter back thing. Planned surprise dates, bought her flowers, tried to get back into the hobby she liked. But you can't win someone back who's already gone.

You know, she'd just get annoyed like I was interrupting her life by trying to be her husband. The final straw was one day I was doing laundry on a Sunday because of course I was still doing her laundry like a chump. And I found this receipt in her pants pocket.

It was from this fancy Italian place downtown, like the kind where pasta costs more than my monthly Netflix subscription. The receipt was from a Tuesday lunch, which was weird because she told me she had this big client meeting at the office that day. Now, I'm not usually the snooping type.

I trusted her stupid ass for some reason. But something about that receipt bugged me. Maybe because she'd been bragging about bringing in all these new clients, but whenever I asked about getting dinner with them, she'd say it wasn't appropriate.

But lunch was make it make sense. So, I did something I'm not proud of. I checked our shared Google timeline thing.

You know, that creepy feature that tracks everywhere you go. Yeah, that one. And holy hell, guys, there were a lot of client meetings at hotels, parks, random restaurants, basically everywhere except her actual office.

I spent like 3 hours going through her location history. Fun way to spend a Sunday, right? The pattern was pretty clear.

Whenever she said she was working late or had team events, she was actually at places like the Marriott downtown or this park on the other side of the city. But here's the thing, I still didn't know who she was with, just that she was definitely not where she said she was. Then I found the burner phone.

I wasn't even looking for it. I was grabbing her gym bag to do more laundry, and this old iPhone fell out, like one of those ancient ones people keep as backups, except this one had a passcode. When I asked her about it later, she completely freaked out.

"Hey, found this old phone in your gym bag. Is it broken or something? " I asked.

She barely glanced at it before her eyes widened. Then, in a blur, she lunged forward, snatching it from my hands like I was holding classified government secrets. "That's private," she said, her voice sharp, defensive.

I blinked. "Private? It's just an old phone.

" She clutched it to her chest like it was a lifeline, her entire posture rigid. "God, why are you going through my stuff? " Her voice pitched higher, breath quickening.

This is why I can't trust you. I just stood there staring. I was the untrustworthy one.

She couldn't even look me in the eye. Classic Darvo move right there. She tried to make me feel guilty for finding her sketchy secret phone.

But the best part, in her panic to grab the phone, she knocked over her regular iPhone and it fell face up on the couch. A message preview popped up that just said, "Miss you, baby," from a contact named work project. Subtle, right?

I didn't even confront her right away. Instead, I spent the next few days watching her. She'd get these messages and smile like a teenager, then look up to make sure I wasn't watching.

She'd take calls in the other room whispering, even though she claimed it was just work stuff. One time, I heard her giggle and say, "Stop it. You're bad.

" before noticing me and quickly hanging up. I decided to check our credit card statement. Found charges from hotels on days she was supposed to be at client dinners.

Like, not even nice hotels. We're talking holiday and express type places. classy.

That was it for me. I couldn't keep living in this hell, digging after her, seeing signs, and forcing myself to ignore them. She had already checked out of this relationship.

I was just the last to admit it. I packed all her stuff while she was at work, just filled up garbage bags because I was feeling petty. Didn't even fold anything, left it all in the garage, changed the locks, and sent her a text.

Found the burner phone. Saw the hotel charges. Don't come home.

We're done. The absolute flood of messages I got after that. Holy hell.

First it was denial. What are you talking about? You're being crazy.

Let me explain. Then the classic blameshifting. This is why I had to look elsewhere.

If you paid more attention to me, you're always working. Then the threats. I'll tell everyone you abuse me.

You'll regret this. My lawyer will destroy you. Then she showed up at the house crying and banging on the door.

She kept screaming about how I was jumping to conclusions and how she could explain everything. Meanwhile, I'm just sitting there on the couch with the dogs, watching her meltdown on our Ring camera like it's an episode of Real Housewives. The next few days were wild.

My phone was blowing up non-stop, not just from Anna, but from basically everyone we knew. She'd apparently gone on this massive PR campaign, telling everyone her version of events. According to her, I was a controlling psycho who misunderstood everything and was throwing away our marriage over nothing.

My family kept calling, too. Looking back, their reactions were weird, like they were too concerned about me jumping to conclusions. My mom kept saying stuff like, "Marriage takes work and everyone makes mistakes.

" Even my sister Jenny was being super sketchy. Then Lily showed up at my door. Quick backstory on Lily.

She was Anna's best friend since college. Like mate of honor at our wedding, girls night every week. Knew all our secrets kind of best friend.

She was always cool, but we weren't really close or anything. Just the usual, hey, when she'd come over to hang with Anna. So anyway, it's like 11:00 p.

m. I'm on the couch in my pajamas, binge watching Breaking Bad because why not be depressed while watching a depressing show, and my doorbell rings. I check the Ring camera, paranoid about Anna showing up again.

And there's Lily, clearly drunk and crying. I sighed and opened the door. "Uh, you okay?

" I asked. Lily sniffled, wiping at her face with shaky hands. "I can't I can't keep lying," she said, her words slurred raw.

"She's horrible. You're so nice, and she's just horrible. " She let out a shaky breath, then whispered.

I just had a fight with her. Her voice cracked. A bad one.

I stepped aside. "You want to come in? Maybe have some water?

" She nodded weakly, stumbling inside. "The moment she hit the couch, she collapsed into it like all the fight had drained out of her. " And then just like that, the floodgates opened.

"She's been cheating for months," Lily whispered, voice thick with guilt. "I knew. I knew.

And I didn't say anything. I stiffened. I knew it.

I had suspected it for so long, but hearing it out loud still hit hard. Who is it? I asked, my voice steadier than I felt.

Lily shut her eyes and shook her head. I can't. Lily, who?

She opened her mouth, then closed it again. Her entire body was shaking now. It's worse than you think, she murmured.

You're going to hate everyone when you find out. A chill crawled up my spine. My mind was racing, filling in blanks I wasn't sure I wanted answers to.

But at this point, I had no choice. We talked for hours, not just about Anna, but about everything. Love, mistakes, the slow, painful realization that something is over long before you admit it.

For the first time, I really saw Lily, not just as Anna's friend, but as her. The way her dark eyes softened when she spoke, the way she pushed her hair behind her ear when she got nervous. She had this warmth to her, effortless, unforced, the kind I hadn't felt in a long time.

"You deserved better," she whispered. I let out a dry laugh. funny.

She never acted like it. Lily didn't argue. She just looked at me.

Really looked. And for the first time in years, I felt seen. One thing led to another.

And yeah, we kissed. It wasn't revenge. It wasn't about Anna at all.

It was warmth after years of cold. The next morning was awkward as hell. Lily was super embarrassed about spilling all that stuff, and I was worried I'd taken advantage of her being drunk, even though she was the one who kissed me first.

We agreed to keep everything quiet until the divorce was sorted out. But man, that kiss changed everything. Suddenly, I wasn't just angry about Anna cheating.

I was actually excited about the future. Like, maybe this whole disaster was pushing me towards something better. The next few weeks were a weird dance of secret texts with Lily, avoiding Anna's constant attempts to explain and dealing with my family's increasingly strange behavior.

Everyone seemed to be taking sides, but the sides made no sense. People who should have been on my side were defending Anna and people I barely knew were reaching out to support me. I hired this badass lawyer named Frank, not his real name, obviously.

First meeting with him, I lay out everything I know. The burner phone, the hotel receipts, the Google timeline stuff. He just sits there nodding, taking notes, then looks up and says, "There's more going on here than you know, but we're going to handle this smart.

" Frank advised me not to confront anyone yet. Just gather evidence, keep my mouth shut, and wait. He said the truth would come out in court anyway, and it would be better if I didn't show my hand early.

Meanwhile, Lily and I kept getting closer. Nothing physical after that first kiss. We both agreed to keep things proper until after the divorce, but we texted for hours.

She'd send me stupid memes at 3:00 a. m. or links to songs she thought I'd like.

It was nice, you know, just nice. Anna tried every trick in the book to get me to talk to her. showed up at my work, got banned by security, sent flying monkeys, mutual friends to guilt trip me, even tried to use the dogs against me, suddenly claiming she missed them so much after barely acknowledging them for months.

The weirdest part was how my family was acting. My mom kept inviting me over for dinner, but would get weird when I asked who else would be there. Ryan, my brother, stopped gaming with me online, but was posting pics at family events I wasn't invited to.

Jenny was straight up avoiding me. The day before court was straight up chaos. My lawyer, Frank, called to prep me for what might happen and drop this bomb.

Just be prepared for anything tomorrow. And I mean anything. When I tried to get more info, he just said, "Trust me, you'll want to be sitting down when this all comes out.

" I was getting cryptic texts from everyone. My mom sent this weird message. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive.

Forgive what? For what? Jenny, my sister, tried calling like six times, but kept hanging up before I could answer.

Even my buddy Mike, who hadn't talked to me in weeks, sent a you holding up okay, bro? Text at like 2:00 a. m.

Lily was being extra weird, too. We'd been texting constantly for weeks. Nothing serious, just talking and stuff, but suddenly she got all quiet.

Her last message was just, "I'm so sorry. You'll hate me tomorrow, but please remember I wanted to tell you. " Then radio silence.

I spent that night stress cleaning my apartment. The dogs kept looking at me like, "Dude, chill. " but also wouldn't leave my side.

We all ended up passing out on the couch watching Kitchen Nightmares because Gordon Ramsay yelling at people was oddly comforting. Around 3:00 a. m.

, I got this email from Anna. Subject line: Please read before tomorrow. Did I open it?

Hell no. Archive that faster than my ex could say. It's not what you think.

But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious. Then the bomb dropped. A text from my brother Ryan.

Hey man, don't come to court tomorrow. We can settle this without making it messy. I'll explain everything later.

I didn't sleep at all that night. Just sat there on my couch scrolling through old photos on my phone like an idiot. Found this picture from last Christmas.

Me, Anna, my whole family. Everyone smiling like we didn't have a care in the world. Weird how life can completely flip upside down in just a few months.

Frank texted me around 6:00 a. m. Wear your navy suit.

Look successful but not flashy. And whatever happens in there, do not lose your cool. Let me handle everything.

I got to the courthouse early because anxiety is one hell of an alarm clock. Sat in my car for like an hour, watching people go in and out, wondering how many other people's lives were falling apart in there today. Saw Lily pull up.

She looked like she hadn't slept either. We made eye contact, but she just shook her head and went inside. That's when my stomach really started doing flips.

Then my parents showed up together looking stressed. My mom tried to wave, but dad stopped her. They hurried inside like they were late for something.

Jenny arrived next, saw my car, and literally ran inside like full-on sprinted in heels. That's when I knew whatever was about to happen was going to be bad. Walking into that courthouse felt like walking to my own execution.

But holy hell, I had no idea what was waiting for me inside. So, there I am sitting in this fancy ass courtroom that looks exactly like the ones you see on TV. Frank, my lawyer, is next to me going through papers like he's searching for the nuclear codes or something.

The room's weirdly quiet. You know that heavy silence right before everything goes to hell. Then the door opens.

Anna walked in wearing this innocent white dress like she's auditioning for the role of Virgin Mary or something. But that's not what made my jaw drop. She's holding hands with my brother Ryan like full-on holding hands in court in front of everyone in front of me.

My brain just stopped at that moment. All those weird pieces suddenly clicked. The family acting strange.

Lily's guilt. Ryan's sudden disappearance from my life. All those client meetings at times when Ryan was supposedly working late, too.

Frank grabs my arm because I guess I started standing up without realizing it. He whispers, "Sit down. Let them dig their own grave.

" Anna and Ryan sit at the other table with their lawyer, some young dude who looks about as comfortable as a vegan at a barbecue. Ryan won't even look in my direction, but Anna keeps giving me these little side eyes like she's checking if I'm about to lose it. The judge comes in, an older dude who looks like he's seen some [ __ ] and the show begins.

Anna's lawyer starts spinning this romcom worthy tale about how love finds a way and how Anna and Ryan never meant to hurt anyone, but you can't help who you fall in love with. I'm sitting there thinking I'm having a stroke. Like, is this actually happening?

Did my brother really just walk into court holding hands with my wife while their lawyer tries to convince everyone this is some beautiful love story? Then it gets better. Anna starts crying full-on tears about how confused and lost she was in our marriage and how Ryan was just trying to help her through a difficult time.

And things just happened. Just happened. Like what?

They just tripped and fell into bed together multiple times at various hotels across town for months. But here's the best part. Their lawyer tries to argue that the prenup should be void because of emotional distress and family circumstances.

Basically trying to say that because Ryan's my brother, all normal rules should go out the window. Frank's just sitting there with this little smile. When it's his turn, he stands up super slowly, straightens his tie, and says, "Your honor, before we continue, I'd like to present evidence of how this love story actually played out.

" Then he pulls out this thick folder that I'd never seen before. Starts laying out papers one by one. Screenshots of their text messages.

Turns out that burner phone wasn't so secure. Hotel receipts paid with our joint account. Photos of them together from before we separated.

Bank statements showing Ryan had been helping Anna move money around. a timeline showing they'd been hooking up since freaking Christmas. The judge's face got stormier with each new piece of evidence.

But Frank had emails between them, planning how to break the news after the divorce was final. They had this whole scheme worked out. Wait until the divorce was done, then go public with their relationship like it just happened.

Ryan finally looked at me, tries to do this. I'm sorry, bro. Face.

I just stare back until he looks away. Anna's full-on ugly crying now. Mascara everywhere.

The judge was not impressed. started asking them really pointed questions about timeline discrepancies, about the money, about their version of events. Every answer just dug them deeper.

Then he looks right at them and says, "This court does not look kindly upon deliberate deception. " The prenuptual agreement stands. Just like that, all their romantic [ __ ] all their planning, all their manipulation shot down in like 2 minutes.

The court drama was over, but my family apparently didn't get the memo that I wanted nothing to do with them. A week after the hearing, my mom started this massive text campaign to bring the family back together. Like somehow a nice pot roast would make me forget my brother was sleeping with my wife.

It started with casual texts. We miss you, honey. Then escalated to family is forever and we need to move past this.

The final straw was when she sent a group text announcing a family dinner that Sunday. Didn't ask if I wanted to come, just said dinner at 6:00. Everyone will be there.

We're fixing this. I ignored it at first, but then Jenny, my sister, called me crying. Actually crying.

Please come, she sobbed. Mom's losing it. She's convinced she can fix everything if we just have dinner together like normal.

I laughed. Jenny, what part of this is normal? I know, I know, but maybe we should try for mom.

Is Ryan coming? Silence. Is he bringing Anna?

More silence. Yeah, that's what I thought. But something in me snapped.

Maybe it was the bourbon I'd been drinking. Maybe it was weeks of pentup rage. But I decided to go, not to make peace.

I wanted to watch them squirm. I showed up exactly on time. Everyone else was already there, sitting in the living room like it was any other Sunday dinner.

Ryan and Anna on the love seat. Mom fussing with appetizers. Dad pretending to watch golf.

Jenny saw my face and immediately poured me a drink. Mom tried to play hostess. Honey, we saved your usual seat.

My usual seat right between Ryan and Dad. Yeah. No.

I stayed standing. The silence was thick enough to cut with a knife. Then Ryan, this absolute clown, tries to break the ice.

Hey bro, how's work? I just stared at him like, "Did this guy really just ask me about work like he didn't blow up my entire life? " Mom jumped in.

Let's eat. I made your favorite lasagna. We moved to the dining room.

Mom set it up like Thanksgiving. Her best china, fancy napkins, the works. As if good table settings could fix betrayal.

Dad tries to say grace. Actually tries to thank God for bringing the family together. I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.

The first 10 minutes are just the sound of forks scraping plates. Then mom starts her prepared speech. We're family.

Families forgive. Families heal. What happened was unfortunate, but Ryan and Anna are in love.

Real love. Sometimes these things I cut her off. These things.

What? Mom just happened. Like Ryan accidentally fell on my wife.

Language. Dad snaps. The first thing he said all night.

Oh, I'm sorry. Is my language offensive? More offensive than my brother screwing my wife.

Anna starts crying. Ryan puts his arm around her. I want to throw up in mom's fancy lasagna.

They're getting married, mom announces. Like, this is supposed to make everything better in June. We'd love for you to be there.

I actually laugh out loud. Are you insane? Actually insane?

It would mean so much to your brother. My brother? I stand up so fast my chair falls over.

The same brother who was screwing my wife while I was taking care of dad during his cancer scare. Dead silence. Dad didn't know about that part.

You were during my cancer treatment. Dad looks at Ryan like he's seeing him for the first time. Ryan starts stammering.

It wasn't. We didn't show them the pictures. I say.

Jenny looks up. What pictures? I pull out my phone, open the folder Frank gave me, start swiping through security camera stills.

Ryan sneaking into my house. Anna letting him in. Timestamps telling the whole story.

This one's from when dad was having his first chemo session. Remember that, Ryan? When you said you couldn't come to the hospital because of work.

Mom's crying now. Dad's just staring at his plate. Jenny looks like she wants to disappear.

And this one. Christmas Eve. When you said you were stuck at the airport.

Guess my bed was more comfortable than those airport chairs, huh? Anna runs from the table. Ryan goes after her.

Mom's full-on sobbing. Dad finally looks at me. Son, we didn't know.

Didn't know or didn't want to know. I stand up surprisingly calm. Thanks for dinner, Mom.

The lasagna was great. Don't invite me to the wedding. I walked to the door but turned back, looking at Ryan.

Oh, and Ryan. Anna likes to sleep with her ex's brothers. Might want to keep her away from any you've got.

The look on his face better than any revenge I could have planned. I got in my car, drove straight to Lily's place. I showed up at her door, probably looking like hell, still in my dinner clothes, smelling like mom's lasagna and regret.

Lily took one look at me, and just got it. Didn't ask questions. Didn't try to fix anything.

Just hugged me tightly. pulled me inside and poured me a drink. We sat on her balcony for hours.

She's got this tiny apartment, but the view is incredible. We talked about everything, not just the Anna and Ryan show, but real stuff. Drams we put on hold.

Places we want to see. Why we both hate olives but keep trying them anyway, hoping our taste buds will change. At some point, Lily looks at me and says, "You know what?

The worst part was watching her throw away someone who actually gave a damn. Do you know how rare that is? that hit different because yeah, I did give a damn.

Still do, I guess. Not about Anna. She can choke on her wedding cake for all I care, but about doing relationships, right?

About being the kind of person who tries, you know. The next few times Lily and I hung out. We just talked, watched stupid movies, took the dogs to this dog park she knew about.

Started building something real without all the drama and lies. It's been 4 months since the court hearing. A lot's changed.

Dad actually did leave mom. Turns out watching your wife defend your cheating son during your cancer treatment is a pretty solid deal breakaker. He's got an apartment across town, started going to therapy.

We get coffee sometimes, just us. It's awkward, but we're trying. Jenny is talking to me again.

She apologized like a hundred times for keeping their secret. Said she was scared of breaking up the family. I get it now, even if I don't agree with it.

Fear makes people do stupid things. Mom still sends those family is everything type texts. I delete them.

She tried to tell me Ryan and Anna postponed their wedding in case I changed my mind about attending. I changed my number. The other day, I ran into them once at the grocery store.

Ryan looked like he wanted to say something. Anna suddenly became very interested in organic tomatoes. I just walked past them with my cart, grabbed my stuff, and left.

Didn't feel anything. That's progress. I think the dogs love Lily like love her.

Max, who usually takes forever to warm up to people, started bringing her his favorite toy the third time she came over. Bella basically lives in her lap whenever she's around. Dogs know good people when they meet them.

We made it official last month. Took it slow. Did it right.

Our first real date was this hole-in-the-wall ramen place where we both got terribly lost trying to find it and ended up laughing in the rain for like 20 minutes. It was perfect. I also got a promotion at work.

Moved to a new apartment, one without security cameras and shitty memories. started playing guitar again badly, but Lily claimed she likes it. The other day, I was making dinner and Lily was sitting on my counter telling me about her day.

Max and Bella sprawled at her feet and it hit me. This is what real happiness feels like. Not the Instagram perfect fake Anna and I had, but genuine messy beautiful happiness.

Do I still get angry sometimes? Yeah. Do I miss my old life?

Hell no. Last week, Lily found an old photo of me and Anna in a drawer. Asked if I wanted to throw it out.

I looked at it, us smiling at some family thing, Ryan probably taking the picture, and realized I didn't feel anything. No anger, no pain, just nothing. Tossed it in the trash and went back to making dinner.

Lily put on some music. The dogs were begging for scraps. Just another normal evening.

And you know what?