Part 1

God I’m still shaking.

I didn’t mean to do it.

Things weren’t supposed to go this way.

It was a total accident.

I’m not sure what to do right now.

Please Reddit hive mind tell me what to do.

Let me explain the situation….

One Sunday night in March of 2023, I found out my wife had been cheating on me for years.

I (37m) had just bought my wife Stacy (34f) a new iPad for her birthday.

She was very happy with the gift and I was helping her get it set up and synced to her apple account.

She went to take a shower and left the iPad open. I heard a bunch of notifications so I checked and saw that all her messages were backed up to the iPad.

Seconds later she received a new message from someone named “Gracie”. I knew of Gracie as she was my wife’s gym friend.

For context, in 2021 when covid restrictions lightened up my wife and I joined the gym. We would go in the morning but then I eventually had to stop due to work.

She continued to go and currently goes 3-4 times a week consistently. Eventually she mentioned that she made a friend named Gracie.

She normally has trouble connecting with other women so I was happy she made a new friend.

I never met her, but she goes to the gym with her all the time. They have even taken occasional “girls trips”. Over the years, my wife’s figure has improved greatly.

Her butt is bigger and more firm.

Her waistline is more slim. She even has a 6 pack now.

I’m very average looking in comparison. I’m not fit but not overweight. I’m 5’8. Slightly balding but I thought I looked ok.

The text from Gracie read “I pulled a muscle last time. Tomorrow it’s your turn to get on top ;)”. I was stunned.

My gut reaction was that they were having sex but my wife is absolutely straight.

I wasn’t sure what to think but before I can screen shot the text my wife started coming out of the shower. I quickly turned off the iPad and went to bed. I couldn’t sleep at all that night. I was hoping

I misunderstood the text. Maybe they were stretching?

Maybe it was during their yoga class? I was praying it wasn’t what I was thinking.

Our relationship hasn’t been perfect but I thought it was good. We’re both firm on being child free. We have semi regular sex (about twice a week on weekends unless we’re tired). We don’t argue over anything. We’ve been married for 5 years, together for 10. I cook and clean for us since she works long hours as a night shift nurse (3pm – 3am).

I work morning shift as an engineer (5am – 2pm) so we don’t see each other much except for weekends when we’re both off.

I decided that night that I wanted to see for myself what was up. I got up at 4am like normal and got ready for work. I then left in my car and parked down the street from our home. I called off to do this. She normally went to the gym around 8 am every Monday – Thursday. Like clock work, she left around 750 am.

I followed behind her from a distance. She drove about 15 minutes away to some random neighborhood and pulled into the driveway of a house I didn’t recognize. There was a lime green 67 mustang parked in front of the garage. I saw her get out and walk up to the door. What I saw after really stayed in my mind. A man opened the door. He was about 6 foot 2, totally jacked and had a thick beard. He looked like he was a lumber jack or something. She hugged him and went inside.

I felt like throwing up. I was trying to rationalize what I just saw. Hugging him doesn’t necessarily mean she’s sleeping with him but it doesn’t look good either. I stayed in my car and waited for her to come out. She didn’t leave the house until around 12 pm. Her hair was a mess. Her clothes were wrinkled like they were taken off and thrown around.

Her face was flush like she just had a long work out. They hugged again and she drove off home. I noted the address down and stated there for a bit.

I stayed in my car and drove around for a few hours until it was time to go home. We normally see each other for a brief 20 minutes each afternoon before she goes to work. She acted normal the whole time. I asked about her gym work out and she said the typical stuff about how yoga and zumba classes were brutal.

I was heartbroken but wanted to be absolutely sure. I followed her again every day that week and she did everything the exact same. She went to this house every morning, the dude would answer and hug her, then she’d spend a few hours each day with him and leave roughly the same time.

That was enough evidence for me so I decided to leave her. I contacted a divorce lawyer and explained the situation. He told me that because I make more money than her and that I have no actual proof of infidelity, at best the process will end with her taking half of all my assets. I was pissed so I came up with a plan: transfer all my assets to my brother, sabotage her birth control, catch her in the act (and take recordings) and then kick her ass out.

I spent the next year slowly transferring all my assets to my brother. My name was on the deed to the house so I transferred it him. I emptied my personal bank account and wired it to him. I own both cars so now they were his. After her last period a few weeks ago, I swapped her birth control pills with similar looking pills. I also haven’t had sex with her since then as well. That all lead to tonight.

The last part of my plan was to catch her in the act. I couldn’t access her phone or iPad since they were password protected. So I bought 3 small cameras off Amazon and planned on installing them on the outside of the windows of that dudes house. I drove to his house around 8 pm.

I dressed in black pants, black gloves and a black hoodie. I brought a back pack with the cameras and a crow bar. I didn’t see the mustang in the drive way so I figured he wasn’t home.

I snuck to the back of the house looking for the bedroom window. I found it but noticed the window was slightly open. I looked inside and didn’t see anything so I decided to plant the cameras inside the house instead. I opened the window with the crow bar and let myself inside the room. I took off my back pack, took out the cameras and placed the crow bar on the floor.

I planted the first camera in a potted plant he had in the corner of the room.

The second camera was placed in the closet (with the door slightly opened enough for view). I couldn’t decide what to do with the last camera though. There wasn’t any good areas to place it. Eventually I decided toplace it behind the TV over looking the bed. Once I placed it, I hear the door open behind me and hear the words “what the hell!?!?”.

He lunged at me and pinned me to the ground. He was holding onto one of my arms while I used the other to push him off me. He yelled ” you chose the wrong house to steal from dipshit!” Iyelled to get off me but he proceeded to punch me instead.

I was reaching out my free hand looking for anything to use and felt the crow bar so I grab it and swing .

I got him directly on the chin and see him fall down. As he fell, his head ended up hitting the corner of his bed and I heard a cracking sound. Suddenly there was a pool of blood and a motion less body. I was terrified.

I tried checking for a pulse but didn’t feel anything. I quickly grabbed my back pack and the crow bar and got the hell out of there.

I then went to the woods 10 minutes away and buried my clothes and the crow bar. I’m now home trying to figure out what to do next. I need help. Please I didn’t mean to do that. Should I call the cops?

Part 2: Aftermath

Hello all.

It’s been a crazy day. So much has happened since my post last night so I’m mainly writing this update to collect all my thoughts on the matter.

I’ll continue from last night.

After my post, I stayed in bed thinking about what had just happened.

The image of him lying on the floor motionless in a pool of his blood made me nauseous.

But admittedly it also made me a bit happy knowing that my wife’s cheating partner was gone.

I had a small bruise on my face from where he punched me.

I put a bandage over it for now and went back to bed.

Eventually my wife came home from work around 330am.

She walked into the room and saw I was awake so she greeted me.

I asked about her day and we chatted a bit.

She saw my bandage and asked what happened. I made up a story about tripping when i got home.

She continued to chat about her day. I wasn’t really paying attention. She threw her phone on the bed and went to brush her teeth before sleeping.

Her phone started ringing. When I looked at who was calling my eyes almost popped out of my skull. Gracie was calling…

My wife picked up the phone and it sounded like a hysterical woman was shouting at my wife.

I couldn’t make out exactly what was said but all the color left my wife’s face.

The phone call ended and she, in a very panicked tone, told me to drive her to Gracies house.

I was speechless at first. What does she mean “Gracies house”? I thought gracie was a dude. I thought he was dead.

What the hell is happening here??

I asked “Gracies house? Did something happen?”

“She called and I couldn’t make everything out, but she said something has happened to Paul and she called an ambulance. We need to go over right away.” She said as she was getting ready quickly.

I thought for a moment and asked “who’s paul?”

“She’s Gracie’s husband.”

Once that left her lips, my heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest. Gracie is real?!?! She had a husband??

Was that the dude I accidentally killed? But if it was, why was she going to her house instead of the gym? My mind was racing.

Nevertheless I composed myself and we started to drive over to her house. My wife gave me directions and we continued to talk on the way.

“What is happening with Gracie?” I asked.

“When we both got off tonight, she went home and was looking around for Paul.

When she walked into the bedroom, she found him lying on the floor.”

Something she said caught my attention. “What do you mean ‘when we both got off tonight’?”

” I mean when we both got off our shift tonight. She works at the hospital with me.”

“Wait since when?!” I couldn’t hold back my confusion .

“We’ve been working together for the past 2 years. I got her a job as a nurse at my hospital after she was fired from her previous hospital. I told you all this before.”

I should mention that ever since they started going to the gym together, she has NOT STOPPED talking about Gracie.

She mentions her all the time and after a while I just started tuning it out. But apparently she was a nurse at another hospital but lost her job in 2022 and Stacy referred her to her hospital.

They work the same shift together. I don’t remember her mentioning that at all but it’s possible she did at some point. So I collected my thoughts and asked.

“Who’s Paul again?”

“Paul is Gracies husband. He’s a personal trainer at the gym.”

I wanted to pry some more information without being suspicious so I thought of what to ask next.

“Is he your personal trainer?”

“Yeah I told you before. When the gym raised their rates at the end of 2022, Paul offered to be my personal trainer. He does yoga and zumba classes for me and Gracie together in the mornings.”

Holy shit. What did I just do!?!? He was her personal trainer?!?! For how long!?!?!? I felt like throwing up. My insides were in knots.

I started sweating profusely. When I looked over at Stacy, she was also sweating a lot. She couldn’t stop worrying over what Gracie said. Eventually, we finally arrived at that house.

There were no cops or ambulance yet but there was a lime green 67 mustang parked in the driveway again. Stacy ran inside immediately while I slowly walked in. It felt surreal walking into the house. I heard crying in the rear of the house and walked towards it. It led to the master bedroom of the house.

There I saw Stacy holding a crying woman while also crying herself. She had dark hair, was short (5’2ish) and was also fit like stacy.

This was the first time I’d seen her. On the floor beside them was the man from earlier lying in a pool of blood.

The lights were on this time so I had a clearer image of the scene. His head was cracked open and all the blood was coming from there. His eyes were rolled to the back of his head.

Stacy and Gracie were bawling their eyes out.

Gracie then spoke through the tears.

“When I… got home from work, I walked into….. the bedroom and saw him ly…lying there. I checked his p..p..p..pulse and I didn’t feel anything so i called the police. I tried to per…form cpr but there’s no response.”

I was speechless. Gracie was real. She was standing right there. The man on the floor was a personal trainer named Paul.

My wife had been going here instead of the gym since it was cheaper. How could I have made such a mistake?! What the fuck did I just do!?!? I had to excuse my self quickly as I was about to vomit.

I ran outside and vomited on the lawn. Then I hear police sirens.

The police and ambulance show up. I point them towards the inside of the house. They rush in with a stretcher. I couldn’t think straight and had trouble standing so I sat down outside. 5 minutes later they wheel him out on the stretcher. His body was covered in a blanket as they put him in the ambulance.

Gracie wanted to go to the hospital but the police wanted to question her first. The police spoke to her, then to Stacy and I. Stacy said we were both at home when Gracie called.

The police then went inside to continue their investigation.

Stacy said she was going to drive Gracie to the hospital and stay with her for a while. I said ok and they drove off in gracies car. I stayed for a while because I wanted to see what they were discovering. Then I saw a police officer carrying something in a clear bag and handing it to a detective. It was the cameras.

In my haste that night, I completely forgot about the cameras. I grabbed the crow bar and my back pack but left the cameras in their positions.

The cameras I bought were designed to record for 14 hours until the batteries died. I had the foresight of removing the serial numbers but they surely would have caught the incident earlier.

I was screwed. I overheard the police talking and they mentioned there were signs of a break in and some muddy footprints from the window.

Their current theory is that someone broke in and Paul was killed fighting the assailant. They quarantined the area and asked me to leave for now so I headed home. At this point it was 5 am.

My boss was blowing up my phone so I called back and said I had to take more time off. I went home and prepared myself for the worst.

Eventually the police will come for me. They will see that I killed him. They will see that I did that heinous crime. I will be taken to jail sooner or later. I ruined my life over a misunderstanding.

How could I do that? Should i turn myself in? Should I tell Stacy? Ugh my mind is racing.

Stacy came home around 12 pm. She looked paler than ever. Paul was pronounced dead at the scene. Gracie was in shock. Stacy called gracies family and they came to the hospital to support her. They told Stacy to head home and get some rest. Stacy was speechless when she got home. She fell onto the bed next to me and continued to cry.

I comforted her and told her he’s in a better place now. We stayed like that for an hour until her phone started ringing. It was Gracie.

They chatted for a bit until she hung up. She slowly turned to me and looked at me and said ” the police contacted Gracie. They came to the conclusion that Paul was the victim of a premeditated homicide. They have a video of the assailant. He attacked Paul with a crowbar.”

I was scared. I couldn’t stop shaking. I tried to speak but had trouble getting the words out. I was able to say “…. and who did it?”

She said quietly ” they… don’t know yet. Apparently the videos they obtained from the cameras weren’t great quality.

They show the suspect wearing all black and waiting for Paul in his bedroom. He then starts fighting with Paul once he walked into the room.

The lights were out in the room and the video didn’t have night vision so the only light source was coming from the hallway when Paul found him.

Paul pinned him down but then gets hit in the face with a crow bar.

When he fell, he hit the side of the bed and cracked his skull open. He surely died on impact. ”

I was kind of relieved. They couldn’t see my face apparently. Maybe I’ll be ok? Who knows. I’m still preparing for the worst though. I then asked.

“So what are they planning on doing? ”

“They’re going to continue to investigate until they catch the suspect. I feel so bad for Gracie. How could they do this to her? She’s the sweetest girl in the world. Paul was such a good guy. Who would plan on killing him? I’m heading over to Gracies house to comfort her. I’ll be back later. ”

And that’s the update for now. My original plan was to kick her out after exposing her infidelity but if it really was just a misunderstanding then maybe she was loyal the whole time. Maybe I just started assuming things. Whatever. for now I’ll pause my plan. I’ll keep everyone posted.

Part 3: Redemption

Hello.

It’s been a few weeks since I last posted.

Things have been…. chaotic to say the least.

The police investigation has been ongoing.

It even made the local news.

I decided it would be best to keep quiet about my involvement.

If the police can’t finger me then I should be fine right?

A lot of people knew Paul and mourned his loss. 2 weeks ago was his funeral.

A lot of people showed up and my wife Stacy has not left Gracies side since then. Stacy asked me to say a eulogy for him.

I couldn’t describe the feelings I felt while I said some bullshit out my ass.

I was guilty, sad, angry and above all ashamed.

I genuinely thought I cursed myself by performing a eulogy for the person I killed.

Ever since that day, Gracie has been living with us. My wife and I haven’t had relations this whole time.

She has been on bereavement leave and my wife has taken a lot of PTO to be there for her.

It’s very sweet.

They sit next to each other on the couch everyday watching movies together.

Stacy holds her when she breaks down crying. It’s very sad to see.

Gracie has been sleeping in the den but my wife has been staying with her at night everyday.

I’ve felt lonely without my wife in bed but I can’t complain about this. After all, it is all my fault.

I spoke to my brother a few days ago about the whole situation. I left out my involvement in the matter but mentioned the misunderstanding.

He sounded relieved that she wasn’t cheating, but sad about what happened to the guy. I’ve decided to get my assets back within the next few months.

It took a few weeks but things seemed to be going back to normal… at least that’s what I thought.

A few days ago while the 3 of us were eating dinner, Gracie got a call on the phone. It was the police.

She stepped out of the room for a few moments before returning with a pale look on her face. She slowly began to speak.

“The police have identified a suspect.”

What!? There’s no way they found out it was me! Were they able to identify me from the cameras!? Crap!!!

She continued, “the detective said that the suspect has been arrested tonight. They’re confident they got him. ”

Wait what??? They arrestED him? Does this mean they got the wrong guy?

“Apparently they believe the motive had to do with infidelity. The man they arrested is the….. husband of a woman Paul had s..s.. sex with…”

Our jaws DROPPED. This dude was cheating on Gracie? To be honest, Gracie was quite attractive. It’s hard to see why he’d cheat on her.

“Are you kidding me?!? What a scumbag! I can’t believe he would cheat on you!” said Stacy. “So do they have any proof? How do they know he’s a cheater!?”

“The detective followed some leads and through the investigation found out that he’s been sleeping with most of his clients.” Gracie collapsed into the floor as she said that. “They found someone with a similar build to the man on the cameras and decided to get an arrest warrant.

He has a history of violent crimes and his wife is one of the women that Paul slept with.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing! I’m basically in the clear right? Sure an innocent man is going to jail in my place, but he’s an awful human being.

Isn’t it OK if he takes the fall? It was hard to contain my laughter but I made sure not to break the facade. I looked over at Stacy and noticed her trembling.

“I can’t believe he cheated on me, not just with 1 women but several apparently. How could he do this to me!?” Gracie said as she started crying.

Maybe I did her a favor. None of this would’ve come to light had I not did what I did. Maybe this outcome is ok. Gracie ran to the den with tears in her eyes and Stacy followed after her. I just sat there mulling over what I just heard. I went to bed after a few hours. They never left the den.

The next morning I headed to work like normal. When I got home, I noticed Stacy’s car was gone. I figured they left to get some food or something so I sat down in the living room to relax when I suddenly heard noise from the den. I went to open the door when I heard what sounded like gasping coming from the room.

I quietly opened the door slightly and couldn’t believe what I saw. In the middle of the room was Gracie. Alone. Naked. Hanging from a rope.

I rushed in and pulled her off the rope. She was unresponsive but still had a slight pulse. I started to perform CPR on her while I called my wife.

“STACY WHERE ARE YOU!?”

“What’s wrong? I went to get us dinner.”

“IDK WHAT HAPPENED BUT I THINK GRACIE TRIED TO KILL HERSELF. PLEASE HURRY BACK!”

Stacy started shouting through the phone but I couldn’t make it out since I was still performing CPR on her. I eventually hear my wife say to call 911 immediately so I hung up and called. While waiting, I continue CPR until she finally started breathing again.

I kept it going a bit longer until I knew for sure she was breathing on her own. I paused for a moment to catch my breath and looked at her body. It was hard to deny but Gracie was attractive. Very attractive. Way more than Stacy. Why would Paul cheat on this?

I put a towel over her and then the police arrived. I explained the situation to them and told them everything.

My wife showed up slightly later asking what happened. The ambulance took her away and I haven’t seen her since. Stacy has been at the hospital this whole time.

It’s been a day since this all happened. Not really sure what to think other than that I’ll post more updates if things escalate.

Part 4: Endeavor

Hi all.

It’s been a crazy few weeks.

A lot has happened since last time when I found Gracie in the den.

Things are intense. I’ll start from the beginning…

The night I found Gracie hanging from the noose, I called the ambulance.

They came with the police shortly after and started to put her on the stretcher. That’s when Stacy arrived on the scene.

She rushed over to Gracies side immediately and started crying.

Gracie was unresponsive.

“Oh GOD! Why did you do this? Wait….” She said.

Through her tears she noticed her condition and asked ” WHY IS SHE NAKED!?

What the fuck did you do!”

She’s NEVER yelled at me like that before. This caused the police to look at me with suspicion.

That’s not good. The last thing I need is them suspecting me.

I loudly say “I just found her like that. I swear I didn’t do anything to her.” I was fuming after hearing what she implied.

I wouldn’t cheat on my wife, though if I did, Gracie would definitely be my type.

The paramedics said she’s sustained serious spinal damage and needs to be rushed to the hospital immediately.

Idk how long she was hanging there, but it must’ve been a while. Stacy rode in the ambulance without a second thought.

I stayed behind and gave my statement to the police. About an hour later after everyone left, I called Stacy but she didn’t answer so I figured I should head over to the hospital

I arrived at the reception desk 20 minutes later and found what room Gracie was given.

I reached the room and decided to peak inside before entering. I saw Gracie on the bed, unconscious, with her hand being held by Stacy.

It looked like Stacy was praying. I didn’t want to interrupt so I waited outside.

Then I heard Stacy mumbling something.

“He better not have touched you. I swear Ill kill him if he did.”

Woah what the fuck did she say??? In our 15 years together she has never so much as raised her voice at me, let alone threaten to kill me. What is going on? She continued to mumble.

“Stay with me baby. I can’t lose you. Not after everything we’ve been through.”

I’m at a loss for words. What is she saying right now?

I tried to listen some more but then I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was the doctor.

“Ahh you’re here for Gracie correct? Come right in. ”

The doctor and I entered the room which startled Stacy but she did her best to hide it.

“OK miss Waller (Stacy and I’s last name) the OR is ready for miss Tang (Gracies last name I’m assuming). The surgery will take at least 6 hours. We won’t know how damaged her spinal cord is until we get in there. Once the surgery is done, we’ll have a better idea as to any long term effects.”

“Thank you doctor. Please do everything you can. ”

Gracie was wheeled out of the room, leaving Stacy and I alone.

“So…. what did they say is wrong with her? ”

Stacy glared daggers at me for a moment but eventually answered. “They said that her spine was damaged from the noose. Near her neck. She passed out due to the asphyxiation.”

That’s awful. Why would she do this? The police searched the den earlier and found no suicide note so we don’t know why she went through with it.

“Why was she naked? ” asked Stacy.

“I told you earlier. I just found her like that after getting home from work. I didn’t do anything inappropriate to her. ”

“And that’s all? ”

“Yes that’s all. When I found her, I took her off the noose and put her on the floor. ”

“OK. That’s good then. ”

Why does she keep fixating on that? So what that I saw her naked? It’s not like I wanted to. It was entirely through circumstance. Though I’ll admit, I can’t get her mental image out of my head. Admittedly has this situation not been a medical emergency, it could’ve gone very differently.

We didn’t really talk for the rest of the night. After the surgery was completed, the doctor came to talk to us.

“How is her condition? ” I asked.

“She’s going to live, but whether that’s a happy life or not is entirely up to her. She has several spinal cord injuries. It could take a long time to heal. ”

“Don’t worry doctor. We’ll make sure she’s taken care of. ” said Stacy.

The doctor left and Stacy broke the news to her family. Things were hectic for a while until I left . Gracie eventually regained consciousness but was paralyzed from the neck down. The doctor had mentioned it could be temporary, but not sure when it’ll return. Stacy volunteered to to take care of her.

Fast forward a few weeks, our den has transformed into a mini hospital room. Stacy quit her job and spent over $10000 to buy medical equipment for Gracie. She bought a new medical device bed, mounted a TV to the wall and bought several hospital grade monitors. Gracie was released yesterday.

My wife has been attending to all her requests, even bathroom related things. Gracie hasn’t wanted to talk much since the injury. Things seemed to be heading back to normal until today.

I came home from work and saw Stacy treating Gracie. I stepped into the restroom and notice something weird in the trash. I dug it out and was shocked.

“Positive?…..”