Behind me, Emma’s phone clattered to the floor. “What the he—”
“Language,” I interjected automatically. I turned to call over my shoulder, my gaze still glued to the statue.
“Jack! Get out here!”
Noah stepped closer to the statue, hand outstretched. “It looks exactly like him.”
I grabbed his wrist.
“Don’t touch it.”
Jack appeared in the doorway. His face was already ashen, but when he saw the statue, it turned almost as white as his replica. He swayed slightly, as if he might pass out.
“What is this?” I demanded. “Who made this? Why is it here?”
Without answering, Jack lunged forward and wrapped his arms around the statue’s torso.
Muscles straining, robe flapping open, he dragged it inside, scraping it across our hardwood floor. “Jack!” I followed him into the living room. “What is going on?
Who made that? Why is it here?”
He wouldn’t meet my eyes. “It’s nothing.
I’ll deal with it. Just take the kids to school.”
“Nothing? That’s a life-sized statue of you on our porch, and it’s nothing?”
“Please,” he said, voice breaking.
“Just go.”
I stepped closer, studying his face. In ten years of marriage, I’d never seen him look so scared. “The kids can’t be late again,” he added.
“Please.”
I hesitated, then nodded. “Fine. But when I get back—”
“I’ll explain everything,” he promised.
“Just go.”
I shepherded the kids out to the car, my mind racing. Emma was uncharacteristically quiet. Noah kept asking questions I couldn’t answer.
Ellie just looked confused. As I buckled Ellie into her booster seat, Noah tugged at my coat sleeve. “Mom,” he said quietly, “this was under the statue.”
His hand shook as he gave me a crumpled piece of paper.
I unfolded it slowly, the world narrowing to just me and this note. Jack,I’m returning the statue I made while believing you loved me.Finding out you’ve been married for nearly ten years destroyed me.You owe me $10,000…
or your wife sees every message.This is your only warning.
Without love, Sally
And suddenly, having a life-sized statue of my husband appear on the porch was the least of my worries. “Did you look at this?” I asked Noah as I slipped the note into my pocket.
He shook his head. “It’s rude to read letters or notes for other people.”
“That’s right.” I forced myself to smile at him, even though I was screaming on the inside. “Now, let’s get you guys to school!”
I dropped them off, one by one, and kissed each of them goodbye.
I smiled and waved as they disappeared into their buildings. Then I sat in my car and breathed through the disbelief, heartache, and fury I’d bottled up for the kids’ sake. Sally.
The statue. The note… I removed it from my pocket and read it again. The words hadn’t magically changed.
Jack had been having an affair. I pulled out my phone and photographed the note. Then I searched for divorce attorneys.
I called the first one with good reviews and a female name. “I need to see someone today,” I told the receptionist. “It’s urgent.”
Two hours later, I sat across from Patricia, explaining everything.
She leaned back in her chair, steepled her fingers, and said, “This note suggests an affair, but unless we can find Sally or undeniable proof, he can claim it’s fake.”
“That’s not good enough,” I said. “I understand your frustration, but we need concrete evidence. Text messages, emails — something that proves the affair.”
I nodded, already planning.
“I’ll find it.”
“Don’t do anything illegal,” she warned. “No hacking accounts or—”
“I won’t break any laws,” I assured her. “But I will find the truth.”
By evening, I had a plan.
I’d spent most of my day working half-heartedly while strategizing how to get proof of Jack’s affair, searching social media for any artist called Sally who might be connected to Jack, and reading every Reddit thread I could find about how to gather evidence of a spouse’s affair. But when I walked into the kitchen, I discovered it had all been for nothing. Jack had passed out at the kitchen table with his laptop open in front of him.
I stood there for a moment, watching him sleep, this stranger I’d married. This liar. This cheat.
I walked over and peeked at the laptop screen. His email was open, and there was all the proof I needed. He must’ve emailed Sally the minute we left that morning.
There was a long chain of emails, all of them saying more or less the same thing. Jack had pleaded: Please don’t blackmail me. I’ll pay for the sculpture, I promise!
Just don’t tell my wife about us.
In another email: I still love you. I can’t leave my wife — yet. Not until the kids are older.
But I can’t live without you, either.
Please, don’t do this to us. We have something amazing, Sally. We just need to keep it secret until I’m free… please, stay with me.
I felt sick. Part of me wanted to wake Jack that minute and confront him, but instead, I took screenshots of every email and forwarded them to myself. I also copied Sally’s email address.
My hands were steady. My pulse was not. The next morning, I waited until Jack left for work and the kids were at school.
Then I wrote to the woman who sculpted a statue of my husband. “My name is Lauren. I believe you know my husband, Jack.
I found your statue yesterday and your note. I have some questions, if you’re willing to talk.”
Her reply came within minutes. I’m so sorry.
I didn’t know he was married until last week.
He told me he was divorced. “How long were you together?” I asked. Almost a year.
We met at a gallery opening. I’m a sculptor.
“Do you still love him?” I typed. Sally’s reply was swift: No.
I’ll never forgive him for lying to me about being single.
I took a deep breath and asked the only question that mattered:
“Would you testify in court?”
Her answer: Yes.
One month later, I sat in a courtroom, my attorney to my left, Jack, and his lawyer across the aisle. My stomach twisted with fury, pain, and vindication. Sally testified.
She brought screenshots of her own, and photographs of them together. The evidence stood strong. Jack didn’t look at me once.
Not when the judge awarded me the house, or when he granted me full custody of the kids. Not when the court ordered him to pay Sally the $10,000 for the sculpture. Outside the courthouse, Patricia squeezed my shoulder.
“You did well in there.”
“I didn’t do anything,” I said. “He did this to himself.”
Jack emerged from the building, shoulders slumped, looking older than his 35 years. He started toward me, then stopped, seeing my expression.
“I never meant to hurt you,” he said. I laughed — a short, bitter sound. “You never meant for me to find out.”
“Lauren—”
“Save it,” I said.
“Your visitation schedule is in the paperwork. Don’t be late picking up the kids on Friday.”
I left him there, standing alone with his regrets.
