Maggie.”

“No, I was actually thinking of taking her to my mother. She’s been asking for a sleepover for a while, and I think Maggie could use some time out from our routine. Are you okay with that?”

“Absolutely,” he said.

“We can all just have a break. You too, Hillary. You need a break in between work, okay?”

Later that day, I took Maggie to my mother and told her what was going on.

“Darling, I hope you get the answers you need,” she said, pushing a plate of cookies toward me.

“You and Maggie have been through too much. The last thing you need is to worry about a man who is supposed to be your peace.”

I nodded.

She was right, of course. Jacob’s presence in our lives had been peaceful, and he had lit our lives in a light that had been dimmed by Charles’s death.

But since Maggie’s confession, I had felt nothing but anxiety and a sense of dread that refused to leave me.

That night, I camped out in a hotel room nearby. I sat on the bed eating a tub of ice cream, watching the camera feed obsessively. But as the hours went by, nothing happened.

Jacob lounged in front of the TV, drinking milk from the carton, eating chocolate-covered pretzels, and just… being.

The next morning, as I sat by the window eating my breakfast, my paranoia felt consuming and ridiculous. The day went by without anything out of the ordinary. Jacob lazed around the house.

I went to bed thinking that I was just being unreasonable.

Until a notification buzzed:

MOTION DETECTED.

My heart pounded as I opened the app, switching to where motion had been detected. There he was, Jacob, standing in the basement, kissing the woman in red. I watched as she whispered something in his ear, and they laughed.

He was cheating.

In my home.

Fueled by adrenaline, I raced back to the house and pulled into the driveway just as Jacob was walking her to her car.

When he saw me, his face turned into a grimace.

“Oh, honey! You’re home now? In the middle of the night?” he stammered.

“This is the designer I told you about.”

“Really?” I gasped sarcastically, crossing my arms. “She does late-night calls?”

“She does… she’s busy.”

“Right, and I just watched you make out with her in my basement, Jacob. Is that part of the job?”

Jacob froze, his mouth opening and closing.

The woman rolled her eyes and turned to him.

“Finally, she knows,” she snapped. “Hillary, you’ve finally gotten with the program. Jeez.

How did you not see anything sooner? Now, you, Jacob, can come back to me.”

“What?” I gasped.

“We’ve been together for 10 years, sweetheart. He told me that he was only with you because you had a fancy house and a steady paycheck.

Being a sad widow was a bonus, really.”

Her words felt like a slap. I stared at Jacob, waiting for him to deny it.

He didn’t. He didn’t say a word.

“Get out,” I demanded.

“Both of you. Get out now.”

“You’re not going to say anything?” she asked him.

The woman stormed off, slamming the car door. Jacob tried to apologize, but I pointed to the street.

“Out.

Now,” I hissed. “Don’t you ever come back.”

The next day, I packed all of Jacob’s things and threw them into bin bags. I was going to leave them outside his mother’s house, but then I decided to do something better.

I left them at a construction site.

I figured the workers could help themselves. Then, I drove to my mother’s house, ready to see my little girl.

“What happened?” my mother asked, peering at me.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” I said. “Today is about Maggie.”

I packed Maggie into the car and took her for ice cream.

As she dug into her sundae, I leaned over.

“You did the right thing by telling me the truth, sweetheart. I’m so proud of you.”

She smiled, her face lighting up.

“No more secrets, Mommy,” she said.

“That’s right,” I said, pulling her into a hug. “But when we get home, I need you to know that Jacob won’t be there.

He’s not going to be with us anymore.”

She was quiet for a while and then she spoke.

“Mom? I didn’t like New-Dad that much anyway.”

Jacob was gone, and so was the life I thought we were building. But as I looked at Maggie, I realized I didn’t need him.

I had her, my home, and the strength to keep going.

Sometimes, losing the wrong person is the way to make room for the life you truly deserve.

Source: amomama