Goodstorie

I’m currently in the process of getting a divorce from my husband of 12 years because he cheated on me. We have been together for almost 16 years, married for 12, and I even raised his daughter with him ever since she was just 5 years old. My soon-to-be ex-husband, David (46M), and my soon-to-be ex-stepdaughter, Lauren (21F), have been my entire life ever since I (40F) started dating him. When I found out about his affair, I really didn’t know what to think. It was awful enough that he had cheated on me; it was even more hurtful for me to find out that Lauren had been helping him all along to cover up his tracks.

The day I found out made it all the worse for me because they decided to announce it at her college graduation party, which I had paid for, by the way. This happened about 3 months ago. Lauren had just come back home after graduating, and I decided to throw a party for her. I invited all her friends and a couple of our family members. In the evening, as all the guests had started arriving, David told me that one of his co-workers would also be attending. This co-worker, Nina (29F), had started working at their company in his department about a year ago. I had met her a couple of times at some work parties, and she had even come over for a dinner party that David had hosted for his co-workers and stuff. Over the past year, she had always been very cordial with me, and I tried to be nice to her too. Now that I think about it, it makes me sick that I had invited her into my home and been so hospitable to her.

The Graduation Party Revelation

Everything that went down at the party, I still remember it as if it was just yesterday because I think it was pretty much the most traumatic evening of my life so far. I remember how Nina showed up at the party after everybody else, and she looked like she had dressed for a red carpet event or something, which was pretty strange. She was totally overdressed and turned a couple of heads when she turned up fashionably late. I remember that she didn’t even bother to greet me when I welcomed her; she just went straight to David and started clinging to him, and even he did not seem to mind. Their behavior was really weird and objectionable, but I thought I would talk to David about it later because I didn’t want to make a fuss about it right then and take away the attention from Lauren, since it was supposed to be her evening.

But a couple of minutes after Nina finally showed up, Lauren decided that she was going to make a speech since all the guests were already here, and through that speech, I finally found out about David and Nina’s affair. I had already been feeling quite uneasy because of David and Nina, and then Lauren started talking about how grateful she was to her father for everything that he had done for her, how he had single-handedly raised her after her mother had passed away when she was just 2 years old. That made me really upset because as far as I was concerned, David had definitely not raised her single-handedly after I got involved in their lives. Be it financially or emotionally, I had been a huge part of their lives, and I was as good as a mother to Lauren. So it felt awful that she had completely erased that.

I thought that she was going to come later, which is why I got quite hopeful when she started talking about one other person who had always been there for her in the past couple of months. She started talking about this one person who had apparently been there for her at her lowest and had always managed to cheer her up and help her power through even the most stressful phases in the recent past. Against all hopes, I started to think that maybe she would talk about me, even though realistically it couldn’t have been me because ever since she had left for college, she had become quite distant from me. Even when she was in high school and going through her teen rebellion phase, we weren’t as distant as we are now. But inside of all of that, I thought that she was going to at least try to appreciate me somehow in her speech since she had totally skipped me while talking about her dad, who had apparently single-handedly raised her. Unfortunately, she then went on to say that this person was as good as her mother because of how strongly they had bonded with each other, and then to everyone’s shock, she went to Nina and gave her a huge hug. Well, I just stood there like a fool.

It was a total slap in the face for me, and for a couple of seconds, I didn’t even know what to say or do. I literally just went blank and froze because I knew that everybody was looking at me since Lauren, my stepdaughter, whom I had basically just considered my own daughter and raised ever since she was just a kid, had just referred to another woman as her mother. After a couple of seconds, I finally realized what had just happened, and I couldn’t stay there anymore, so I just made a run for it and rushed inside the house. I went up to my room as quickly as I could, locked myself in, and that’s when I started crying because by then I had seen and heard enough to make some deductions of my own. I had obviously heard whatever Lauren had to say about whom she looked up to as her mother now, and I had also seen her give Nina that hug. To top it all off, I had noticed the way that David had been holding Nina’s hand all along and standing away from me like he had nothing to do with me and they were the real family here. I’m obviously not stupid; I had figured out what was going on, and it was just simply humiliating.

The Confrontation

I even waited for a couple of minutes after I locked myself in my room to have either David or at least Lauren show up to me, but none of that happened. Instead, I was just all by myself for the next hour or so, and I continued to cry. After about an hour, I decided that nobody was coming to talk to me, and I started packing my things because clearly there was something very off-putting going on in this family, and I did not want to be a part of it anymore, especially not after what had happened that evening. When I had packed most of my stuff, I went down to the living room, and David, Lauren, and Nina were all waiting for me there. David and Lauren instantly started berating me about how weirdly I had behaved and how they had to make up for my behavior after I went to my room by serving dinner early and having everyone go home to avoid any further drama or gossip. They told me that my behavior had been really strange, and I needed to apologize to all our guests for making them uncomfortable. The fact that they were saying all of this to me right in front of Nina just made me so mad that I decided to tear into them, even though I had no intention of doing that earlier. I just planned on leaving quietly without a fuss. I called them out on their behavior, and I demanded an explanation for what was going on, even though by then I had already made up my mind. I knew what exactly was happening, but I really wanted to hear it from them.

So after I confronted them, David finally told me that he had been in a relationship with Nina for the past couple of months, and he did not feel anything for me anymore. He could have stopped there, but he chose to tell me that he had lost feelings for me about a year ago when he had first met Nina and become friends with her, and he actually had the audacity to blame me for it by saying that I had turned into a bit of a nag, and without Lauren acting as the buffer between us, he had nothing to distract him from the fact that he simply did not feel any love for me anymore and the spark was just gone. But he had started feeling that spark again with Nina, and he felt like she was the right woman for him, which is why he had made the decision to leave me.

And then he told me that Lauren had known about it right from the beginning of their relationship, and she was on board with it too because she believed that Nina was better for him than me. So that’s how I found out that not only had she been on board with it, but she had also helped him come up with ideas to cover up his tracks and stuff so that I wouldn’t find out until he was ready to tell me about it. I found that disgusting, and the worst part was that Lauren did not even have the decency to look ashamed when I learned what she had done; she actually looked proud of it and stood hand-in-hand with Nina. After that, I was just amazed at how ungrateful and selfish people could become. So I decided not to waste my breath on them, and I told them I wished them luck with their new family because I was clearly not welcome here anymore. Without saying anything else, I just left, and within a week, I had filed for divorce.

Demands and Mediation

Now naturally, since I had invested so much of my life into this family, I’m not going to let it go easily, and so I have demanded a ton of alimony, and I want to retain the house for myself. In my opinion, the terms are completely fair because they have snatched away a huge chunk of my life that I’m never going to get back. I could have had kids of my own, but I never thought that was necessary because for me, Lauren had always been enough. Never in my life had I ever had to think of a scenario where something like this would happen. It would only be fair to have David compensate me for it because he was the one who was responsible for all of this, and I refused to feel guilty for asking for alimony and the house because in this particular case, I think it’s totally fair. But he doesn’t agree with my terms, and that’s why we have been trying to come to a common ground in mediation sessions for the past couple of days. My lawyer and I have just been presenting the facts, but they have been objecting to everything and manipulating stuff to make me look like the bad guy and that I was somehow responsible for pushing him to the stage where he felt the need to have an affair. Neither of us wants to take it to court right now, but if it comes to that, I don’t really mind it because I’m sure that justice will be on my side. I’ve gone through enough, and now I’m not really scared of anything, not even going to court with this.

Lauren’s Plea

Judging by the scenario right now, it feels like the scales have already started tipping in my favor because a couple of days ago, Lauren showed up at my apartment to beg for forgiveness for everything that she had done. I don’t know how she found me because I’ve been very careful not to tell anybody about where I was staying, but I guess somebody had probably blabbed. Anyway, she showed up, and obviously I had a few reservations about opening the door when I realized it was her. I told her to go away, but she started crying at my door and telling me that she had been kicked out by Dad and Nina earlier that day because they had found out that Nina was pregnant. Actually, they had known about the pregnancy for quite a while, even before the graduation party. That’s why they had chosen to tell me about it that day, because they knew they wouldn’t be able to hide it for longer since eventually she would start showing. So far, Nina had been lucky enough to be able to hide it, but the past couple of weeks she had been finding it more and more difficult to find ways to keep her pregnancy a secret.

And so earlier that day, David and Nina had decided to tell Lauren that it was high time that she found a place of her own. The house is pretty big; it’s definitely big enough to have all of them stay together under one roof, but apparently they’re planning on renting out the room on the second floor since they’ve had to start thinking about money, and because they’re planning on renting out one room, they need one room for the baby. They can’t have Lauren living with them anymore and forced her to vacate immediately. It’s not surprising that they’re having trouble with money because Nina has decided to quit her job. I’m really good friends with one of David’s co-workers’ wives since we used to meet at parties occasionally, and she told me that the entire office was gossiping about David and Nina’s relationship, which is apparently why she had to quit. Obviously, he’s never going to admit it at work since that would be frowned upon by his higher-ups, so it’s all been very hush-hush.

But I’m guessing that management isn’t stupid; they’re going to figure out what has been going on with David and Nina at some point and might take some action against him. For now though, he is safe, but I bet his planning took it so that in the future he doesn’t have to go through the disgrace of being fired by the company, and I’m pretty sure that that’s why he’s planning on putting up a room for rent so he can bring some extra cash home since I’m pretty sure that his divorce lawyer is also charging a bonus. I’ve spent the past 16 years of my life with him, so I know how his brain works, and I’m pretty sure that he’s going to find it very difficult to maintain this lifestyle if he has to start paying the alimony and also has to give up the house all in one go. So that’s all the more reason for me to go for it and make sure that this happens now because it’ll be a very small way to get him to pay for what he did to me. But that’s not what this post is about; it’s about me and Lauren.

So anyway, thanks to her, I was able to discover what’s going on with David, but that’s obviously not a reason for me to forgive her. And when she had shown up a couple of days back, I heard her out and then immediately told her to leave because I wanted nothing to do with her. She kept begging me to forgive her, and it was really difficult for me to keep the door shut, but I knew I had to do it because if I ended up opening that door, I would end up helping her out, and I had already received my punishment for doing that once. I did not plan on messing up my life once again by getting involved with this family, so I told her to go away and kept telling her, but she just wouldn’t listen, and she kept talking about how insensitive her father had been even after everything that she had done for them, and now she could finally feel what I had felt back when she had betrayed me, and she was really sorry about everything, but she just needed me to help her out this once until she had found a job and was able to afford a place of her own.

After a while, I started bluffing and pretended to call the cops, and I guess that scared her so she left. But it definitely did not scare her enough because yesterday she started texting me from a burner phone, and once again she started sharing her sob stories about how badly she had been treated by her father and Nina. It was really obvious that she was doing all of this for sympathy, and she only wanted me to forgive her because she needed a place to crash until she was able to afford a place of her own, so I was not falling for it. At one point, she sent me a text saying that David and Nina had said that she needed to move out so they could make space for their “actual family,” referring to their future kid. By then, I had started feeling really irritable because of her texts, so I decided to respond to them. I told her that they were right because judging by the kind of person she turned out to be, she couldn’t be true to anyone, and I wouldn’t blame them for not trusting her and claiming her as their actual family because she wasn’t even worthy of being anybody’s family. After sending the text, I blocked her because I wasn’t interested in receiving any more messages from her, even though I knew that she could just get another number and start bothering me yet again.

But now I’m being accused of being way too harsh on her and that’s why she’s nowhere to be found. Apparently, she had been staying with a friend of hers so far, but last night she went out for a walk to clear her head because she was really upset about my text, but then she did not come back. Her phone is turned off, and she hasn’t responded to any messages. Anyway, so nobody has any idea where she is. Her friend whom she had been staying with got worried and called up David this morning, after which he decided to call me and put me on blast for saying what I did. He told me that I had no right to say that to his daughter, completely overlooking the fact that she had been the one to contact me first and the only reason that she had to resort to that was that he was the one who had kicked her out to make space for his so-called new family. So we got into a huge fight about this over the phone this morning, and I obviously put him in his place. But now that I think about it, I might have taken things too far, and I feel kind of bad, and even keeping that aside, the fact that she still hasn’t reached out to anybody yet is making me feel worried. So I really don’t know what to do right now. Am I the A-hole for telling my stepdaughter that she’s not worthy of being anybody’s family?

No Guilt, No Contact

Hi everybody, first of all, I just want to take a moment and thank everybody who has responded to this post because the response has been overwhelming, and I really did not think so many people would reach out to me. So really, thanks a lot to everyone who let me know that I was not wrong and for being so supportive of me. And yes, I’ve decided I don’t need to feel guilty about what’s going on with David and Lauren because I really don’t think that they feel guilty about anything. I don’t even think that they’re capable of feeling guilt at all. It’s really not my business what Lauren does, and I’m pretty sure that she’s doing this for attention. I can bet that she will turn back up in a couple of days, and if not, David can just go to the cops without dragging me into this mess because as far as I’m concerned, I have nothing to do with it. She might have left without a word because of my message, but this was something that David had set into motion by kicking her out, so he has no right to pretend that I’m the bad guy here. I’ve blocked his other number as well, the one that I have been contacted by, and even if he tries to get in touch with me again, I’m just going to keep blocking him.

Lauren’s Apology and Revelation

It’s been 2 days since my last update, and they finally found Lauren. She hadn’t even gone missing or anything; she just went to stay with a friend of hers who lives in the suburbs and stopped responding to phone calls from people. That’s it; there was really no reason to worry. I know this because she contacted me first to tell me that she was really still sorry about everything. She told me that she had taken a couple of days away from everything to think about what I had said to her since my opinion actually mattered to her more than she believed, and she knew that I was right. She knew that she had betrayed me, and the way I had been treated, nobody deserves to be treated like that after everything that they had done for her family. So she apologized quite a few times in the message that she sent me.

She also gave me an explanation for why she had behaved that way and why she had decided to side with Nina over me, even though she barely knew that woman and had known me for a while, pretty much her entire life. So apparently David had promised her that he would fund her lifestyle for the next couple of years and would just give her whatever she wanted, which obviously sounded very appealing to a college student. On one hand, I had thought that David and I were teaching her to be financially independent and responsible, but on the other hand, he was bribing her and making sure that she kept all her secrets and picked Nina over me when the time came. It had actually been going on for a really long time, ever since he had started that affair with Nina. David had written her dozens of checks, and Lauren had made complete use of this opportunity for one whole year. It was actually disgusting how she had turned out to be a sellout, and I would have really preferred for her to keep this a secret to herself because it’s just disappointing since now, given the current circumstances, I hardly think that it will be possible for David to even fund his own lifestyle, let alone his daughter’s. Their days of fun are over, and it’s all because of me. So after receiving her message, I don’t feel particularly forgiving towards them, but in fact, I feel like they deserve everything that’s coming to them and even more. Anyway, I’ve blocked Lauren, and she won’t be able to contact me anymore, at least not from the number she had been using. As for David, he hasn’t tried to contact me either, but I’m going to see him soon with my lawyer, so it doesn’t matter.

David Quits His Job

So this is going to be a relatively short update. I just wanted to let you guys know that I just heard from my friend that David quit his job. He put in his resignation about two weeks ago, and today was his last day. He hadn’t even told anybody about it, which is why my friend had no idea, and this was a shock to the entire office. But well, I already knew this was going to happen. He also told a couple of his friends, including my friend’s husband, that he is planning on starting his own business soon enough, and now it all makes sense. I can finally understand why all of a sudden he wants to save money and bring home some extra cash at the cost of his relationship with his daughter. But anyway, it doesn’t matter to me because regardless of what he’s planning, I’m still going to try and get the alimony that I’m owed. I just hope that he doesn’t try anything funny at the mediation sessions due to these sudden changes. So far, he’s been pushing so that he can buy himself some extra time and has been saying that he’s dealing with Nina’s pregnancy and stuff, so he can’t devote as much time as I can. I think that’s all rubbish. I just think that he’s scared of confrontation because slowly we’re getting closer to either taking things to court or coming to a settlement. There really isn’t much right now that he can do at this point to drag the situation out, and he’s afraid of what’s going to happen if he fails to do that.

Victory in Mediation

Hi, so a couple of days ago, I had my last mediation session with David, and thankfully he finally agreed to my terms because of all the new information that had come to light. It was very obvious that whatever I was demanding was fair and justified. I had proof in the form of screenshots from Lauren, and if he didn’t come to a settlement, then the only alternative would be to go to court. I was pretty sure that given everything that I had against him, he would not want things to go to court, and so he finally agreed to my terms after dragging this out for so many months. But whatever it is, I’m really happy about my win, and I’m definitely going to be celebrating it. He has until the end of the month to find a new place and move out, and after that, I get the house to myself.

I don’t plan on living there though. I plan on putting it up for rent, and because it’s a really nice place, I know for a fact that I’ll make decent money. I quite like David’s idea, and let’s be real, it’s not like I need such a huge house anymore because it’s just going to be me. I’m planning on moving into a bigger apartment with all the money that I’m going to get, and maybe I’ll even get a cat or something. I don’t know, the future is full of possibilities, and now that I’m single and free, I plan on making the most of my life. I’ve already spent and wasted the past 16 years with David and Lauren; I don’t intend on doing that anymore.

Two Years Later: A New Life

Hey everybody, I’m back here after almost 2 years, and I’ve been rereading my updates and realized just how miserable I used to be. It’s crazy how much has changed in just these two years, but I’m really proud of whatever I’ve made of my life after everything that I’ve been through. I definitely did live up to what I had said about living my life to the fullest, and I’ve been traveling to my heart’s content ever since I got divorced. That’s something that I really like doing, but I had given up because David and Lauren didn’t really have that adventurous spirit, so every time that we would go on vacation, they would stay in, and I would either have to go to places alone or with people I hardly even knew. Anyway, I’ve been traveling a lot, and I’ve made a lot of new friends all over the world. I’ve also been working out, getting into better shape, and doing everything that makes me happy that I didn’t have time for earlier.

I haven’t had any contact with either David or Lauren in the past 2 years, apart from a couple of instances only with Lauren though. She does occasionally wish me on my birthdays and on holidays, and I haven’t responded so far, but I hope that she moves on. I feel bad for the poor kid, after all, she’s just in her 20s, and everybody makes bad decisions around that time, but what she did was just unforgivable. But even then, she deserves a good future, and I hope that she gets it. From what I’ve heard, she has no contact with David anymore and has been staying out of state for work. I hope she does well and succeeds in everything that she does.

And now coming to David, he is the father to twins now, and as far as I know, his business isn’t doing too well, but he tries his best to make it seem like him and Nina have a great life. Only his close friends know what he’s actually going through, and I think he might be headed for another divorce because Nina is not happy with their lifestyle. They constantly keep fighting or bickering about petty things, mostly money matters, and they don’t even care about it when they’re amongst friends. That’s really tacky, but I don’t expect any less of them. My friend sometimes gossips about them with me because I’ve kept in touch with her, and it’s all very entertaining to hear. But honestly, it just brings me so much peace to know that he’s suffering for everything that he did, and maybe someday I’ll be able to forgive him and ignore his existence, but for now, I’m just happy being petty about it.