When I first met Nathan in high school, it felt like destiny. We fell in love and got married a few years later, dreaming of a wonderful life together. But just two years into our marriage, everything changed.
At first, I wondered if having our newborn daughter, Ellie, had something to do with it. But Nathan was a great father, so I doubted that was the issue. He began criticizing me more and more, particularly about my appearance.
“Dani, you’ve just let yourself go,” he’d say, looking at me with disappointment. “Always dressed in such dowdy attire. Do you believe that’s how you’ll maintain the spark?”
Even though I worked from home and spent most of my time with little Ellie, he accused me of being a bad mother too.
“You’re always behind that computer screen,” he said. “Are you paying Ellie enough attention? It doesn’t seem like it. Every night when I get home from work, she’s by herself.”
I tried everything to please Nathan, but nothing ever seemed to make him happy. Our marriage was falling apart, and I didn’t have the strength to fight against what seemed like his imagination.
One day, Nathan told me we had to move because he got a new job opportunity. Since Ellie was in first grade and I worked from home, I agreed, hoping that a change might help our relationship.
After we moved and Ellie started at a new school, I noticed she was behaving badly when she got home. One day, I found her crying in her room.
“Honey, what happened?” I asked, worried.
“Miss Allen isn’t the mommy I want! You should be my mommy,” Ellie sobbed.
A chill ran through me. Miss Allen was Ellie’s teacher.
“Why would she become your mommy?” I asked, dreading the answer.
Through her tears, Ellie told me everything she’d heard. The weight on her little shoulders seemed to lift as she spoke.
“Yesterday, when Dad picked me up from school, Miss Allen asked me to wait outside while she talked to him. I didn’t hear everything, but I heard her say she’d be a better mother to me. Dad laughed at that.”
Nathan was having an affair.
That night, after Ellie was asleep, I poured Nathan a drink and confronted him.
“Okay,” I started, trying to stay calm. “Miss Allen seems really good with Ellie.”
His eyes brightened. “Really? I knew Ellie liked her.”
“Enough to want her as her new mother?” I asked, my voice shaking. “What’s going on, Nathan? Don’t lie to me.”
Nathan looked down, embarrassed. He admitted he had been seeing Miss Allen. They started their affair not long after we moved. And that wasn’t the worst part—he had been seeing another woman back where we used to live, and she had started demanding more than just being his mistress. That’s why he decided to move and change jobs.
At that moment, I knew our marriage was over. In the days that followed, I moved Ellie to a different school. She needed to be loved and protected, not caught up in her father’s affairs.
I found a new home and filed for divorce. Nathan is allowed to see his daughter anytime he wants.
Do you think I made the right decision?
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