Little did I know that when I found out my wife had been unfaithful, it was only the tip of the family secret iceberg. What lay in store for me was more than betrayal, and I was ready to stand my ground and get revenge.

It was a rainy Saturday morning when I decided to spring clean our home office. Our housekeeper, along with everyone else, was not allowed in there, so a fair amount of dust had taken over. This was when I came across some letters neatly bound together and hidden at the back of the desk’s middle drawer.

My blood ran cold as my trembling fingers opened them one by one. My wife was having an affair. Shock still coursed through my system when she entered the office to gather documents she needed for a meeting in an hour.

She stopped dead in her tracks seeing me sit behind the desk with the letters strewn about. Her mouth opened but no words came out, though the same couldn’t be said for me.

“Lucille, you have been cheating on me for a year? A YEAR!!!??” I shouted. “How could you do this to me, to us? I will not stand for this, I don’t care who your family is, do you hear me?! Everyone thinks your family is so perfect and upstanding, wait until they find out about this!”

I stormed out, got into my car, and left. At first, I had no idea where I was going, but it didn’t matter. I just needed to get away from that house, from her.

Lucille tried calling me a few times, but I didn’t pick up the phone. I didn’t want to talk to her and also needed time to think.

When I finally returned home, I had made up my mind. I wanted a divorce. Lucille was busy in the kitchen, so I poured myself something to drink before going to talk to her. “Lucille, we need to talk,” I said with a strong tone, but she barely looked up from cutting vegetables.

“You have been cheating on me for some time and didn’t even show guilt or remorse when I found out through your sordid love letters to each other. I will be filing for divorce tomorrow and releasing a statement to eliminate gossip.”

Lucille looked up at me for the first time since I entered the kitchen. “We can work something out, it won’t be in anyone’s best interest to start divorce proceedings,” she said in a flat tone.

“The only thing we will work out from here is a divorce, you won’t change my mind, especially after what you just said,” I retorted before leaving the kitchen. I could hear the carrot chopping calmly resume as I went up the stairs to our bedroom to pack a bag, and it unsettled me for reasons I was soon to find out.

Grabbing a suitcase from the closet, I started packing, and that is when a specific envelope on my nightstand caught my eye. Our housekeeper had the habit of putting my mail on my bedside table, but this envelope didn’t look mailed, and only had my full name written on it.

I hadn’t seen the envelope before, but the handwriting looked familiar. Hesitantly, my fingers pried the paper open to reveal a letter.

James,

We have been informed that infidelity on Lucille’s part caused you to rethink the merit of your marriage. I want you to carefully consider your next actions, as public knowledge of the situation can cause irreparable damage to the family and their business dealings.

When you married Lucille, you also married her family. With that in mind, we have an offer.

Also in the envelope, is a $1M cheque to do with what you please if you decide to stay in the marriage and work through the troubles it faces. In the event of divorce, you will not get a dime, as per the prenup, and it will be hard finding a place to work and call home after that.

I was gobsmacked. They were trying to bribe and threaten me, but their money was not going to solve this problem. Livid, I headed back downstairs to confront Lucille about her family, but halfway down the staircase, I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard her talking on the phone.

“I don’t know if he’d seen it yet, mother,” Lucille snapped. “And no, I didn’t say anything about you approving the affair.”

My heart skipped a beat. Lucille’s family knew about the affair and helped her cover it up. In shock, I angrily descended the rest of the stairs and approached Lucille, feeling even more betrayed.

“Your family know about your affair? What kind of a sick family is this? How do you live with yourself? Do you have NO conscience at all?”

Having had about as much as she could take, Lucille snapped back icily, “Yes, they know. They have helped me hide the affair since it started. His family had been friends with my family for many years, and they adore him. They never liked you, and never will.”

Right then, I knew I was in over my head. Although the pain of the betrayal ran deep, it only made me more resolute in finding payback, so a plan started forming in my head.

After packing my bags, I left as originally intended, and sent Lucille a text saying that I would think about the letter and its implications over the next few days, which was enough time to refine my plan. Then I called Lucille.

“Hi, Lucille. After thinking about the situation for some time, I decided that your parents are right. It will be devastating for everyone involved if this goes public, so I will be returning home tonight.”

She didn’t say much, but I could feel the weight of the situation drop off her instantly. The next few days back home went by quietly until the time came to launch my new awareness campaign.

You see, when Lucille found out what the campaign was all about, she knew I hadn’t left the fact that she cheated, or that her family helped her, in the rearview.

My campaign focused on how wealthy families abuse their power and create toxic environments for those around them. The bold move exposed Lucille’s family’s actions and empowered silent victims to come forward, sparking discussion on bigger issues like transparency and integrity.

In an instant, my life changed for the better. The campaign was a roaring success, I got my revenge, and I received an awesome job offer from a nationwide company. This meant relocation to another part of the country and freedom from Lucille and her family.

Although thankful, I was weary at first, but now a few months later, I am happier than I had ever been, helping others through my campaigns and finally making the difference I had always wanted.

At least I didn’t discover my spouse’s cheating ways on Instagram like I heard happen to this sweet woman who had just had a baby. At least she got her revenge as well. Click here for the full story.

This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.