My House of Pain: The Wounds I Inflicted

"When one bridge breaks, a thousand stronger bridges may be built in its place." -- Gaia

My affair crashed and burned in the most gut-wrenching way possible—not with some clean fucking break, but with the jarring ring of my phone at 2PM cutting through the afternoon like a butcher's knife. Mary's voice hit my ear hollow and strange, a sound I'd never heard from her before, like something had died inside her throat. The words tumbled out—She had received a bizarre email from someone who I will NEVER use by name, indirectly by another family member. The name cracked on Mary's tongue like thin ice breaking. This person had spilled every filthy secret, every goddamn thing about what I'd been doing behind closed doors. Her breath catching in her chest like she couldn't pull in enough air, Mary explained how this person couldn't stomach watching me destroy us both anymore, claiming my wife deserved to know the truth about the stranger she was really married to.

My lungs seized up. Couldn't force a single word past my lips as the floor seemed to tilt and sway beneath my feet l…