You Made Your Bed

[Roberta, you're the only one I've ever loved.]

After reading all the texts, I felt like all the strength had been drained from my body, and I collapsed to the ground.

Every word in that chat history was filled with love and longing—words that should have made me happy.

But the woman Philip Watson was saying them to wasn't me.

It was his first love, Roberta Lawson.

A few days ago, I'd noticed Philip sneaking around, constantly texting someone on his phone.

I thought he was planning a surprise for our anniversary.

Wanting to play along, I waited until he wasn't looking and tried a bunch of passwords.

My birthday. Our son Tyler's birthday. Philip's birthday. Even our wedding date.

I figured he was just being cautious, trying to keep me from spoiling the surprise.

Not wanting to ruin the mood, I pretended not to know anything. I waited, full of hope, for my surprise gift.

But what I got instead was the truth. He didn't love me.

I thought back to our anniversary date, the one that got interrupted. My smile twisted without meaning to.

That day, Roberta had come back from abroad. What was supposed to be a romantic dinner for two turned into an awkward meal for three.

She only took a few sips of wine before collapsing from an allergic reaction.

And Philip? He left me there without a second thought and rushed her to the hospital.

I spent our anniversary sitting alone.

Later that night, when I got home, my hands were shaking as I typed in Roberta's birthday.

Sure enough, the phone unlocked.

And just like that, the dream I'd been living for years—a happy marriage and a perfect family—was shattered in an instant.

To the outside world, we were a couple that people admired. But on the inside, we were broken.

It was like a fruit that looked fine on the surface but was already rotten underneath.

I sat there in a daze, staring as night turned to day. Only when the alarm rang did I slowly drag my numb body to my son, Tyler Watson's, room.

To my surprise, the boy who usually slept in was already wide awake.

The first thing he asked when he saw me?

"Mommy, how's Aunt Roberta?"

I froze. His little face was so sweet and innocent, but my forced smile faltered.

"She was sent to the hospital yesterday. It was early enough, so she should be fine."

As I spoke, I reached out to help him with his clothes, but he turned his head and dodged my hand.

"Didn't you know Aunt Roberta is allergic to alcohol? Why didn't you stop her?"

His serious tone caught me off guard. I stood there, stunned.

Allergic to alcohol? How would I know that? More importantly, how did he know?

"She promised to take me to the amusement park. But now, because of you, I don't get to go!"

He smacked my arm with his little hand. My hand froze in midair, and my breathing turned unsteady.

I remembered that Roberta had just returned on our anniversary, yet Tyler had already made plans with her.

That meant they'd seen each other before I did.

And that likely meant that Philip had taken him to meet her.