I Found A Burner Phone In My Wife’s Jeans Just Two Months After Our Wedding. It Revealed A “5-year Plan” To Leave Me For My Half-brother. How Do I Survive This Betrayal?

Betrayal at the Engagement Party

I felt sick to my stomach because even though Jerry and I were never best friends, we had never been on bad terms. From the messages, I figured out that he made a move on Carla the night of our engagement. I had proposed during my birthday party with friends and family there, including Jerry. Apparently, while I was busy socializing, Jerry and Carla made out in the backyard.

I noticed Carla was missing for a while, but I didn’t think much of it at the time, assuming she was freshening up her makeup. But as I read the texts, I realized they had been reminiscing about that night, making several references to their rendezvous. It was disgusting. I had been celebrating us while she was off making out with my married brother, who also happened to be the father of a child.

That evening, I called my lawyer and told him I wanted to file for divorce. I wanted to ensure Carla didn’t get anything out of the divorce, like alimony or a settlement, because I was in a much higher-paying position than her. From the texts, I saw that she was looking down on my profession, saying she’d rather be with a doctor than a glorified accountant.

For the record, I co-own a business that I started with two friends from business school, and we are doing well. I never understood why she would look down on me when she was a corporate employee herself. I always knew she was materialistic, but this was sad. They made fun of me behind my back, and I started to hate Jerry.

I knew I would eventually tell Tina and make sure she knew she was married to a lying cheater. I just needed the courage because I was in a dark place. I blocked both Carla and Jerry everywhere as soon as I found the phone because I didn’t want to hear their excuses. I was done.

The Conspiracy of Silence

Two days after moving to the hotel, I expected at least one of them to apologize. But instead, I got a call from my father on the third day. He started by saying he had heard about the affair. Carla had found out I knew when she saw the phone on the bed and contacted Jerry because I wasn’t answering her calls. Since neither of them could reach me, Jerry spoke to my dad, who was able to reach out.

My father said he was sorry for what had happened, and I thought he was being supportive. But then he asked me not to tell anyone about the affair just yet. I already knew why, but I asked anyway. I recorded what he said next.

He admitted that both he and Jerry were afraid I would tell Tina about the affair, and they wanted to keep it quiet for now. My dad told me that since I was unwilling to speak to Jerry and had blocked him, he felt it was his responsibility to inform me that neither he nor my mother wanted me to tell Tina about the situation.

They said that unlike me, Jerry had to think about a child, and it would ruin his life if I told Tina he had been cheating on her with Carla. Tina came from a very well-connected family, and it was likely she would use her power and influence to ensure she had the most sway in the custody arrangement. Jerry just couldn’t accept that.

So, through my dad, they were requesting that I keep quiet and not tell Tina the truth. They even mentioned that they had spoken to Jerry and made him promise to stop seeing Carla. If I wanted to, I could work things out with my wife, similar to how my mother did with my dad’s mistakes, and that it turned out to be a beautiful marriage despite the issues.

Blowing It Up

I thought it was audacious for my parents and Jerry to try to convince me not to tell Tina about the affair, especially after he had wronged me so badly. I couldn’t believe they had the nerve to expect me to agree to this. I immediately hung up because I was done with the conversation and didn’t want to entertain it further.

I was furious knowing my parents had always cared deeply about their image, but this was madness. There was no way they actually expected me to keep quiet. I wasn’t surprised though; that cheating apple doesn’t fall far from the cheating tree. Of course, my dad wanted me to stay silent so Jerry could get away with everything.

They wanted me to brush it all under the rug and pretend everything was fine just to maintain the appearance of a perfect family. Suggesting that I forgive Carla and Jerry and patch things up so everything could return to normal required some real guts. I was enraged that they thought this was a good idea.

In the heat of the moment, I decided to text Tina and tell her everything, including that Jerry had asked my dad to instruct me to keep this a secret. I also included screenshots of the messages I had found on the burner phone. Then I turned my phone off. I didn’t want anyone contacting me because I knew things would escalate, and I didn’t want any part of it.

A couple of hours later, when I thought it was appropriate, I turned my phone back on and found it full of messages and missed calls from my family. Everyone was extremely angry with me, but I only cared about Tina’s response. The first text I checked was from her. She hadn’t said much, just that she was thankful I had chosen to tell her the truth and that she knew what to do now. It sounded a little ominous, but I soon understood what she meant from the other messages.

The Aftermath

Everyone, including my mom, dad, and a few other family members, was clamoring about how Tina and Jerry had a huge fight after I sent the message and Tina had moved in with her parents with their son. In the aftermath, it became clear that divorce was very much on the table for them, and Tina might file for full custody.

This wasn’t good for Jerry, as she would likely try to limit his time with his son even if he got shared custody. I don’t know why, but my family is blaming me. If they didn’t want this outcome, they probably should have taught Jerry not to cheat. This is on him.

I have received a lot of angry messages over the past few days since I sent Tina the text and she left him. I think it’s really unfair that everyone is blaming me, but it’s even more unfair to claim that I ruined a happy family. I don’t understand where that is coming from because if they were truly happy, Jerry wouldn’t have cheated.

I know I’m right, but I still feel a bit uneasy because I’ve heard that Jerry is really miserable now. I don’t feel comfortable with the idea that he might not get full custody. Though it’s fine for me since I don’t have kids, for them it’s different. I regret telling my brother’s wife about the affair with my wife.