My Husband Mocked Me For Being “Naive” While Having An Affair In My Own Garden. He Didn’t Realize I Was Listening From The Shadows. Should I Tell Him About The “Gift” I Left In His Underwear Before The Party?

Closure

A year later, on a beautiful weekend afternoon, I was in my small rooftop garden. After moving into the new apartment, I transformed the desolate concrete terrace into a green oasis, also with proud old rose bushes. The jasmine was beginning to climb, spreading its soft fragrance on the wind, just like in the old garden.

But this garden was mine alone, a space of absolute peace, a paradise cultivated with freedom and serenity, no longer stained by any lies or painful memories. I was meticulously pruning the dead leaves from a patch of white daisies when my phone rang. It was Tristan. My cousin’s voice on the other end sounded a bit hesitant, very different from his usual cheerfulness.

“Olivia, are you busy? There’s something… I don’t know if I should tell you.”

I paused, the pruning shears almost slipping from my hand. My instinct, forged through so many storms, told me that something related to the past was about to happen.

“I’m not busy. What’s wrong? Tell me straight.”

“It’s… It’s about Ethan,” Tristan took a deep breath. “He’s out of jail. He just got my number and asked me to ask you if you could meet him for a moment.”

Ethan. I hadn’t heard that name or thought about it for a year. It was like a healed scar, no longer painful, just a faint mark reminding me of a foolish time.

“He’s out of jail already? So soon?”

“After the assault on Chloe, he was sentenced to a year, but probably for good behavior he was released after a few months. Why does he want to see me?” I asked, my voice so calm that even I was surprised. I thought I would feel something, but no, my heart was as serene as a calm lake.

“I don’t know. He just said he wanted to see you one last time to apologize. He was crying a lot, Olivia. He looked pitiful,” Tristan’s voice had a hint of compassion.

I was silent for a moment. Should I see him? All debt seemed to have been settled by time and the law. But was this meeting really necessary? Wouldn’t it reopen wounds I had worked so hard to close?

“I don’t want to see him.”

I was about to refuse. I saw no reason to waste another minute on that person. But then Tristan said something that made me reconsider.

“He said if you didn’t agree, he would come find you at your work or your home. I know what he’s like when he gets something in his head. I’m afraid he’ll make a scene and harm you.”

I sighed. It was true; a leopard doesn’t change its spots. Even to apologize, he wanted to do it in a forced and annoying way. He still didn’t understand, or didn’t want to understand, that what I needed most was peace.

“Alright,” I said after thinking about it. “Tell him we’ll meet at the old coffee shop, the Daily Grind on the corner of Main Street. Tell him he has only 15 minutes, not a second more.”

I chose the Daily Grind not for nostalgia, but because it was a public, busy place, safe enough that I wouldn’t have to worry about out-of-control behavior. I didn’t want this last meeting to turn into another loud drama.

I arrived at the coffee shop a few minutes early. I chose a table in a corner by the window from where I could observe without being seen. A year without seeing him, Ethan looked like a different person.

He was much thinner and tanner. The slicked-back hair of before was now a short, uneven cut with some gray, although he was barely over 30. The elegant and confident appearance of the sales director had completely vanished, replaced by a weariness and bitterness visible in every feature. He was wearing an old shirt, the collar somewhat frayed.

When he saw me, he stood up awkwardly. His eyes, which had once captivated me, were now sunken, not daring to look at me directly.

“Thank you for coming,” he said in a hoarse voice. “It sounds strange.”

I didn’t reply, just nodded slightly, indicating for him to sit down. I didn’t order anything; I didn’t want any kind of connection, no matter how small. He sat down, lacing his hands on the table, his thin fingers squeezing each other. The silence was suffocating.

“I…” he began, his voice trembling. “I wanted to apologize.”

I remained silent, observing the man in front of me. This was the man I had loved with all my heart, with whom I wanted to spend the rest of my life. And now, sitting across from each other, he seemed like a complete stranger.

“I know it’s too late now, but I’m truly sorry. I was wrong, Olivia. Money and appearances blinded me. I treated you terribly. I betrayed you. I did unforgivable things. I don’t expect you to forgive me; I just want to tell you this so my conscience can be a little clearer.”

He spoke in a rush, a speech he had probably prepared. I listened, but I felt nothing. His apology, though perhaps sincere, came too late, like medicine when the patient is no longer breathing. My heart had died once for him, and it could not be revived.

“Are you doing okay?” I asked, a polite question to break the silence.

Ethan managed a sad smile, a crooked smile more pathetic than tears.

“Okay? Look at me. Do I look okay? No job, no house, no family, nothing. My father, after that shock, his health worsened and he passed away six months ago.” He bowed his head, his voice choked. “My mother is devastated, living alone in her hometown, afraid to face anyone. And Chloe… she got married and moved far away. They say she’s not doing well either. The boutique was a mistake from the beginning; it didn’t last and left us full of debt.”

He looked up, his eyes red, full of regret and remorse.

“If only… if only I had known how to value what I had. If I had had the courage to defend you against my mother and my family. If I hadn’t been carried away by vanity…”

“There are no ‘if onlys’, Ethan,” I interrupted him gently, my voice was calm, without resentment. “It’s all in the past. Everyone is responsible for their choices. You chose your family, you chose appearances, you chose that path. And I chose mine. We no longer owe each other anything.”

I glanced at the clock. “The 15 minutes are up. If your apology was just that, I have heard it. Try to live the rest of your life well; that is the best way to apologize for past mistakes.”

I stood up to leave. This meeting no longer had any meaning for me.

“Olivia!” Ethan called out to me, his tone pleading. He stood up quickly. “Can we… Can we still be friends?”

His question stopped me. Friends? After everything that had happened, he could still say those words? I turned and looked him in the eyes one last time. A look without love, without hatred, only the distance of two worlds.

“No, Ethan. Between us, it is better to be strangers. It will be better for both of us. Take care.”

With that, I turned and walked away decisively without looking back. I didn’t want to see his disappointed face or hear any more pleas. This brief encounter had put a complete and definitive end to my past.

I left the coffee shop and took a deep breath of the fresh air. The sky, after the afternoon rain, was blue and clear. A family car pulled up in front of me; the window rolled down. Tristan smiled, a warm and reliable smile.

“I was worried about you going alone, so I came to pick you up.”

I smiled and got into the car. “Thanks, cousin.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yes, everything is truly over.”

The car started moving, merging into the busy traffic. I looked out the window one last time. Ethan’s figure was still sitting alone in the coffee shop, lonely, small, and lost in the world. I looked away. The past was truly behind me. Ahead of me was a vast sky, a bright future waiting. I was ready to start a new chapter of my life, a chapter filled with the joy, happiness, and peace that I deserved.