My Husband Thinks His New Mistress Is A Psycho Stalker Who Just Ruined His Career. He Does Not Know I Am The One Who Hired Her And Wrote The Script. Is It Wrong To Watch Him Crumble From The Front Row?
Going Nuclear
The next morning, Jay’s phone buzzed once during breakfast, then twice, then three times. By the time he finished his coffee, it had buzzed over 20 times.
“Someone’s popular,”
I said without looking up from my newspaper. Jay stared at his phone with his eyebrows scrunched together.
“It’s Natalie. She’s asking why I didn’t text her good morning yet.”
“Did you forget?”
“I literally woke up 20 minutes ago.”
His phone buzzed again. And again. And again.
“She seems upset,”
I said.
“I don’t understand. She’s never been like this before.”
He started typing a response, and his phone buzzed six more times before he could finish. I watched him read each message and watched his face change from confused to concerned to something close to scared.
“What’s she saying?”
I asked.
“She wants to know where I am. She wants to know who I’m with. She’s asking if I still love her.”
He looked up at me.
“We’ve been seeing each other for 3 weeks. I never said I loved her.”
“Maybe she caught feelings.”
“This is insane. She sent me over a hundred texts before I even finished my eggs.”
His phone started ringing. Natalie’s name flashed on the screen. Jay stared at it like it might bite him.
“Aren’t you going to answer?”
I asked. He let it ring. It stopped, then it started again immediately. And again. And again. Jay finally answered on the fifth call.
“Hello?”
I could hear Natalie’s voice through the phone, even from across the table. She was crying.
“Why didn’t you answer? Why aren’t you texting me back? Are you with someone else? Do you not want me anymore?”
“Natalie, calm down. I just woke up. I was having breakfast.”
“With who? Who are you having breakfast with? Is she there? Is your wife there?”
“Yes, my wife is here. I live with her. We talked about this.”
“I can’t do this, Jay. I can’t share you. I thought I could, but I can’t. I need you. I need all of you.”
Jay stood up and walked into the other room. I could still hear him trying to calm her down. His voice was soft and patient at first, then frustrated, then desperate. He came back 20 minutes later looking like he had aged 5 years.
“Everything okay?”
I asked sweetly.
“Fine. Everything’s fine.”
It was not fine.
The Obsession
Over the next 3 days, Natalie sent Jay over 400 text messages. She called him during meetings. She called him during dinner. She called him at 2 in the morning crying about how she couldn’t sleep without hearing his voice.
Jay started keeping his phone on silent. Then he started leaving it in his car. Then he started flinching every time it made any sound at all.
“Maybe you should talk to her,”
I suggested one night.
“Set some boundaries.”
“I’ve tried. She doesn’t listen. She just cries and says she can’t live without me.”
“That sounds intense.”
“It’s a nightmare. I don’t know what happened. She was so cool and laidback, and now she’s like a completely different person.”
I reached over and rubbed his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, baby. That must be really stressful.”
“It is. I think I need to end it.”
“Are you sure? You seemed so happy with her.”
“That was before she lost her mind.”
He put his head in his hands.
“How do I even do this? How do I break up with someone who threatens to hurt herself every time I try to leave?”
“Just be honest with her. Tell her it’s not working out.”
“You make it sound so simple.”
“It is simple. You just have to do it.”
Jay nodded slowly.
“You’re right. I’ll do it tomorrow. I’ll meet her somewhere public and end it clean.”
He had no idea there was no clean ending to this story.
The Breakup
Jay met Natalie at a coffee shop the next afternoon. He chose somewhere public because he thought that would keep things calm. He was wrong. Jay sat down across from her and took a deep breath.
“We need to talk,”
he said. Natalie smiled.
“I know. I’ve been thinking about us too. I think we should take things to the next level. I want to meet your friends, your family. I want everyone to know about us.”
“That’s actually what I wanted to talk about. I think we should slow down.”
“Slow down? Or maybe stop completely?”
Natalie’s smile disappeared.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying this isn’t working for me anymore. You’re a great person, but the texting and the calls and the intensity… it’s too much. I need some space.”
“Space?”
She repeated the word like she didn’t understand it.
“You want space from me?”
“I think it’s for the best.”
Natalie was quiet for a long moment. Then she started laughing. Not a happy laugh. A broken laugh. The kind of laugh that makes everyone in a coffee shop turn and stare.
“You think you can just throw me away?”
she said.
“After everything we shared? After everything you promised me?”
“I never promised you anything.”
“You told me I was special. You told me you’d never met anyone like me. You told me you were falling for me.”
“I was caught up in the moment. I didn’t mean…”
“You didn’t mean it?”
Her voice was getting louder.
“You didn’t mean it?”
“Natalie, please keep your voice down.”
“Don’t tell me to keep my voice down. Don’t you dare tell me to keep my voice down!”
She stood up so fast her chair fell over.
“You used me! You made me fall in love with you and now you want to throw me away like garbage!”
“That’s not what I’m doing.”
“Then what are you doing, Jay? Explain it to me. Make me understand why the man who couldn’t keep his hands off me two weeks ago suddenly wants space.”
Jay looked around the coffee shop. Everyone was watching. His face was bright red.
“Can we please talk about this somewhere private?”
“No! We can talk about it right here, right now, in front of everyone!”
She grabbed his arm.
“You don’t get to do this to me. You don’t get to make me love you and then disappear. I won’t let you.”
“Natalie, let go of me.”
“No!”
“Let go of me right now!”
“Or what?”
She was screaming now, full volume, tears streaming down her face.
“What are you going to do, Jay? Hit me? Call the cops? Go ahead! Tell them your side of the story! Tell them how you seduced me and used me and threw me away when you got bored!”
Jay yanked his arm free and practically ran out of the coffee shop. Natalie stood there watching him go with mascara running down her cheeks. Then she turned to the crowd that had gathered and smiled through her tears.
“Don’t worry, everyone. He’ll come back. They always come back.”
