My Husband Told Me His Mistress Is More Important Than Our Children. He Didn’t Know I Was Recording The Whole Conversation. How Do I Make Sure He Never Sees Them Again?

My husband said his mistress was more important than our kids; I made him prove it. I’d been married to Lance for 12 years, and we had two kids aged 10 and seven.

Everything was normal until he started working late every Thursday. He said his company had these new weekly strategy meetings that went until midnight.

I didn’t question it because he’d always been ambitious about getting promoted. He’d come home smelling like cologne instead of his usual coffee smell, but I figured he was trying to impress the bosses.

Then our daughter, Mia, mentioned that Daddy had picked up a lady from their school during pickup time last week. She was Mrs. Rivera, the new art teacher who just transferred from another district.

Mia said Daddy gave her a ride and they were laughing a lot. When I asked Lance about it, he said her car broke down and he was being helpful.

He made me feel crazy for even bringing it up. The Thursday meetings continued for three months; then Lance started having Saturday golf trips with clients and Sunday brunches with investors.

Our son, Jake, asked why Daddy never came to his soccer games anymore. Lance said making money for the family was more important than watching kids run around.

That stung, but I let it go. One Thursday, I decided to surprise Lance at his office with dinner since he’d be stuck in meetings.

The security guard said Lance left at five like always. There were no meetings on Thursdays; there never had been.

I drove around for an hour trying to process this, then went to Mrs. Rivera’s apartment complex because something in my gut just knew. His car was in her guest spot.

I sat there for three hours until he came out. When he got home, I confronted him.

He didn’t even deny it. He actually said I should be grateful he found Gloria because she made him happy, which made him a better father.

He said when he’s happy, everyone benefits. I asked how long it had been going on; he said six months, since her welcome party at the school where I had introduced them.

The next morning, Lance told the kids he had a special friend who made him smile and they’d be meeting her soon. Jake asked if she was why Daddy missed his games.

Lance said Gloria was very important to him and they’d understand when they’re older. Mia started crying.

Lance told her to stop being selfish. That weekend, he brought Gloria to Jake’s soccer game and introduced her to other parents as his colleague while I was standing right there.

She wore this tight dress to a kid’s soccer game and kept touching Lance’s arm. When Jake scored a goal, he looked at the stands and saw his dad kissing Gloria instead of watching.

Jake just stood there on the field, confused. Lance missed it completely.

The next week, Lance announced Gloria would be joining us for family dinner every Friday. He said the kids needed to get comfortable with her since she’d be around permanently.

When I said absolutely not, he said I didn’t get a vote because Gloria made him feel alive and the kids needed to see what real love looked like. He actually said our marriage was a good example of settling and Gloria was an example of passion.

At the first dinner, Gloria sat in my spot. When Mia said that was Mommy’s chair, Gloria said,

“Sometimes change is good for everyone.”

Lance agreed and told Mia to be respectful. Gloria spent dinner talking about her travels and her art while the kids picked at their food.

She asked them to call her Glow. Jake said he’d rather not call her anything.

Lance sent him to his room without dessert. Gloria started coming over more.

She’d redecorate things, saying the house needed more sophistication. She threw out the kids’ artwork from the fridge because it was cluttered.

She told Mia her drawings were amateur and she could teach her real technique. When Mia said she liked her drawings the way they were, Gloria told Lance I was raising rude children.

Lance made Mia apologize. Then came Jake’s birthday.

I’d planned a party at the trampoline park with his whole class. The morning of, Lance said Gloria thought it was too chaotic and they’d arranged something better.

They took the kids to an art museum instead. Jake spent his 10th birthday looking at paintings he didn’t understand while Gloria lectured about brush strokes.

His friends went to the trampoline park without him. He cried himself to sleep.

That’s when Lance said it. I confronted him about ruining Jake’s birthday and he said Gloria’s cultural enrichment was more important than some loud party.

I said the kids’ happiness should come first. He looked me straight in the eye and said Gloria was more important than the kids because she made him the man who could provide for them.

He said without her he’d be miserable and no good to anyone. He said the kids would thank him one day.

I knew then exactly what I had to do. I spent that night at the kitchen table with an old notebook, writing down everything I could remember.

I wrote about Jake’s soccer games where Lance never showed up, starting from the first one he missed back in March. I wrote about Mia’s art show at the school where she kept looking at the door waiting for her dad who never came.

I wrote about the time Gloria threw out Jake’s drawing from the fridge and Mia cried for an hour. Every cruel comment Gloria made about my kids’ artwork being amateur went into the book.