My Husband’s Mistress Showed Up At My Door And Handed Me Her Coat, Thinking I Was “The Help.” She Didn’t Realize I Own The House, The Company Her Father Works For, And The Bank Account Funding Her Vacation. Am I Wrong For Destroying Their Lives?

The Trap

I went to the kitchen and pulled out my phone. Richard was at his golf club. Saturday routine never changed. I texted him to come home immediately; emergency with the house.

He texted back that he was in the middle of a game. I texted that the ceiling in his office had collapsed. He’d be home in 15 minutes. I went back to Alexis.

“Richard’s on his way? Finally. I’ve been waiting to surprise him. We’re going to Cabo next week. I booked the villa and everything.”

“Cabo’s nice. Expensive.”

“Richard’s paying obviously. He always pays. That’s what real men do.”

“How long have you two been together?”

“Six months. Best six months of my life. He buys me everything I want. Takes me to the best restaurants. Did you know he spent $8,000 on my birthday necklace?”

I did know because I saw the credit card statement from our joint account that I fill with my little salary.

“That’s generous,” I said.

“He’s very generous with the right woman. His wife probably gets grocery store flowers and dinner at chain restaurants. Probably.”

Richard’s car pulled up. He walked in looking panicked about his office ceiling, saw Alexis first, and his face went white. Then he saw me and went whiter.

“Richard!” Alexis jumped up. “Surprise! I came to see you.”

“Alexis… what are you doing here?”

“Visiting you, silly. Your help let me in, though she’s not very good. You might want to replace her.”

“My help?” He looked at me.

I smiled. I kept my smile steady while watching Richard’s face shift through at least five different expressions in about 3 seconds. His mouth opened like he wanted to say something, then closed again when nothing came out.

He looked at Alexis, then back at me, then at Alexis again, and I could actually see his brain working overtime trying to figure out which lie might save him. His hand came up to loosen his tie even though it wasn’t tight, and he took this weird half-step backward like his body wanted to run but his legs wouldn’t cooperate.

Alexis was still standing there with this big smile on her face, completely missing the panic radiating off Richard like heat waves off asphalt in summer. She started to move toward him for a hug or something, but then she caught his expression and stopped mid-step. Her smile faltered just a little bit, and she glanced over at me with this confused look like she was trying to figure out why Richard wasn’t happy to see her.

I watched her eyes move down to my left hand where my wedding ring sat—the same ring Richard put on my finger 12 years ago when we got married in that little courthouse ceremony because we were too broke for anything bigger. The ring caught the light from the window, and I saw Alexis stare at it for a solid 3 seconds before her brain started making connections.

She looked back at Richard, then at me again, and her face went through this slow-motion realization that would have been funny if it wasn’t happening in my living room.

Richard finally found his voice and it came out all scratchy and weird. He said I was his business manager. That I handled the house finances and helped with paperwork. And he was talking really fast like speed would make the lie more believable.

Alexis looked relieved for maybe 3 seconds, her shoulders relaxing and that confident smile starting to come back. I held up my left hand so the ring was right in her line of sight and said very clearly that I was his wife of 12 years. The one she’d been talking about for the past 20 minutes while I brought her water with too much ice.