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Our 3 kids were super attached to her, and our not-so-friendly dog was warmed up to her too.
She was a great helper- patient, meticulous and hardworking. I never had to reprimand her or teach her things a second time. We even passed her a spare iPhone because we trusted and loved her like one of our own.
Looking back now, I should have known something was up the day I was in desperate need of a massage and asked my husband to rub my back and shoulders.
He told me that Maria gave the best massages, and I asked him how he knew. I shrugged it off when he said that she had told him about it. I know I sound stupid for saying this but I trusted her and didn't think that she could ever try to seduce my husband of 17 years (who was 20 years her senior).
After a year working with us, I noticed she started soaking herself in perfume even when she was at home, doing her chores. And it usually only happened in the evenings (the time he would come home from work). They hardly spoke, but I would catch her secretly looking at him, and entering the kitchen to 'clean up' whenever he went in to get something.
I asked my husband if he had observed her unusual behavior, but he brushed it off, telling me that I was looking too much into it. We didn't have much sex that year either, but I dismissed it as him being stressed at work (he had just gotten a promotion, and had his hip practically attached to his laptop).
One night, when he stepped into the shower, I did something that I told myself I'd never do - I checked his phone. It was just this instinctive feeling in the pit of my stomach that made me do it. And I thank God for giving me that moment of doubt. This was a life-changing moment for me.
At first, everything looked fine. His messages were from his colleagues, friends, boss and me. Though I felt relieved, there was still a lingering feeling of uneasiness. I took a deep breath and opened his photo gallery... and my jaw dropped!
To my horror, there were hundreds (and I am not exaggerating) of photos of Maria in lingerie, posing suggestively. MY LINGERIE! As I scrolled through the photos, it felt like multiple stabs to my heart. Telling myself to hold it all together, I reached out for my phone and snapped a few of these pictures as evidence (in case he was to delete them).
Filled with rage (the hurt had not set in yet), I stormed out of my room and barged into Maria's room to confront her with my husband's phone. She denied it at first but was left speechless when I showed her the photos. She kept apologizing but I didn't want apologies, I wanted to erase it all from my mind! I wanted her out of my house, away from my kids and I wanted the same from him too.
My husband soon came in and asked why I was yelling. I told him to get out of the house because I never wanted to see him again. Seeing his phone in my hand, he figured what had transpired, and told me to move into our room so we could talk.
Read on PART 2 to find out how *I dealt with the betrayal and how I built my life back with my 3 kids. ➧➧➧My story of betrayal and how I built my life back with my 3 kids (Part 2)