I never thought I’d be the type to question everything about my marriage, but I guess that’s just how life is. It looked like everything was great between my husband Travis and me after five years of being together. But deep down, I was starting to feel more and more uneasy.
It began with small things, like a joke or a careless statement. But the last straw was when I wrote a message on Travis’ chest for fun before his work Christmas party and found a strange response the next morning. Over my original message, the words “Keep the change” were written, which made me feel uncomfortable and lost.
Over the next few days, I couldn’t stop thinking about who could have written that message and why. Travis didn’t seem to notice my worries and told me it was just a joke.
I then chose to tell my mum what was going on. She paid close attention as I told her my story, and then she made a surprising suggestion: use a GPS device to find Travis’s car. First I wasn’t sure, but my mom’s words kept going through my mind: “If there’s nothing to worry about, you’ll know.” Also, if there is…”
I put the tracker in place and waited. Everything seemed fine at first. Then, Travis told me one night that he had to work late, and I saw that his car was going the wrong way from the office. With my heart beating, I followed him to a nice neighbourhood, where I saw Travis hugging another woman, which shocked me.
Everything in my world fell apart. It seemed like I was in a bad dream and couldn’t wake up. I can still hear what the woman said: “Men like him… they’re like spare change.” Simple to get rid of. I knew right then that my marriage was over.
I understand now that the writing on Travis’ chest was only the beginning of what happened that terrible night. It showed that we didn’t trust each other, be honest with each other, or talk to each other enough. It hurt and broke my heart this Christmas, but it also gave me the gift of truth and a chance to start over.
