My Husband Left Me for His Mistress After 36 Years — But a Pop-up Message from His Smartwatch Turned the Tables
Together, my spouse and I built a life for 36 years. Then, without warning, he filed for divorce. I believed our journey was over until one notification completely upended everything.
36 years old.
Troy and I had been married for that long. Over thirty years of affection, joy, and hardships. We had created a family, brought up three amazing kids, and now had five adorable little ones as grandchildren.
We always faced life together, through health and illness, and through all its ups and downs. Or so I believed.
I thought I was the luckiest woman alive on the evening of our 36th wedding anniversary.
Our closest friends and relatives were crammed into the restaurant, and there was a lot of laughter and glass clinking. Like on our wedding night, Troy and I swayed to our favourite song while dancing in the middle of the room. With their phones up, our kids cheered and recorded the scene.
“You still move like you’re 25,” Troy said softly in my ear while his hand was lightly on my waist.
I pressed my cheek against his and chuckled. “And you still know how to make me feel like the only woman in the world.”
I gave him a brand-new smartwatch with a heart rate monitor as a present for this momentous occasion. I wanted to make sure he was monitoring his health because his doctor had warned him about his heart.
He thanked me, grinned, and planted a kiss on my forehead. In exchange, he wrapped a thin gold chain around my neck and briefly rested his fingertips on it.
Everything seemed ideal.
Perfect, however, is a perilous delusion.
My entire world fell apart a month later.
Troy took me to the dining table—our dining table, where we had shared birthdays, eaten many family meals, and consoled one another during difficult times. But this time, his voice was devoid of love and his eyes were cold.
“I need to tell you something,” he began, tapping the wood with nervous fingers.
A cold shiver ran down my back. “What is it?”
He inhaled deeply. “I want a divorce.”
My heart stopped beating. I looked for any indication that this was a nasty joke on his face. “A divorce?” I said it again, the term unfamiliar to me. “Troy, what are you talking about?”
He made no hesitation. didn’t lessen the impact at all.
“I met someone else”
The words cut like a razor through me. With blurred vision, I held onto the table’s edge.
This was the most pain I had ever experienced.
I vividly relived every moment of our marriage in the weeks that followed, spending restless nights gazing at the ceiling. I questioned how a decades-old love could suddenly have no meaning.
However, I ultimately made the decision to release him.
Until everything was settled, we decided to keep the divorce a secret from our kids. I was not prepared to face their enquiries, their sympathy, or their rage. All I wanted was quiet.
Three weeks later, the quiet broke forth into mayhem.
A notification appeared on my phone as I was idly browsing through it while I was in bed. My heart thumped. Alert from Troy’s smartwatch.
His smartwatch was still connected to my phone, and I had totally forgotten.
WARNING: There was a significant reduction in heart rate. Get medical help right away.
I felt panic strike like a lightning strike. He had been warned about his heart by his doctor. Was a heart attack striking him?
I picked up my phone and dialled his number. No response.
I gave it another go. Directly to voicemail.
I quickly grabbed my keys, put on a coat, and hurried out the door with trembling hands.
Troy had relocated to a tiny flat on the other side of town. My heart was racing in my ears, and the drive seemed to go on forever. The scene in front of me stopped me cold when I got there.
He lay on the chilly sidewalk outside his building. Not moving.
“Oh my God, Troy!” With a gasp, I ran in his direction. With numb fingers, I fumbled grabbed my phone and tried to dial 911.
WHACK.
The phone shattered out of my grasp and landed on the pavement.
“What the hell?!” I whirled around in surprise.
Then I caught sight of her.
Alicia. His mistress.
She stepped towards me, her hands balled into fists, her eyes burning with rage. She said, “What do you think you’re doing here?”
I gazed at her, finding it difficult to comprehend what was going on. “He’s unconscious, Troy! He might be dying, according to the signal from his heart and watch.
Alicia laughed. “Oh, please. He’s all right. You simply cannot bear the fact that he no longer desires you, can you?
My jaw dropped. “Are you serious? He requires an ambulance.
“HE NEEDS ME.” She poked my chest with a finger. “Not you. Never again.
I was hearing things that I could hardly believe. She was more concerned with keeping me away than saving my husband—her boyfriend—who lay dead on the ground?
“Look at this!” I showed her the red-colored figures from my phone’s heart rate alarm. “He’s in danger! We must.
My hand was smacked away by Alicia. “Your pointless alerts don’t matter to me at all! Get into your vehicle and drive away.
I had trembling hands. “You’re insane.”
She chuckled bitterly. “No, sweetheart. I just prevailed.
Something broke inside of me. I quickly ran to my car, grabbed my phone off the floor, and slammed the door. But I took the one action that mattered and didn’t drive away.
I dialled 911.
Because I wasn’t going to let Troy die, whether or not he loved me.
My kids and I entered the hospital the following day, feeling a mixture of relief, rage, and unresolved questions.
Troy was on the verge of death.
According to the doctor, he wouldn’t have survived if an ambulance had come a few minutes later since his heart had slowed to a dangerously low rate.
I had no idea how I felt. After 36 years, this was the man who had abandoned me. Nevertheless, something more profound than rage stirred in my chest when I saw him laying there in that hospital bed, frail and pallid.
Perhaps love.
Troy’s eyes widened in surprise as we walked into his room. His attitude changed from one of surprise to something more serious as he glanced at me and then at our kids standing next to me. Shame. Disgrace.
As he said, his voice broke. “I… I must apologise to all of you.
His eyes filled with tears. My kids remained quiet, their expressions unreadable.
He gave me a direct glance. “You saved my life.”
I let out a slow breath. “Yes, I did.”
Despite everything, we embraced like a family once more in that moment. For a moment, it seemed as though the previous 36 years had not been irreparably broken as my kids put their arms around their father.
Troy went on to describe what had transpired.
“Alicia was seated next to me when I woke up this morning, acting all “Caring and affectionate,” he remarked sourly. “I thought she had called 911.”
He gritted his teeth. “The doctor then entered. And he was honest with me.
He lowered his voice to a whisper.
“It was you.”
Troy’s expression clouded as he repeated the doctor’s words.
“They ran some tests, and asked about my exercise routine…the one Alicia put me on.” He shook his head and let out a harsh exhale. “And then… they told me the truth.”
I didn’t breathe.
“The workout plan she gave me was killing me.”
The room fell silent in shock. My kids looked at each other in horror.
Troy went on, “The doctor said my heart couldn’t handle the strain,” in an angry tone. “At first, I believed that I just needed to persevere since I was feeling down. However, I was becoming weaker rather than stronger. Additionally, last night… He took a deep swallow. “My heart couldn’t take it anymore.”
Suddenly, I recalled how Alicia had screamed at me to leave and smacked my phone away. Like a diabolical puzzle, the pieces fit together.
This was what she wanted to happen.
Troy chuckled bitterly. “I guess all she wanted was my money.” Weary, he wiped his face with his palm. “She gave me that crazy exercise schedule after I changed my will to include her. I believed she was assisting me in becoming healthier. He gave a hollow laugh. “But instead, she nearly killed me.”
I crossed my arms. “And now you see her for who she really is.”
Troy’s regretful eyes locked with mine.
In his own words, “I was a fool,” Then he inhaled deeply before reaching for my hand. “Darling, I’m very sorry. How do I make amends when I don’t deserve it? Will you consent to being my wife once more?
I pretended to think as I cocked my head. “Only if you remove Alicia from your will and stop training with her.”
His expression brightened. “Finished. “I swear!”
Therefore, it wasn’t just the smartwatch I gave him for our anniversary that saved his life.
Our marriage was rescued by it.
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