Dear... Ex-Friend Of 40 Years
It is a year to the day when I found out that you slept with my husband. It was the most heartbreaking news I have ever been told. This can’t happen to me, I thought. My family, my boys, nothing will ever be the same. The trust that I had placed in both of you was gone.
The questions swirling in my head went unanswered because I couldn't believe anybody anymore. Did this happen more than once? Did this happen when they went to that concert together? Could she be pregnant? Did she give him an STD?
I know you were both drinking that night because I had been there too. I was told that you claimed not to remember anything the next morning. Please don’t play the victim because the homeowners actually heard you enjoying yourself that night. If you were truly a victim, you wouldn’t have felt comfortable enough to send my husband a screenshot of one of our text conversations. You wouldn’t have accepted the invitation to attend an event with us. You wouldn’t have asked him into your home (on more than one occasion) to help with drywall repairs. All of which happened after you slept together.
I’m not going to tell you what this year has been like for me because I don’t want you to know anything about me.
But I will tell you this: I have to forgive you. Forgiveness is my way of letting go of anything to do with you. Even though you never had the decency to send an apology letter or call me, I have to forgive you. Let me be clear, the forgiveness is for me, not to absolve you of what you did. It is not acceptance of your actions but rather allows me to remove any memory of you that I ever had and forget that you ever existed. If you did happen to send me a text message or an email (which would have been very cowardly) it went unreceived because I blocked your cell number immediately. At this point however, I consider it far too late for an apology and do not require one.
I really feel sorry for you because I know you don’t know true happiness. Maybe one day instead of stealing it from others, you’ll find your own.