When Madison found a love note on the bathroom mirror, she assumed it was a sweet gesture from her husband, Ryan, after their night out. But when she brought it up, Ryan’s awkward response made her suspicious—was the note even meant for her?
It all began innocently enough. I was getting ready for the day when I spotted a Post-it stuck to the foggy bathroom mirror. It read: Miss you already. Last night was amazing! XOXO.
At first, I thought Ryan had left it for me. My heart warmed, thinking it was one of those sweet, spontaneous gestures that brighten any marriage. After all, we’d had a fun dinner out the night before, and though I had one too many cocktails and crashed in bed without much thought, maybe Ryan had stayed up, leaving me this little surprise.
I grabbed my phone and texted him:
Hey babe, loved your cute note on the mirror! 😘
I waited, smiling as those three little dots appeared, expecting a flirty reply. But when his message finally came through, my smile faded.
Uh, what note, Madison?
I felt a pang of unease. Could he really have forgotten? Ryan wasn’t exactly a morning person, so maybe his grogginess explained it. I snapped a photo of the note and sent it to him. As I waited for his reply, my fingers tapped nervously on the bathroom counter.
Oh! Haha! Yeah, right. I left that for you! Totally forgot!
Something about his response felt off—no emojis, no warmth, just awkwardness. It was as if I could hear the hesitation in his voice, and suddenly, I couldn’t shake the nagging thought: Was that note even meant for me?
I tried to brush it off, but the thought gnawed at me all day. Could Ryan be cheating?
I didn’t want to believe it. We’d been solid—at least, that’s what I thought. But as I sat at my desk trying to work, the doubt grew louder. I replayed the situation in my head, trying to convince myself that I was being paranoid. But something inside me couldn’t let it go.
When Ryan came home that evening, he greeted me as usual, kissing my head and asking what was for dinner. He seemed completely oblivious to the turmoil brewing inside me. “I’ve been swamped with work,” I said, trying to keep my tone even. “Could you handle dinner tonight?”
He smiled and headed to the kitchen without a second thought. But as I watched him move around the house, something didn’t feel right. I felt like he was hiding something.
That night, while Ryan slept, I did something I never thought I would—I went through his phone. I scoured his texts, calls, emails. But there was nothing. His phone was spotless. It was too clean, like he was hiding something. My gut screamed that something was off.
If Ryan isn’t cheating, then what is he hiding?
The tension hung in the air for days. Then, one evening, things took an unexpected turn. Ryan came home earlier than usual, looking tense. “My dad’s coming over,” he said. “He needs help with his laptop.” His explanation felt rehearsed, but I didn’t press. Bob, his dad, had been dropping by more often recently, especially on days when I wasn’t home.
A few days later, Ryan’s mom, Claire, called me. She sounded upset. “Madison, have you seen Bob recently?” she asked.
“Yeah, he was just here the other day,” I replied. “Ryan said he needed help with his computer.”
There was a long pause before Claire spoke again. “That’s strange. He hasn’t been home much lately.”
That’s when the pieces started to fall into place. Bob had been around a lot lately. Too much.
The next time Bob came over, I decided to find out what was really going on. I told Ryan I had errands to run but parked down the street, watching from a distance. A few minutes later, a woman walked up to my front door.
What the hell? I waited for her to go inside, then crept back to the house. The sound of the shower running greeted me as I approached the bathroom. My heart pounded as I peeked through the crack in the door.
And there they were—Bob and the mystery woman, showering together.
The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. The note wasn’t meant for me. It was Bob’s.
I flung the door open, and they both froze. Bob’s face drained of color, and the woman, wide-eyed, quickly grabbed a towel and fled. “What the hell, Bob?” I yelled. He stammered, trying to explain, but I didn’t want to hear it.
Later that night, I confronted Ryan. His face paled as I told him what I’d discovered. At first, he tried to deny everything, but eventually, he came clean.
“Of course, I knew, Madison!” he said, frustration in his voice. “But he’s my dad. He asked me to cover for him. It’s better this way—Mom wouldn’t find out.”
“How is this better?” I asked, shocked. “You turned our house into his secret hideaway. What about your mother?”
Ryan sighed. “I didn’t want to get involved. It’s my dad. What was I supposed to do?”
“You should have been honest,” I said, my voice shaking. “With me, with your mom. Instead, you lied. For months.”
That night, I told him to sleep on the couch. I needed space.
The next morning, I called Claire and told her everything. There was silence on the other end of the line before she spoke, her voice steady. “Pack your bags, Madison. We’re leaving.”
Claire and I checked into a hotel using money Bob had transferred to her. “He said it was for my 65th birthday,” she said with a bitter laugh. “Now, we’ll use it to plan our escape.”
By the end of the week, we both filed for divorce. Claire couldn’t stay with a man who betrayed her, and I knew I couldn’t stay with Ryan after the lies.
Now, Claire and I are roommates, living in a cute little apartment together. We’re two newly single women, free from deceit—and it’s the most refreshing feeling.
What would you have done?
