Couple Divorces after 53 Years of Marriage, Later Man Sees Ex-wife on a Date — Story of the Day

75-year-old Richard spots his ex-wife Vanessa with a man 20 years her junior. Assuming they are dating, he starts a fight, only to discover the man with her is their son he never knew existed. Vanessa then reveals another long-held secret that rocks Richard's world.

It was a pleasant Saturday evening. As dusk embraced the quaint town, 75-year-old Richard was walking back home from the grocery when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

"Vanessa??" He gasped. 71-year-old Vanessa, his ex-wife with whom he ended his 53 years of marriage a month ago, was walking on the streets with a man looking around 20 years her junior.

"What the hell is going on? Is she seeing someone else…already?" Richard was furious, and when he saw they were heading to a café, he decided to follow them discreetly…

Richard burst into the café, and his eyes scanned the bustling eatery. Bitterness surged into his nerves when he witnessed Vanessa and the guy holding hands and smiling over something at the table by the window.

The very sight of how happy his ex-wife was romancing another guy sparked Richard's fury. They might have divorced, but Richard could not bear seeing Vanessa moving on with another man so fast. So he angrily stormed to their table.

"What the hell, Vanessa?" Richard banged on the table, startling Vanessa and the guy with her. "You accused me of cheating 20 years ago! It's hardly been a month since we divorced…and you're already dating someone, huh?"

Blood drained off Vanessa's face. She was so embarrassed and pleaded with Richard to stop. But he was hellbent on not missing the chance to insult his ex-wife in front of all the patrons.

"Well…well! My 72-year-old ex-wife has found a new man to romance in just a few weeks after leaving her husband! Bravo..! And how long have you been together?"

Richard was so angry that he didn't stop to notice people were looking at him and Vanessa. He was so mad at her that he just wanted to keep firing insult after insult when Simon, the man with Vanessa, suddenly rose from his seat.

"Mom…is this my Dad?" He interrupted, and what he said was Richard's worst nightmare.

"DAD...WHAAAT??" Richard was jolted with shock. "Wait a sec…What did you say? What do you mean by Dad?"

At this moment, Vanessa understood there was no point in hiding the truth from her ex-husband or Simon. "Richard, please sit down. I have something to tell both of you…Do you remember when we first met 54 years ago…at the bar?" Vanessa's voice trembled as she recounted her past…

It was the fall of September 1968 back then. 17-year-old Vanessa and her friends were so excited to be finally able to sneak out of their homes and party at the pub.

"Van, you sure your Dad didn't see you sneaking out of the house? I don't want the party to turn into some church sermon!" One of the girls jokingly asked Vanessa as they burst into the pub, bustling with handsome men.

Vanessa's father, Alan, was a pastor at the local church. From childhood, Vanessa was raised with a strict upbringing. Her father never allowed her to hang out with her friends after sunset. Sunday school was a norm. Hard drinks and late-night parties were strictly banned. And definitely no sex or drugs.

And Vanessa didn't like it at all. She loved her Dad but not his restrictions. She wanted a life full of adventure, like her friends. So that night, Vanessa couldn't resist the invitation to an all-girls party at the local bar. She mustered the courage to sneak out of her house late at night after her parents fell asleep and accompanied her friends to the pub.

Rock' n' roll melodies played in the background as the teenagers made their way toward an empty table and immersed themselves in the glitz and glamor of nightlife.

"Only if your pastor Dad sees you here…girl, you're grilled and grounded for life! And you'll have to bid goodbye to your New York dreams!" one of the girls chuckled.

"Well…It's impossible. Dad's not that sneaky to check if I'm in my room or not! Maybe we should go to the counter and get a drink instead of your stupid jokes, Carla!" Vanessa said, smirking.

"Great…let's go! By the way, I heard that Dylan will be here tonight with his friends!" As the girls headed to the counter, Carla reminded Vanessa of Dylan, her ex-boyfriend. They had been dating for some time and had recently broken up. So knowing he was going to be there at the pub irked Vanessa.

"I don't care! It's over between Dylan and me! Period! I don't even want to talk about him!" Vanessa brushed it off and occupied a stool at the bartop. Just as she chugged a shot of martini, a handsome stranger walked up to her.

"Hey there, gorgeous!" the 21-year-old lad said, leaning closer to Vanessa. "My name is Richard…You can call me Richie. Care to join me for a drink?"

Vanessa was new to taking hard drinks, and it felt like stars were bursting around her head. When she looked at Richard, she thought he was cute and couldn't resist his charm.

"I'd be delighted! What's your poison?" Vanessa smiled and locked eyes with Richard seductively. She fell for the blue-eyed, chestnut-haired handsome man at first sight. It had been only five minutes since they met, and Vanessa already started flirting with him.

Richard and Vanessa had a lot in common. They talked a lot as if they had known each other for ages and danced to jazz music rolling in the background.

"I'm new to this town," Richard said as he romantically wrapped his arms around Vanessa's petite waist and pulled her closer. "Came here on business. Hey, shall we go for a long drive? Maybe you could show me around the place?"

"Oh, I'd love to…but it's getting late," Vanessa said when she saw the time on her watch. However, she immediately changed her mind when she saw how disappointed Richard was. He was too charming for her to say no, so she agreed to go with him.

That night was nothing short of magical for Vanessa. She and Richard drove across the bustling streets, laughing and chatting. They kissed passionately, and shortly after, Vanessa found herself intimate with Richard, wrapped in his arms.

She wouldn't stop blushing as it was her first intimate encounter. It felt like a fairy tale. They kissed again after dressing up, after which Richard drove Vanessa home and discreetly dropped her right outside her gate.

Every inch of her heart wanted her to stay back with Richard as Vanessa kissed him and ran to the backyard of her house. She crept back to her bedroom, and from her dim-lit bedroom window, she saw Richard waving goodbye and disappearing into the night.

Several days passed since that one-night stand. Vanessa decided to forget everything about that night and happily move on with her life. However, the biggest blow arrived when she started feeling nauseous one day, three weeks later.

"Vanessa, what's wrong?" Vanessa's stepmother, Rebecca, constantly banged on the girl's bathroom door. "I heard everything, Vanessa. You better come out and explain why you are crying."

Moments later, an unsettled Vanessa emerged from the restroom, holding onto her stomach and wiping her face. "I am sick…I have a terrible headache," she said, unable to meet her stepmom's eye.

"Sick? I don't think so, girl…Why are you holding your stomach if it's a headache?" Rebecca's cold and suspicious tone froze Vanessa. "Girl, who do you think you're trying to fool? You better tell me what's wrong."

"I said I'm feeling sick," Vanessa stuttered and ran back to the bathroom to throw up. Rebecca's worst fears were confirmed when she saw her teen stepdaughter emptying her stomach into the toilet.

"Vanessa, now I'm going to have a serious talk with you," Rebecca clutched onto Vanessa's shoulder and stared grimly into the girl's eyes. "Tell me the truth…have you been intimate with someone? Are you pregnant?"

At the end of that question, Vanessa burst into tears. She probably didn't know what to do or what to tell. She knew there was no escape and confided her secret to her stepmother. "Please don't tell Dad," she pleaded.

Rebecca quickly shut the bedroom door and rushed back to the girl. "Does Dylan, the boy you told me you were hanging out with, know?" She asked.

"No…it…it's not Dylan…we broke up a few weeks ago," Vanessa replied, freezing Rebecca to the ground.

"What? Jesus Christ…What have you done, Vanessa? Oh my God…Then who is the father of this baby?" Rebecca gasped.

"Mom, please don't tell Dad," Vanessa sobbed. "I ran away from home at night and met this guy at the bar a few weeks ago. I went for a long drive with him and we…I don't even know how to find him."

"God…You ran away from home at night and slept with a stranger?" Rebecca jolted Vanessa's shoulder. "Do you have any idea what you did? Your Dad will be mad if he comes to know…and for how long will you hide this? This child won't grow up without a father…do you hear me?"

"I want you to listen carefully to what I'm going to tell you," Rebecca added. "You're meeting Dylan tomorrow and apologizing. Tell him you changed your mind and that you want to be with him. I'll convince your Dad and take him to the restaurant tomorrow evening. Meanwhile, you bring Dylan home and…" Rebecca paused as this was not what she would normally tell her daughter to do. But she knew she had no choice.

"...I want you and Dylan to spend the night together," she finished, gasping. "Do you understand me, girl? This is your only way out if you want your child to have a father…Abortion is out of the question…Don't even think about it."

Vanessa nodded and burst into tears as she slumped into her bed. She regretted sneaking out of the home that night and meeting Richard at the bar. Every moment with him that felt magical then was now haunting. But she could not go back in time and change anything, could she?

"I'm sorry, Dylan. Please forgive me…I have no choice, as I can't confess my sin to Dad…and I don't want to kill my baby," Vanessa cried into her pillow.

She spent a long, sleepless night thinking about what to do. Her conscience grounded her when she finally made a difficult decision and approached Dylan the next day at the park.

They talked for some time, and finally, Vanessa invited him over for dinner at her home.

"My parents will be leaving at five in the evening," Vanessa said. "Why don't you come at 5:30? We can talk…watch some TV…and chat…you know! And I wanted to talk to you about us."

"Sounds cool! I'll be there at 5:30, then!" Dylan agreed.

Vanessa's anxious wait came to an abrupt end when she opened her house doors to Dylan the next evening after her parents left. They were excited as they sat down on the couch and began talking about random things.

"First of all, please forgive me, darling," Vanessa leaned closer to Dylan and placed her hand on his lap. "I'm sorry for not returning to your attempts to get back with me…I only understood how much you loved me after we parted ways…I don't understand what went wrong…I guess I just lost faith in our future together. But being alone, I realized you're the one…Maybe I was wrong about you when we broke up. I'm sorry. I love you…like forever!"

Dylan cupped Vanessa's face in his hands and looked into her eyes. He was over the moon when she said that. "Darling, I understand everything. You were dealing with a lot of things. Family…college entrance…going to New York for studies…I understand, alright," he said. "I didn't disturb you because I wanted you to be happy and do what you've always wanted. I'm glad you're back to me!"

Vanessa and Dylan hugged each other. They dined after that and returned to the couch, where they passionately kissed. When things heated up, he carried her to her bedroom upstairs, and they made love.

Two weeks later, Dylan and Vanessa arrived at Vanessa's home, hand-in-hand, for dinner.

"Mr. Brown, we have some news for you!" Dylan told her Dad as he exchanged a glance with Rebecca and Vanessa. "Vanessa and I are expecting our first child!"

"What??" Alan rose from his chair in shock. He had envisioned a different future for Vanessa. He wanted her to finish college, find a job, and then marry…and only then get pregnant.

But what Dylan revealed dropped like a bombshell, shattering Alan.

Alan was furious with his daughter for disappointing him in ways he could have never imagined. But the thought of going to become a grandfather calmed him down. On the other hand, Dylan seemed to be a good guy from a wealthy family. So at the end of the serious conversation, Alan put on a happy face and agreed.

"Oh, darling! I'm so happy for you two...Can't wait to cuddle with my little grandchild!" Rebecca pretended and played along as she gingerly winked at Vanessa when nobody watched.

Months passed, and Vanessa's belly grew bigger. And soon, the time had finally arrived to welcome the baby into the world. At only 18, Vanessa was rushed into the maternity ward, shrieking in pain when she went into labor.

Hours later, Vanessa and Dylan were happy parents to their newborn baby boy. Dylan could not hold back his tears when he cradled his baby son in his arms and introduced him to his parents and closest relatives gathered in the maternity ward.

"Isn't he the cutest thing on earth?" Dylan teared up. "We'll name him after my grandpa, Theodore. And when he grows up, he'll go to Harvard, like Grandpa, and cherish our family tradition!"

"Anything for you and our baby, love!" Vanessa said. She was still lying in bed, exhausted and slowly recovering from her postpartum blues. The sight of her parents and Dylan's relatives swarming around her baby's crib delighted Vanessa.

Two days later, Vanessa and Dylan were over the moon to go home with their newborn baby. Just as they prepared to leave, a doctor burst into the ward with a piece of news that rocked the couple's world.

"Mr. Fox, please hand over the baby to the mother," the doctor told Dylan. "...and please come with me to my office for a minute. There's something important I need to discuss with you."

Dylan was puzzled. He returned the baby to Vanessa and followed the doctor to his office. "Mr. Fox, we conducted some genetic testing…and we discovered the baby you were holding isn't biologically related to you. You're not the child's father."

"WHAT??" Dylan almost dropped to the ground. He held the door for balance, and it felt like he was being pelted with stones. He angrily stormed to Vanessa's ward, where all his relatives and Vanessa's parents had gathered to take her and the baby home.

"YOU LIAR!" Dylan burst into the room and confronted Vanessa.

"THIS IS NOT MY BABY!"

Everyone around gasped in shock when Dylan revealed what the doctor just said. A weird feeling crawled up Vanessa's gut when she realized she had a lot of explaining to do.

"Shame on you for doing this to me," Dylan fumed. "How could you even think I would father someone else's child? Was it your plan…or were your parents involved in the scheme too? How sick! I'm not ready to lend my name to a child born to another man…Mom…Dad…let's go from here. It's not my baby…and I have nothing to do with her or the child anymore."

Vanessa begged and cried. But Dylan stormed out of the room and out of her life that day. With no choice left, she returned home and pleaded with her Dad to forgive her.

But Alan was too mad and beyond broken. He didn't even want to look Vanessa in the eye, let alone see her child. He was just not willing to accept her or her baby.

"You're such a shame to my family," Alan yelled at his daughter. "You disgust me. You are a living, walking, breathing red flag in my life. I don't even want to see you. You let me down, Vanessa. It makes me sick. How am I going to face everyone in town…and in the church? What will I tell them if they ask me who the father of this child is?"

Those words hurt Vanessa like daggers. She ran to her room and spent the night behind closed doors, sobbing bitterly when she realized she could never regain her father's trust. Moreover, she knew she could never lead a normal life in that town as people had already started gossiping about her.

"…So that night, I made a heartrending decision. And the next thing I remember…I was standing at this orphanage, holding my baby boy close to my heart. I kissed him one last time before placing him for adoption and leaving the town," Vanessa finished her story in tears.

"I never returned after that…and six months later, I accidentally met you in an art exhibition in the new city I moved to, Richard. You know everything that happened after that!"

Richard was paralyzed with shock. His heart sank like a stone when he looked at his son, Simon, and couldn't believe his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me the truth? We could've taken Simon back and raised him. Our son was out there…and you kept it a secret all these years? How could you, Vanessa? How could you…? And is this why you never wanted to have children?" Richard cried.

"When we rekindled our relationship two months after we met, I wanted to confess everything to you. I decided to bring our child from the orphanage…" Vanessa replied disappointedly. "But it was too late. A family had already adopted and taken him abroad. I couldn't forgive myself for what I did to my son…and I couldn't bring myself to have another child."

Richard was overwhelmed by how things unfolded. It was as though a bolt of lightning had struck him. "And how did you find us, Simon?" He turned to his son.

"Before his death, my Dad admitted to me that I was adopted," Simon replied. "He gave me details of my biological mother. I later checked the orphanage's records. I had been looking for Mom for over half a year…And two days ago, I met her for the first time!"

"Well…I never thought at 75, I would teach my 53-year-old son his first lesson! I hope you now know that it is better to tell the truth at the right time and not regret it later…and be able to give the other person a second chance! This applies to your mother and me as well!"

What can we learn from this story?

• Delaying the truth only deepens the pain and worsens the situation. So it is better to reveal the truth on time than regret it later. Had Vanessa told her ex-husband Richard about their son, who she had abandoned in the orphanage, maybe life could have been different and better for Vanessa, Richard, and their son Simon.
• Everyone deserves a chance, and forgiveness provides that chance. When Richard learned of Vanessa's story and the estranged son he never knew existed, he forgave her. He decided to give her a chance and move on with his newfound truth.

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When Liam visits his Grandpa's overgrown grave to bid goodbye, he finds cryptic coordinates etched on the tombstone. The trails lead him to a railway station's cloakroom and turn his life around when Liam discovers his Dad's chilling secret. Click here to read the full story.

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