Man Goes on Date with Young Secretary not Knowing His Wife Is Sitting Behind Them – Story of the Day

Samantha seemed to have the perfect suburban marriage from the outside looking in. But after following her husband to a cafe, she's confronted with a concerning reality of her "happily ever after."

Samantha sat on the couch of her beautiful suburban home, watching a show she couldn't give two flying figs about. She checked her watch again for the millionth time that evening.

Her husband should have been back ages ago. Her two children were fast asleep and had become accustomed to not seeing their father after work in the past few months.

Suddenly, the door opened and entered Samantha's husband, Harold. Harold walked in with his tie in his hand and nonchalantly threw his briefcase on the couch, not giving his wife a second look.

"Hi, Harold!" Samantha said with a forced cheer. "Working late again?" Samantha asked, getting up to help him with his jacket.

What's wrong with you? Why do you keep messing up? When will you get it right, Samantha?!

"Do you really have to ask me that every time? You know how demanding my job is," Harold barked.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. Just making conversation," Samantha said sadly, making her way to the kitchen.

"I made meatloaf for dinner," she said, pulling a plate from the microwave. "The kids absolutely loved it! Would you like me to warm you a plate?" Samantha said, turning to an empty living room.

She sighed deeply as she morosely placed the plate back in the microwave. She headed to the bedroom to find her husband already in his pajamas and about to go to bed.

"You're not going to eat?" Samantha asked, standing by the door.

"I'm not hungry," Harold replied coldly.

"Oh..." Samantha said, sitting on the bed and gently resting her hand on her husband's leg. "Harold, I'd like us to talk. The children haven't spent time with you in months. I think..." Samantha started, but Harold quickly cut in.

"I don't have time for your nagging, Samantha! Not today! I have a long day tomorrow. Whatever you want to discuss, we can discuss it some other time!" Harold said, aggressively turning his back to Samantha.

Samantha was hurt but said nothing. She walked to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror, inspecting herself in the mirror as her eyes flooded with tears of bitter weeping.

The same haunting thoughts she had come to know so well began to flood into her head: What's wrong with you? Why do you keep messing up? When will you get it right, Samantha?! You're obviously doing something wrong!

This had become somewhat of a norm for Samantha. This sense of brokenness. It felt as if the confident, beautiful, bright woman she once knew was no longer the person looking back at her in the mirror.

After a moment of hushed weeping on the bathroom floor, she finally steered herself to wash her face. Then she stepped out as if nothing had happened. She changed into her pajamas and got into bed with her husband, both with their backs toward each other.

Samantha woke up early the next morning to make Harold and the children breakfast. Harold entered the kitchen to find the children—their 11-year-old daughter, Jane, and 8-year-old son, Kyle—and Samantha eating freshly cooked omelets at the table. Kyle had earphones on as he played games on his tablet and ate his omelet while Jane calmly nursed a cold glass of milk.

"Morning! I made omelets! I know how much you love them," Samantha said, getting up and pulling the seat back for Harold to sit.

Harold looked at his plate on the table indifferently, then turned to Samantha, saying, "I'm good. I'd rather get a hotdog at the bus station.

"Geez, Samantha! When are you going to clean up around here?! It looks like a pigsty," Harold complained, looking around at the messy kitchen and living room.

Jane calmly continued with her milk as her father continued to bicker in the background. This was nothing new to Samantha or the children.

"My boss and his wife will be joining us for dinner tonight. The house needs to be spotless!" he continued.

"Sorry, I had to make breakfast and prepare the children for school. I'll clean after breakfast," Samantha explained.

"Whatever... I have to get to work," Harold said, checking his watch. "Bye, kids!" he said, kissing each of them on the cheek. They shifted uncomfortably, neither of them reciprocating his love.

"Really? Because happy women don't call their husbands by their first names. Nor do they stiffen up every time he calls them."

"Bye, dear," Samantha said as her husband headed for the door, barely paying her any mind.

"Yeah... See you later!" Harold yelled, shutting the door behind him.

As always, Samantha did her best to hide her pain, especially in front of her children. "C'mon, my babies! Hurry up and finish breakfast so we can get you to school," Samantha said with a feigned smile.

Later that evening, Harold and his boss, Don, played pool after dinner while Don's wife, Amanda, helped Samantha with the dishes in the kitchen.

Amanda eyed Samantha with a deeply concerned curiosity as she washed the dishes. She slowly sipped a glass of wine as she pondered.

"Samantha... Can I ask you something?" Amanda finally said.

"Yeah," Samantha replied.

"Are you happy?" asked Amanda.

"Yes, of course," Samantha said with a scoff, lying through her teeth.

Amanda and her husband were in their late 50's and early 60's, respectively. About fifteen years older than Harold and Samantha. Amanda had always been a straight talker, and her advanced years added wisdom to a sharp tongue, so it wasn't hard for her to read Samantha.

"Really? Because happy women don't call their husbands by their first names. Nor do they stiffen up every time he calls them," Amanda said, solemnly placing her drink down and looking at Samantha. "Does he hit you?"

"What? Harold? No!" Samantha scoffed. Amanda said nothing, interrogating Samantha with her gaze as she took a seat at the kitchen table. Samantha joined her.

"I mean... He... he can be a bit controlling and... and he yells at me now and again, but he has never laid a hand on me," Samantha confessed.

"Controlling? How so?" asked Amanda, leaning in closer.

Samantha cautiously looked to the gaming area where Harold and Don continued to play their game. Seeing the coast was clear, she continued, "He doesn't really like me leaving the house unless I'm taking the kids to school."

Samantha suddenly burst into tears. Amanda comforted her with a hug as she wept on her shoulder. Amanda told her she didn't have to put up with this any longer.

"Your husband has the day off tomorrow. Maybe you should spend some time together as a family and sort things out," Amanda suggested, handing Samantha a tissue from her purse.

"Day off? He didn't tell me anything about a day off," a shocked Samantha exclaimed.

"Then I'd suggest you follow him tomorrow and find out exactly what's happening in your marriage," Amanda said. "And don't let them see your tears, my dear," she added.

Samantha nodded in agreement, wiping her tears as she checked her reflection with her phone.

"Amanda! Time to go, my love! Early morning tomorrow," Don called from the other room.

"Goodbye, my dear. Here's my number if you need anything," Amanda said, handing Samantha a business card. Samantha put the card in her bosom and walked Don and Amanda out.

Later that night, she snuck into her daughter's room and took her phone from her bedside table. "Mom? What are you doing?" a drowsy Jane asked.

"Sorry to wake you, my baby. Mommy needs to borrow your phone for a while. I'll get it back to you after school tomorrow," Samantha whispered.

"Okay... Love you," Jane said, dozing off.

"Love you too, my baby," Samantha said, kissing her forehead and leaving.

The next day, Samantha carefully watched her husband as he dressed up for work. "Will it be a long day again, Harold?" she asked, watching him from the bed.

"What?" Harold said, annoyed. "It's always a long day, Samantha. Some of us have to work for a living," he added crudely.

"Alright," Samantha said, holding her peace. "But do me a favor," she said, grabbing a phone from her bedside drawer. "I need you to get Jane's phone fixed," she said, handing him the phone.

Harold rolled his eyes and put the phone in his pocket. "Sure. I'll sort it out after work."

"Alright," Samantha said with a sly smirk.

"I know, I know. I miss you too. Don't worry, I'll tell my wife I have to travel for business or something."

When Harold left for work, Samantha switched on her tracker for her daughter's phone. She had installed a tracking app a few months back for their safety. The tracker showed her the phone was at a cafe near their house.

Trying to remain inconspicuous, Samantha changed into a hoodie and thick shades. She then headed to the cafe.

She surveyed the cafe as she entered, finally spotting her husband seated with a young blonde woman with his back to her. Samantha recognized the woman; it was Harold's secretary. She prowled towards them and sat at the table behind Harold with her back towards the pair. Samantha eavesdropped as they conversed behind her.

"I'm so happy you could make it," the young girl said.

"Me too, baby. Wow! It's been almost four years since we last came to this cafe," Harold said. Samantha suddenly gasped out loudly in disbelief.

Harold turned his head at the noise. But before he could get a look behind him, the young girl held his hand, reverting his attention.

"Baby, I need to use the toilet quickly. Please get me the cappuccino. You know exactly how I like it," the girl said flirtatiously, getting up and kissing Harold on the cheek and then leaving.

As she left, Harold's phone rang. "Hey, honey!" Harold said, answering. "I know, I know. I miss you too. Don't worry, I'll tell my wife I have to travel for business or something. Then I'm all yours."

Samantha began to tear up. She couldn't, for the life of her, believe what she was hearing. Her husband wasn't just cheating on her with one woman but clearly had multiple affairs.

She immediately felt sick. If she stayed in that cafe any longer, she would either throw up or murder somebody. She ignored the urge to intervene and decided to hold her peace for now, leaving promptly. The moment she got into her car, she let out a shrieking scream at the top of her lungs.

Samantha came home in tears. "What's wrong, mom?" her daughter asked as she rushed through the door. Samantha tried to speak, but she had no words.

She had forgotten that her children would be back early that day and wasn't ready for a conversation of that depth. Not today! Jane, being the clever and observant child she was, simply asked, "Is it dad?"

Samantha nodded, crying in her little girl's arms on the couch. "Don't worry, Mom, I'll be with you no matter what. And I know Kyle will too. We'll understand if you leave him. We're with you," Jane said, comforting her mother.

Samantha looked up at her daughter affectionately, wiping her tears. "Thank you, baby." Then with a newfound fierceness, she added, "Call your brother and pack your things. We're leaving!"

Samantha and the children packed their stuff, planning to leave for Samantha's mother's house later that day. As Samantha dug through the closet, she found some unfamiliar documents hidden on the top shelf.

She skimmed through the documents and soon realized they were money trails from Harold's work. The documents would have been impossible for anyone to understand, but fortunately, Samantha wasn't just anybody.

Despite the fact that she hadn't had a job in the past 10 years, she graduated top of her class with an economics degree. She was able to decrypt all the money transfers and found out that her husband had been robbing Don's company of 10-15 thousand dollars every month and transferring the funds to his mistress.

She immediately looked for Amanda's card and called her. "Hi, Amanda. Could we please meet? I have to show you something."

Samantha met Amanda at her home and showed her everything she had discovered. Then they both presented the documents to Don. He was bewildered at how Samantha had managed to decipher them so quickly.

"This is extraordinary!" a stunned Don exclaimed, flipping through the documents.

"Your company getting robbed is extraordinary to you?" Samantha asked, confused.

"No. You deciphering it. These encryptions are pretty rock solid. It may have taken my financial experts the whole day. Maybe even two. "I wasn't even sure what was happening until you explained everything," Don explained, fixing his glasses as he continued to read.

"Thank you, Don," Samantha said. "So, what will you do?" she added.

"Don't worry about a thing, Samantha. Leave the rest to me. Thank you for notifying us," Don concluded.

Don notified the police, and with the help of Jane's phone, they tracked Harold to a local hotel. The police found him with the very mistress to whose accounts the money was deposited. Harold was arrested on financial fraud charges and eventually sent to prison.

One day, as Samantha was leaving for Harold's ongoing court proceedings, she came across Don. "Hi, Don!" Samantha said, hugging him.

"Samantha, my dear!" he replied.

"How's Amanda?" she asked.

"She's fine... Always asking about you. In fact, these days, so am I," Don said.

"Listen, if it's about Harold, I'm the wrong person to ask. The only reason I'm here is because Harold deserves a fair trial. I owe my children that. I helped him get a lawyer, and that's it!" Samantha explained.

"Oh, no. I'm not here about Harold. Well, at least not in the sense you might be assuming. I'm looking for someone to replace him. And after what you did with those transactions, I couldn't think of a better candidate," Don said.

"Me? But I don't have experience," Samantha said in awe.

"Harold had tons of experience, and look where it got him. You have integrity and a fine mind, Samantha. That's more than enough in my books," Don said, holding out his hand. "You could come by my office tomorrow. What do you say?"

"Oh, wow! Uhm... Yes, sure!" said Samantha, graciously shaking his hand.

The next day, Samantha was interviewed for the position her ex-husband held. After an amazing interview, Don hired her on the spot. For the first time, she felt like a real woman—independent, strong, and brave. Samantha had a flourishing career and regained her femininity and beauty.

What can we learn from this story?

• Do not cast pearls before swine. Samantha gave all her love and attention to someone who couldn't care less. Once she left him, she was able to rebuild herself.
• Be faithful and loving to your partner. Don't take them for granted. Harold not only cheated on Samantha, but he ill-treated her. In the end, he lost her.

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