How to Divorce Gracefully
Alice discovered that her husband had a mistress quite by accident. She was working on her home computer when her browser crashed. She decided to use her husband’s browser instead. Apparently, he had either forgotten to close his social media tab or hadn’t given it a thought. Just as Alice was about to search for what she needed, a message popped up for her husband. The contents left her in shock.
“Waiting for you in the storeroom. I have a lacy surprise for you.”
Her husband immediately deleted the message from his device, but Alice remembered who sent it.
Naturally, work was the last thing on her mind, so she decided to handle it later.
The woman was a colleague of her husband’s, someone Alice had seen a few times at office parties she had attended with her husband. This woman was also married; Alice distinctly recalled a tall, intriguing man always by her side.
Alice couldn’t find any compromising evidence in the messages. It seemed that her husband, Edward, was quick to delete everything. But the message she saw was enough. Pieces of the puzzle started to come together.
Edward had been staying late at work more frequently. Once, Alice found a woman’s earring in their car. Edward calmly explained that it likely belonged to a colleague he had given a lift to during a heavy downpour.
“I drove that lady from the office party, remember? The one with the husband who’s a doctor?”
Alice indeed remembered. For some reason, the mention of her husband had been reassuring at the time. In hindsight, it clearly shouldn’t have been.
The question was what to do next. Her initial thoughts were to make a scene, go hysterical, and toss his belongings off the balcony. And, of course, file for divorce.
After some consideration, she realized she didn’t want to let Edward off so easily. Neither should the other woman, Lucy. Alice was thirsty for revenge. She wanted her husband to suffer just as she had, to feel the pain and fear. It also seemed unfair that Lucy’s husband wasn’t aware of the situation.
When Edward returned from work that evening, Alice had a plan ready. It was slightly unlawful, but Alice thought it was justified. She hoped Lucy’s husband, George, would agree to participate.
“Good evening, darling,” Edward said as he entered their home, giving Alice a peck on the cheek. She caught a faint scent. Not of perfume—his mistress was clever—but more like a body lotion or cream.
“Hello, dear,” Alice replied with a smile, secretly wishing to claw his face. “How was your workday?”
“Exhausting,” Edward sighed, removing his shoes.
“Exhausting,” thought Alice, well aware of how her husband unwound at work.
They had dinner and retired to bed. Edward didn’t notice anything unusual with Alice. When he fell asleep, she unlocked his phone using his fingerprint and searched for evidence. And she found it—in plain text messages! It seemed Edward was thorough in removing traces from social media and messenger apps but had overlooked the simple texts.
After saving everything on her phone, Alice went to sleep, burning with anger, jealousy, and a fierce determination. Tomorrow, she might begin her revenge on her unfaithful husband and his vile lover.
First thing in the morning, she found Lucy on social media, and through her, tracked down George. Before messaging him, she weighed her options again. Maybe she should just get divorced and end it? But she loathed the thought of letting Edward and Lucy off so easily. Anger was a powerful motivator for risky ventures.
“Good afternoon. My name is Alice; I’m the wife of Lucy’s colleague. I have some interesting information for you. Shall we meet?”
George didn’t reply for quite a while, and Alice thought he might not take her words seriously. But by evening, he responded.
“Good afternoon, yes, I remember you. I’m intrigued. Can you meet tomorrow at 6 pm?”
The first step of the plan was complete. Now she hoped George would agree to help her.
George listened to Alice without interrupting. With each sentence, his expression grew darker.
“I’m sorry, but it seems we’ve both been deceived,” Alice concluded, showing George all the correspondence she had found.
“I’ll file for divorce right away!” George exclaimed, signaling the waiter. Soon, their tea was replaced with something stronger.
“Don’t you think that’s too simple? They’ve humiliated and betrayed us, and all we’re going to do is just divorce?”
“I’m ready to kill them!” George muttered, draining his drink.
“Killing is a bit much. But punishing them wouldn’t hurt.”
“What do you suggest?” George became interested.
First, Alice asked about children, as she didn’t want to involve innocent little ones.
Both Alice and Edward, and George and Lucy were childless, which simplified matters.
Then Alice asked another question.
“George, does your wife have savings?”
“Probably,” he replied. “We keep separate budgets. I cover most expenses without touching hers,” he grimaced. “It’s possible I even ended up supporting your husband at some point.”
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. He may be unfaithful, but he’s not a freeloader. Actually, he has saved quite a bit—he’s saving for a car.”
“So, where are you going with this?” George asked.
“I think it’s only fair for us to receive compensation for our emotional distress. That’s why I propose…”
The plan was simple. Alice would visit Edward’s office and plant a small camera. Once evidence was collected (and it surely would be), George and Alice would message their deceitful spouses from an anonymous account, demanding money to keep silent.
“So, we’ll ask them for money to keep our own silence? George laughed.
“Exactly.”
“And if they refuse to pay?”
Alice pondered. If Edward hadn’t suggested divorce yet, he likely didn’t plan on ending the marriage. The same probably applied to George’s wife.
“I think they’ll pay.”
They didn’t have to wait long for incriminating evidence. The next day, Alice visited Edward at work, glimpsed the woman who had become his mistress, and set up the camera discreetly. By evening, she had footage of Edward and Lucy kissing in his office.
She sent the photos to George with a note that it was time to act.
Alice enjoyed watching her husband’s face change as he received the photos from an unknown account, followed by a message demanding £10,000 for discretion.
“I need a moment to make a call,” Edward said nervously.
“Is everything okay?” Alice inquired, batting her eyelashes.
“Yes, yes, all fine.”
As her husband retreated to the kitchen, likely to call his mistress, George messaged Alice.
“Lucy’s panicking. And now your husband’s calling her.”
“Excellent,” Alice replied.
Watching her husband’s anxiety, Alice felt a grim satisfaction. Let him suffer. She had endured so much pain due to his betrayal. Now it was his turn to squirm.
They were given a day to transfer the money to an online wallet. Apparently, Edward and Lucy decided that a quiet life and keeping their affair secret was worth more than the money, as the full amount was in Alice’s account by evening.
And so began the second act of their little drama. George and Alice decided to spend the money easily. Let it bring them some joy, sweetening the bitterness of divorce.
The following day, Alice and George both took a week’s leave from work. Interestingly, the homes they lived in were owned by them. Perhaps this influenced Lucy and Edward’s decision to pay the blackmailers. No one wanted to end up homeless.
A day later, they filed for divorce and met at the airport. A week of sunshine, sea, and fun awaited them.
They informed their spouses of the situation only upon reaching their destination. Creating a group chat, they sent a video message, ensuring to mention that the homes should be vacated within a week.
It would be nice to report that Alice and George became a couple because of this ordeal, but they remained good friends. Even when they both found new partners, their friendship endured, reminiscing about the amazing getaway sparked by betrayal, and the shocked faces of their former spouses when they realized how deftly they’d been played.
