When Nicole started receiving mysterious notifications from the digital bathroom scale her husband brought home, she brushed it off as a glitch. But as the same numbers appeared week after week, her suspicions grew: Was Justin hiding something — or someone? What she uncovered SHOOK HER TO HER CORE.
What would you do if strange notifications started popping up on your phone? Like, ones you couldn’t explain? Because that’s exactly what happened to me, and let me tell you — it led to one hell of a discovery.
It started with a bathroom scale — a digital one. My husband, Justin, brought it home one random Saturday. “Let’s stay healthy together,” he said with this casual smile like it was no big deal. I wasn’t thrilled, but I played along. We stepped on it to “test” it out. Mine read 134.4 lbs, and his weight was 189.5 lbs.
A woman measuring her weight on a weighing scale | Source: Freepik
“Wow, I didn’t realize I was pushing 190,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.
I noticed his hand slightly trembling as he stepped off. “Justin? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just… just surprised, that’s all.” He wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I used to be so fit in college.”
“We all change with time,” I said, touching his arm. He flinched away so subtly that I almost missed it.
I thought that might’ve been the end — just another gadget to collect dust in the bathroom. However, weeks later, these weird notifications started popping up on my phone. I’d linked the scale to an app when we first set it up, and one day, while sitting at work, I got a message:
“Unidentified user: weight 152.1 lbs.”
A shocked woman seeing her phone | Source: Midjourney
I thought maybe Justin had stepped on the scale. But he weighed 189.5 pounds. Then it happened again. And again. I got these notifications three times a week. Same weight. Same time. Something didn’t add up.
At dinner one night, I asked him casually, “Hey, have you been using the scale while I’m at work?”
He didn’t even look up from his plate. “Nope. It’s probably the kids playing with it.”
“Three times a week at the exact same time?” I pressed, raising an eyebrow.
“Geez, Nicole!” His fork clattered against the plate. “Why are you interrogating me about a damn scale?”
An annoyed man | Source: Midjourney
“I’m not interrogating you. I’m just asking a simple question. And the numbers are, I don’t know… weird. You weigh 189.5 pounds. But the notification said 152.1. Am I missing something?”
He shrugged, clearly annoyed. “Maybe they’re holding the dog when they weigh themselves. I don’t know, Nicole. It’s just a scale. Why are you so obsessed with this?”
That was the first red flag. Something about the way he said it — so quick and dismissive — didn’t sit right with me. But I didn’t want to start a fight over a stupid scale, so I let it go for a while.
But the notifications didn’t stop.
A doubtful woman | Source: Midjourney
Sometimes, the weight was random — 189.5 lbs (Justin’s weight), 35.3 lbs, or even 24.2 lbs. But that damn 152.1 lbs kept popping up like a ghost that refused to leave. This happened three times a week, like clockwork.
One night, I couldn’t sleep. The numbers kept dancing in my head.
“Justin?” I whispered in the darkness.
“Mmph?” he mumbled.
“Are you happy? With us, I mean?”
He rolled over, suddenly alert. “Where is this coming from?”
A frustrated man in his bedroom | Source: Midjourney
“I don’t know. You just seem… distant lately. Like you’re keeping something from me.”
“Nicole,” he sighed heavily, “it’s 2 a.m. Can we not do this now?”
“When should we do it then?” I demanded, sitting up. “Because every time I try to talk to you, you shut me down!”
“How annoying can this get?!” He threw off the covers and stormed out of the bedroom, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
An anxious woman | Source: Midjourney
One evening, while Justin was at the grocery store, I decided to take the scale to customer service, convinced it was broken. But when I explained the issue, the employee ran a diagnostic test and handed it back with a shrug.
“It’s working perfectly,” he said. “Every weight logged is based on someone actually using it.”
I felt my stomach knot. Someone was ACTUALLY using it?
When I got home, I confronted Justin again. “The scale isn’t broken,” I told him. “So who keeps stepping on it? It’s clearly someone who weighs 152.1 pounds. And it’s none of us here. Not you. Not me. Not the kids. And don’t you dare tell me it’s our dog.”
He sighed, his jaw tightening. “Nicole, it’s the kids. I don’t know what else to tell you.”
A furious woman frowning | Source: Midjourney
“You’re sure about that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “Because I’ve been watching them. They’re never home at that time.”
“Are you spying on our children now?” he exploded. “What’s next? Hidden cameras?”
“Maybe I should install some!” I shot back, tears burning in my eyes. “Since you won’t give me a straight answer!”
“Nicole, drop it!” he snapped, storming upstairs to our room. “It’s not a big deal. You’re acting like this is some kind of conspiracy.”
That was red flag number two. Then came the day everything changed.
I was on a work trip, trying to focus on a meeting, when my phone buzzed with another notification: “Unidentified user: weight 152.1 lbs.”
I happened to be on the phone with my eldest son at the time. “Hey,” I asked, keeping my voice light. “Who’s messing with the scale right now?”
A cellphone on a table | Source: Pexels
“What scale?” he asked, sounding confused.
“The one in the bathroom,” I said. “Who’s using it?”
“Mom, no one’s home except Dad,” he said. “We’re all at school. Are you okay? You sound weird.”
My heart started racing. “I’m fine, sweetie. Just… checking something.”
“Mom,” he hesitated, “is everything okay with you and Dad? We’ve noticed you guys fighting more.”
“Everything’s fine,” I lied, my voice cracking. “Just adult stuff. Don’t worry about it. Okay. Thanks, sweetie. Love you.”
After I hung up, the realization hit me like a brick: Someone else was in my house. With Justin. But who?
My brain immediately went to the worst place. WAS IT HIS MISTRESS?
A suspicious woman lost in deep thought | Source: Midjourney
I tried to call Justin, but when he picked up, his response was the same as always: “It’s the kids, Nicole. Stop overthinking it.”
“Stop lying to me!” I screamed into the phone, my hands shaking. “I just talked to them — they’re at school!”
There was a long pause. “I have to go,” he said quietly. “We’ll talk about this later.”
“Justin, don’t you dare hang up —” The line went dead.
But now, I couldn’t ignore it. Someone was sneaking into my house, using the scale, and Justin was covering it up. I needed to figure out who.
The next night, after I got home, I sat down and combed through every notification on the app. That’s when I noticed the pattern: Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Always at 1:50 p.m.
The next day was Thursday. And I knew exactly what I had to do.
A woman using her phone | Source: Midjourney
I left work early, parked my car down the street, and waited. My heart pounded as the clock ticked closer to 1:50 p.m.
“Please let me be wrong,” I whispered, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. “Please, please let me be wrong.”
At exactly 1:50 p.m., I got the message. And at 1:53 p.m., I saw someone walking out of my house.
From behind, they looked like a woman — lean, with a long ponytail swinging back and forth. But then they turned, and I FROZE. It wasn’t a woman. It was a MAN.
My mind raced with possibilities, each worse than the last. Was Justin living some kind of double life?
A man with a long ponytail closing a door | Source: Midjourney
Furious, I jumped out of the car and marched toward him. “HEY!” I shouted. “WHO ARE YOU, AND WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?!”
He turned, startled. “Oh, uh… you must be Nicole. Justin’s wife.”
My stomach twisted. “What? Who are you? And why do you have keys to my house?”
He raised his hands like I was about to arrest him. “I guess Justin didn’t tell you about us,” he said sheepishly. “Please don’t judge him! He was too embarrassed to talk about it.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I snapped. “What US?!”
A stunned woman | Source: Midjourney
“I’m Derek,” he said quickly. “Justin’s old college friend. He called me a couple of weeks ago. He’s been worried about his weight and getting out of shape. I’m a personal trainer and sports masseur.”
My head spun. “You’re… his TRAINER?”
“Yeah, I —” Derek started, but I cut him off.
“No, stop. Just stop.” I pressed my fingers to my temples, trying to make sense of it all. “You expect me to believe that my husband, who’s been acting like he’s having an affair, gave you keys to our house for… FITNESS TRAINING?”
Derek nodded, looking genuinely apologetic. “Justin didn’t want you to know because he was embarrassed about gaining weight. And the keys… look, after each session, I give him a massage to help with muscle recovery. He has to lie still for about ten to 30 minutes afterward, so he asked me to lock up when I leave. That’s why he gave me the spare keys. I’m really sorry for the confusion.”
A man smiling | Source: Midjourney
He hesitated before adding, “I know how this looks, but Justin’s been going through a lot. When he lost his job —”
I stared at him, completely dumbfounded. All the sneaking around, all the gaslighting… over personal training? My husband had been fired six months ago and must’ve felt so uneasy about himself. And I didn’t even notice how he’d been depressed and how he’d gained weight.
So that’s why he bought the digital scale. I felt guilty for not noticing how much he’d been struggling, but at the same time, I was upset that he’d kept something so big from me.
A guilty woman | Source: Midjourney
When I walked into the house ten minutes later, Justin acted completely normal, like nothing had happened. “Hey,” he said casually, slipping his phone into his pocket. “You’re back?! I was just about to jump in the shower.”
I didn’t say a word, just nodded and watched him walk upstairs. My thoughts were racing, but I waited. When he came back downstairs after his shower, I was sitting on the couch, arms crossed, waiting for him.
“So,” I began, arms crossed, “how long have you been hiding Derek from me?”
His face turned pale. “You… met Derek?”
A man gaping in shock | Source: Midjourney
“Yeah, Justin. I met Derek. The guy with a ponytail who’s been sneaking into our house three times a week. Care to explain?”
“Nicole, I can explain everything —”
“Can you?” I interrupted, my voice shaking. “Because Derek already did. About the training sessions.”
The color drained from his face as he sighed, collapsing onto the couch. “I didn’t want you to know,” he admitted. “I’ve been feeling terrible since I lost my job. I gained weight, and I just… I didn’t want you to laugh at me.”
“Laugh at you? Justin, I thought you were CHEATING on me! You lied, gave someone keys to our house, and made me feel like I was crazy!”
“I know,” he said quietly, his head in his hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to go this far.”
A man looking guilty | Source: Midjourney
“Do you have any idea what you put me through?” I choked out. “I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. I kept imagining the worst possible scenarios!”
“I was ashamed,” he sobbed. “I failed you. Failed our family. I thought if I could just get back in shape, find a new job… maybe I could be worthy of you again.”
I stared at him, my anger softening just a little. “Justin, I’m your wife. You don’t have to hide things from me. But you sure as hell don’t get to gaslight me either.”
The next day, I decided to convey an unforgettable message to Justin.
A frustrated woman | Source: Midjourney
The house was packed with friends and family when he got home from his evening walk. Balloons shaped like dumbbells hung from the ceiling, and a giant “Justin’s Fitness Journey” banner stretched across the living room along with his “before and after” photos.
“What… what is this?” he stammered, looking around in horror.
“A party!” I said brightly. “To celebrate your hard work. Since you went to such great lengths to hide it, I thought it deserved some extra attention.”
His face turned red as everyone clapped and cheered.
“Nicole,” he whispered, pulling me aside, “I don’t deserve this. After everything I put you through…”
“You’re right,” I said firmly. “You don’t deserve it. But you know what you do deserve? Support. Love. Understanding. All the things you were too afraid to ask for.”
A man smiling with relief | Source: Midjourney
“I promise,” he said, his voice cracking, “no more secrets. No more lies.”
“Good,” I smiled, squeezing his hand. “Because I already changed the locks.”
As the party continued, I leaned over and whispered, “Next time, just tell me the truth. It’s a lot easier than this.”
He nodded, squeezing my hand back. “Next time,” he promised, “we face everything together.”
A couple holding hands | Source: Unsplash
Rich Man Learns Maid He Sheltered for 4 Years Is the Mom Who Abandoned Him 28 Years Ago – Story of the Day
A rich man and an older woman are linked by a strange twist of fate, which they discover after four years of living under the same roof.
The heavy pattering rain on the window and the thunderous boom playing in the sky distracted Dylan, who was busy on his laptop. In a rage, he marched to the living room window to close the curtains when he noticed something odd.
A woman stood drenched and shivering in the pouring rain, staring at his house. Even in the darkness of the evening, he could make out her frail figure, trembling from the cold outside.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash
“Lyra, honey!” he called out to his wife. “Did you call someone home?”
“No, I didn’t, Dylan,” she replied, joining him at the window. “Who’s there?”
“Do we know her?” he asked. “That woman out there… she’s just standing in the rain.”
Lyra looked out the window and shook her head. “I don’t know… she seems old. Let’s ask her if she needs any help.”
So Dylan and Lyra went downstairs and outside, carrying an extra umbrella and blanket for the older woman.
As soon as the older woman saw them, Dylan noticed a panic in her eyes.
A mother loves her child no matter what.
“Ma’am, are you alright?” asked Dylan, sheltering her under the spare umbrella. “Can we help you with something?”
“Oh well, I don’t know…” she said. “I—I don’t have a place to live here. I’m new in town and have no idea where to go…”
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash
The woman didn’t have any luggage, which confused Dylan and Lyra. She could be faking it all, they thought. And they had two kids at home. They didn’t want to risk their safety by letting a stranger in, but something about the woman told Dylan she wasn’t a threat.
“Do you have any family we could contact, ma’am?” asked Lyra. “We could call the police.”
“Oh no, no,” she cried out. “I don’t have a family… I came here looking for a job, children… I don’t know why I—I just stopped here. I should leave…”
“It’s alright!” Dylan stopped her. “Come on in. You’ll get sick out in the cold. Have some tea with us.”
So Dylan and Lyra brought her inside. Lyra gave her some of her mother’s old clothes, and after the older woman had dried up and changed, they all had tea together.
“I’m Marlene,” the old woman told Lyra and Dylan, who had discussed hiring her as a maid back in the kitchen. She seemed fine, and Lyra needed help with the house chores.
“Thank you for the tea,” said Marlene. “I really needed it.”
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash
“So you said you came here looking for work?” asked Lyra. “Would you like to work for us? We have two kids who are asleep right now. You could meet them in the morning, and I need help with the house.”
“Really?” asked Marlene. “Would you really hire me?”
“Well, why not?” Dylan said. “So long as you’re fine with it. We’ll also need your information… any ID… We can’t just keep anyone home.”
“Oh, OK,” Marlene said. “But I would need help with that. I was robbed right after leaving the station, so I’d need a laptop or something… I was wise enough to save digital copies.”
“Perfect!” smiled Dylan. “You can rest in the guest bedroom tonight, Marlene…”
That was four years ago. Marlene started working as a maid at Dylan and Lyra’s house four years ago after Dylan sheltered her from the rain, but she quickly became like family to them. Their children, Aaron and Lisa, affectionately called her “Ganma Marlene,” and the entire family adored her.
But on her birthday that year, everything changed. Dylan and Lyra planned a lavish celebration for Marlene and invited everyone they knew.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
Marlene blew out the candles, had the most lovely dinner with her family, and received tons of precious gifts.
After everyone left, she was busy unwrapping the gifts with Aaron and Lisa. Meanwhile, Dylan went to her room to retrieve something and noticed her laptop was left on.
He was about to close it when a message on her social profile on Facebook caught his attention.
“Happy birthday, dearest Marlene! I hope you’re having the best days of your life now that you’ve found your son. Your little boy, he must love you so much!”
Dylan felt like his heart had dropped to the floor. 28 years ago, he was heartlessly abandoned by his mother on the doorstep of a shelter when he was just a little boy of three. She never came looking for her, and he could never find her. He knew nothing about her.
Shocked, Dylan walked into the living room and saw Marlene smiling and playing with her children. He was disgusted and enraged.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“Marlene!” he cried. “Why did you do that? Just why?”
Marlene turned around and saw Dylan crying.
“Honey,” said Lyra, concerned. “What’s the matter? Why are you crying?”
“I’d like to know the truth, Marlene. Or should I call you ‘mom?'”
“What?” gasped Lyra. “Mom?”
Marlene’s eyes welled up. “I’m sorry, Dylan,” she said. “I didn’t want to deceive you all these years. I am sorry.”
“What else have you lied about, huh?” he yelled. “Tell me, goddammit! Why did you do it? Why did you come here and hurt me again?”
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“Dylan…” whispered Marlene. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t have a choice. You were a three-year-old boy… you needed a loving home, and I would never have been able to give you that. I was diagnosed with cancer, and I never thought I’d live through it, Dylan. So I had to let you go. I came to take you when my cancer went into remission, but it was too late.
“A wealthy family had taken you in, and they said you were happy. I was happy for you, Dylan, so I stayed away and watched you from afar all these years. Look at you; you are rich and successful today. It’s due to their upbringing. I’m so thankful to them…and I’m sorry. I don’t know why I couldn’t hold myself back when you took me in four years ago… I just couldn’t… I was scared to tell you the truth… I’m sorry…”
“OUT!” yelled Dylan. “Don’t you think you’re too mean to deserve such kindness? You can’t just walk into my life and then walk out. Just leave!”
“Dylan, honey,” said Lyra. “Let’s talk about it—”
“It’s OK, Lyra,” Marlene said in tears. “I deserve this. I shouldn’t have kept you all in the dark. I am sorry.”
And Marlene left Dylan’s house that evening. The kids asked Lyra and Dylan why Ganma Darlene left, and all Dylan told them was, “Because she wasn’t your grandmother! She was a liar!”
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
A week later, Dylan regretted saying that. He found out that Marlene was not the biological mother who had abandoned him.
Dylan chanced upon Marlene’s Facebook profile on the laptop because she hadn’t logged out, and he read another message her friend Linda had left her.
“You should tell him the truth, Marlene. How devastated will he be to learn that he has lost his mother twice? He deserves to know that his mother abandoned him in a park and that you took him in. He will love you, Marlene. He really will…”
Dylan couldn’t believe what he had read. He went through her entire profile in tears, reading Linda’s messages, and guess what? He found out Marlene had been living only a few blocks away from him.
Dylan rushed to her home, and as soon as she answered the door, he cried his heart out and hugged her.
“Mom,” he sobbed. “I love you! I’m so sorry, Mom… I am just so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me you’re not my biological mother? You… you saved me!”
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“How would it matter, Dylan?” she asked, hugging him back. “I loved you like my son, and it pained me when I left you. I did abandon you… I was no different from your mother, except I left you because I loved you.”
“You’re coming home,” he said. “That’s all I want. I love you.”
What can we learn from this story?
- A mother loves her child no matter what. The fact that Dylan wasn’t Marlene’s blood didn’t matter to her because, at her heart, she was a mother who just wanted to give her son all the love she could.
- Making a sacrifice is never easy, but it is sometimes the only way out. Marlene had let Dylan go because she loved him enough to put his interests above hers.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
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