When Lisa’s husband suggests a month-long separation to “reignite their relationship,” she reluctantly agrees until a neighbor’s frantic call reveals a shocking betrayal. Rushing home, Lisa discovers that a woman has made herself very much at home in their place. This betrayal leaves Lisa determined to reclaim her life.
When Derek suggested we live apart for a month to “reignite our relationship,” I thought it was one of those modern trends couples try when they’re struggling but don’t want to admit it.
He spun it like a grand idea, claiming it would help us reconnect and appreciate each other more.
A smiling man | Source: Midjourney
“You’ll see,” he said, grinning over his coffee one morning. “It’ll be like dating all over again. You’ll miss me. I’ll miss you. And when the month’s over, it’ll be like a fresh start.”
I didn’t love the idea. What wife would? But Derek was insistent. He seemed so sure this was for the best, so I packed a bag, moved into a short-term rental across town, and told myself it would be fine.
The first week was awkward and lonely.
A woman sitting on a couch | Source: Midjourney
Derek barely called or texted but chalked it up to the fact that he was “enjoying the space” and focused on staying busy.
I even started looking forward to what he’d called “our big reunion, Lisa.”
One day, I invited my sister, Penelope, over.
“Are you sure about this, Lisa?” she asked as she poured herself a glass of wine. “I mean, it’s a bit sketchy.”
A glass of wine on a coffee table | Source: Midjourney
“I know,” I agreed, putting together a charcuterie board. “But whenever I showed any resistance, Derek would lose his mind. So, I figured that it was something he needed to do.”
“Yeah, I get that,” she said. “But something isn’t right about this, sis. I’d watch Derek carefully, if I were you.”
I have to admit, she was right. And I felt the same way. What good reason would Derek have to actually want us to be separated?
A charcuterie board | Source: Midjourney
Then, one quiet Saturday evening, my phone rang.
“Lisa,” Mary’s voice crackled through the line, low and urgent. “You need to come home. Right now. I saw a woman in your house. I can’t see much, but I saw a silhouette through the window.”
I put the knife I was using for chopping vegetables down and shook my head clear.
Mary was my neighbor and wasn’t the type to overreact.
Chopped mushroom on a board | Source: Midjourney
“What? Really!?”
The air felt like it had been knocked out of my lungs.
A woman? In our house?
My mind immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario:
Derek had moved someone else in. A mistress.
Then again, it could’ve been something else. A break-in, maybe, or Sheila, Derek’s mother.
A silhouette of a couple | Source: Midjourney
But I dismissed those possibilities almost instantly. Derek had been so distant lately, barely calling or texting. My gut told me that it had to be infidelity.
Infidelity.
“Are you sure?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“Positive,” Mary said firmly. “Hurry, Lisa. Something is happening!”
I didn’t stop to think. I grabbed my keys and bolted out the door.
A woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
When I reached the house, I didn’t bother knocking. My hands were trembling as I shoved the door open, adrenaline pumping through me. It was as if my instincts took over. I ran up the stairs and straight into my bedroom.
There she was.
Not a mistress, but Derek’s mother.
Sheila.
Sheila was standing in the middle of my bedroom, surrounded by piles of my clothes. My closet doors were flung wide open, and she was holding one of my lace bras with a look of disgust.
An older woman standing in front of a closet | Source: Midjourney
“What the hell are you doing?” I yelled, startling her.
Sheila glanced up, unbothered by my outrage.
“Oh, Lisa. You’re back early,” she said nonchalantly.
She waved the bra in the air like a piece of trash.
“I’m cleaning up this house. This isn’t suitable for a married woman.”
My jaw dropped.
A close up of an older woman | Source: Midjourney
“Excuse me?”
She gestured toward several trash bags on the floor. They were stuffed with my clothes, lingerie, dresses, and even casual outfits.
“Lisa, these don’t reflect the values of a proper wife. Derek asked me to help get things in order while you were gone.”
I felt a wave of rage boil over.
Trash bags in a bedroom | Source: Midjourney
“Get my things in order? By throwing away my clothes? Who gave you the right to do this?”
Sheila’s lips pursed as she straightened her shoulders.
“Honestly, Lisa, someone had to step in. This house is a mess, and your wardrobe… well, it sends the wrong message. Derek deserves better!”
Her words felt like a slap in the face.
An older woman standing in a bedroom | Source: Midjourney
Sheila had always been critical. She always had snide remarks about my cooking and little digs about how I kept the house, but this?
This was a new level of audacity.
“Where is Derek?” I demanded, my voice shaking with fury.
“He’s out,” Sheila replied nonchalantly. “Running errands, I think. He knows I’m here. We both agree this is what’s best.”
An angry woman | Source: Midjourney
What’s best?
Her words echoed in my head as I stood there, stunned. Derek hadn’t just let this happen. He’d invited her here.
I was still standing in the bedroom fuming when Derek finally came home an hour later, pounding up the stairs. Sheila had moved to the living room, probably sensing her presence would only add fuel to the fire.
“Lisa?” Derek said, stepping into the room.
His tone was confused, almost annoyed. “Why are you here?”
A shocked man | Source: Midjourney
“Why am I here?” I snapped. “Because Mary called and told me there was a woman in our room going through my things. Imagine my surprise when I found out it was your mother!”
Derek sighed like I was the one making this into a big deal.
“Lisa, calm the heck down. Mom is just here to help out.”
“Helping out?” I repeated, incredulous.
A close up of a woman | Source: Midjourney
“Yes,” he said, his voice maddeningly patient. “You’ve been struggling with… well, everything lately. Haven’t you? You only sweep the living room and the kitchen. The rest of the house is a mess. There are crumbs in the bed. And the fridge handle is always sticky.”
“That’s because you eat in bed, Derek! You choose to eat in bed like a madman, instead of just eating in the living room or dining room. As for the fridge, it’s sticky because of your peanut butter and jelly hands.”
Crumbs on a bed | Source: Midjourney
“Don’t blame me for everything, Lisa!” he barked. “I thought Mom could step in while we figure things out.”
“While we figure things out?” I repeated, my voice rising. “Is that what you think this break is about? You said this separation was to reignite our relationship, Derek. Not to invite your mother in to fix me like I’m some kind of broken appliance.”
Derek rubbed the back of his neck.
“Lisa, don’t twist this. You’ve been stressed lately, and Mom offered to help. That’s all. I didn’t think you’d react like this.”
A man holding his neck | Source: Midjourney
I let out a bitter laugh.
“Of course, I’m reacting like this! You didn’t even tell me. You moved your mother into our home. Into my bedroom! And let her throw away my clothes. How did you think I’d react?”
He groaned, clearly frustrated.
“Look, I didn’t plan for this to happen. It’s just… you’ve been so overwhelmed lately, and Mom knows what it takes to keep a proper home. She was trying to help you… help us.”
A man holding his head | Source: Midjourney
I stared at him in disbelief.
“You think this is helping us? You think letting your mother invade my space, disrespect my boundaries, and insult my choices is helpful? Derek, this isn’t a partnership. It’s control. And the fact that you can’t see that is even worse.”
Derek looked stunned like he hadn’t expected me to be so angry. But I didn’t care. I was done.
I grabbed a suitcase and packed whatever clothes Sheila hadn’t deemed inappropriate. Without a second glance, I walked out the door.
A suitcase in a bedroom | Source: Midjourney
That was three days ago. I’ve already contacted a lawyer.
Some people might think I’m overreacting, but to me, this wasn’t just about the invasion of privacy or the humiliation of having my mother-in-law throw away my belongings.
It was about Derek showing, loud and clear, that he didn’t see me as an equal partner in our marriage.
A lawyer sitting at his desk | Source: Midjourney
He didn’t want a wife.
He wanted someone to cook, clean, and keep the house like in the 1950s.
Well, that’s not me.
When Derek asked for a “break,” I didn’t know what he was expecting. But I’ll tell you what he’s getting.
A divorce.
A 1950s stereotypical housewife | Source: Midjourney
Now, I’ve moved into Penelope’s apartment while the divorce is sorted out. I can’t wait to have half of everything Derek owns.
He needs to understand what it feels like to have everything one day and then have the rug pulled out from under your feet when you least expect it.
“What was the worst part of it all for you, sis?” Penelope asked.
A cozy apartment | Source: Midjourney
“That my husband saw me as a failure,” I replied. “Our marriage wasn’t perfect, sure. But we weren’t in such deep water, you know? And Sheila always hated me. Remember when we were getting ready for the wedding, and she came and criticized my hair and makeup?”
My sister sighed and continued making the homemade pizzas we were having for dinner.
“I always knew Derek was the biggest mistake of your life,” she admitted.
Homemade pizza on a counter | Source: Midjourney
“What?” I gasped, almost knocking over a bowl of olives.
“I’m sorry, Lisa,” she said quietly. “But after you met him, you lost interest in all your hobbies. Where’s my sister who would paint anything she wanted? All she needed was a canvas and her paints.”
I was quiet for a moment.
“I didn’t realize,” I said.
A bowl of olives | Source: Midjourney
“Find her, Lisa,” Penelope said. “She deserves to come back.”
So, I did exactly that. I rented out a space for myself, making sure that there was an extra bedroom for my art studio.
Finally, I was going to shed Derek and Sheila from my life and find myself.
A home art studio | Source: Midjourney
Anne Hathaway Reveals an Incident That Made Her Choose Sobriety as She Celebrates 5-Year Milestone
Anne Hathaway achieved a significant milestone in her journey of maintaining sobriety. The 41-year-old actress revealed that she has been living a healthy lifestyle for five years. Hathaway also expressed her joy about reaching this milestone and shared an incident that helped her break the bad habit.
Hathaway brought up her sobriety, when asked about her thoughts on middle age.
In her new movie, The Idea of You, Hathaway played Solène, a 40-year-old divorced mom who finds herself in a romance with a younger man—a singer in a boy band, played by Nicholas Galitzine. During an interview about her new role, she was questioned about her thoughts on middle age.
Hathaway responded, “I don’t take it seriously. There are so many other things I identify as milestones. I don’t normally talk about it, but I’m over five years sober. That feels like a milestone to me.” She admitted that this problem was probably a method she used to deal with physical stress caused by feeling disconnected from her body.
What about an age, the actress said she feels blessed to be her age, “40 feels like a gift. The fact of the matter is, I hesitate at calling things ‘middle age’ simply because I can be a semantic stickler and I could get hit by a car later today. We don’t know if this is middle age. We don’t know anything.”
She also revealed an incident that made her choose sobriety.
The actress from Princess Diariesexplained that her choice wasn’t a criticism of this particular habit. “I knew deep down it wasn’t for me,” she said, mentioning how hard it was to explain to people that she wasn’t drinking at all in the beginning.
Eventually, Hathaway had a realization that made her stop being tough on herself for her decision, “If you’re allergic to something or have an anaphylactic reaction to something, you don’t argue with it. So I stopped arguing with it,” the star said, making it clear that she doesn’t judge anyone.
Hathaway’s choice to start a healthy lifestyle came as she was adjusting to being a mom of two. Her oldest son Johnathan just turned 8, and youngest son Jack is 3 years old. The actress mentioned that she made this decision for the next 18 years while her sons live in her house.
Talking about her eldest son, she opened up about an incident that made her think about quitting the bad habit, “He’s getting to an age where he really does need me all the time in the mornings. I did one school run one day where I dropped him off at school, I wasn’t driving, but I was hungover, and that was enough for me. I didn’t love that one.”
The Oscar winning actress also decided to cut out other unhealthy habits from her life as much as possible, like social media. “I make a lot of my lifestyle choices in service of supporting mental health. I stopped participating in things that I know to be draining or can cause spirals. I actually don’t have a relationship with myself online,” Hathaway shared.
Other celebrities who have been open about their sobriety.
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper has been sober since he was 29. In 2013, he said that he chose sobriety because he realized it was going to ruin his life if he kept going. In 2023, Cooper expressed gratitude for overcoming his bad habits, saying he feels “very lucky.”
Tom Holland
Tom Holland mentioned that he’s the “happiest I’ve ever been in my life” since he started his journey of sobriety. Holland admitted he definitely had a problem, “I was really, really struggling, and I started to really worry that maybe I had a problem. So I decided that I would wait until my birthday, which is June 1. I said to myself, ’If I can do six months without it, then I can prove to myself that I don’t have a problem.’ And by the time I got to June 1, I was the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.”
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson decided to become sober so she could be there for her kids, “I was at a place, and I was missing out on moments with my children, and then they were seeing me, and they were very confused.”
“I just wanted to be present and have clarity and be a good role model for my children, because I always wanted to be a good role model for the world,” she explained her decision.
Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe struggled a lot during the filming of the Harry Potter movies. In the interview in 2015, Radcliffe talked about his battle, “There was a period when I was transitioning out of ’Potter’ and entering the real world, where suddenly I didn’t have that stability anymore. I was quite distraught on the final day of ’Potter.’ I was really anxious. I was living by myself, and I think I was really scared.”
Lana Del Rey
In a 2012 interview, Lana Del Rey revealed her teenage battles, “That’s really why I got sent to boarding school aged 14. I knew it was a problem when I liked it more than I liked doing anything else.”
Anne Hathaway revealed the heartbreaking reason why she lost roles after an Oscar win. Click here to know the details.
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