Reddit Stories - DRAMATIC ENCOUNTER_ MYSTERIOUS Sting and Secrets Unveiled_

Episode Date: June 11, 2025

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #dramaticencounter #mysterious #sting #secretsunveiled #redditsecretsSummary: In DRAMATIC ENCOUNTER_ MYSTERIOUS Sting and Secrets Unveiled_, a thrilling tale unfolds as hidden truths come to light, leading to unexpected twists and turns that keep readers on the edge of their seats.Tags: redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, tifu, dramaticencounter, mysterious, sting, secretsunveiled, thrilling, hidden, truths, unexpected, twists, turns, readers, edge, seats, story, fictionBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6237355/support.

Spouse returned from the workplace sporting a questionable insect staying on her neck and behaving aloof. Upon questioning her, she eventually confessed to having been unfaithful with a colleague. I am a 27-year-old male. In a fight with my wife, 28F. We've had fights before but not this bad. I'm at a loss on how to proceed. For context, where college sweethearts married for almost six years. We have a daughter, for F.

Our relationship was never perfect or without challenges. We've faced some family opposition with cultural differences, but we've made it work. She's my first love and my best friend. My wife works in corporate. Her job is annual work retreats that last for about a week. This year was in Vegas. I usually arrange my work schedule and tag along with her, and we make our own trip out of it. We couldn't this year. Our daughter gets major anxiety traveling long distances. We're working on it, but she wasn't budging, and we decided to choose our battles. So I stood behind and held down the fort at home. The change of plans was a bummer because the trip was part of us reconnecting as both a couple and as a family. My wife's work hours have taken a toll, and her work slash life balance leaves much to be desired. We entertain the idea of her

skipping the retreat. Attendance is optional, but it's generally frowned upon if you don't, and my wife's making connections in her field. She grew increasingly weird. We have a system if either of us is away for extended periods. We keep in contact. For the first day or so, she was herself, but she grew distant. I'd even text her about important stuff and be left on read while she claimed she never saw my text. Whenever we talk, she was rushing me or our daughter off the phone. These were all times she wasn't involved in retreat activities. We were supposed to have a mini-birthday celebration for our daughter over FaceTime.

Our daughter was excited. It was something my wife promised her because the retreat overlapped her actual birthday. But my wife backed out because she had people up to her room after a seminar. It was like she wanted my permission to break her promise to our daughter. I told her I wasn't offering that nor making her keep her word. She said I wasn't being fair, and this was a networking opportunity. They were business-oriented and wouldn't understand her stepping away for family time. I said her decision is her decision, but she'd have to explain it to our daughter.

She promised her that she'd raincheck the following day. Our daughter didn't understand and cried. My wife ended up hanging up and leaving me to comfort our daughter alone. That whole incident rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't like it. She didn't keep her word for the raincheck either. She was documenting the retreat on social media. One co-worker, 23M, was almost in every pick slash video attached to her hip.

In one pick he had his arm too comfortably around her emo. He's a recent hire in my wife's department. She was asked to oversee him. I don't like the guy. He doesn't know boundaries. Once, in response to a work assignment, he texted my wife that she's exactly the kind of woman he needs to keep him in check. My wife had brushed it off. She feels bad for him because he's not fitting in.

She took him under her wing during his first retreat with the team. If I'd questioned, she'd say she was tired or networking. There was always something. But I've seen her at these retreats. This wasn't like her. She was just off. The day before her returned home, she complained about a bruise on her neck. She stressed it was a bug bite.

I didn't actually see the bruise until she came home. I instantly thought it was a full-on hicky. She kind of brushed it off after making a big deal of it over the phone. I didn't push because our daughter was present. But when I was able to confront her, she clung to her bug bite. claim. When I kept pushing, she asked what I was trying to imply. I outright said I believe she had a hickie, and I didn't believe she was being honest with me. We had it out then. She was offended and pissed at the accusation. Infidelity has always been a sore topic. Her family has a history of

infidelity. So we had a pretty bad fight, and she accused me of looking to pick a fight due to the incident with our daughter's birthday. I told her it had nothing to do with that and everything to do with the hickie on her neck. The fight ended in an impasse. We're still not recovered. She swears it's a bug bite. But I'm not convinced. I've always trusted my wife. I never doubted her, but this bruise doesn't look like a bug bite. It looks like a hickie. I only feel more strongly when I consider how distant and weird she was during the Vegas retreat. Now she's wearing turtlenecks ever since, and we're caught between arguing and her dowsing our daughter and me with affection. Communication usually prevails for us, but not now. I think my

accusation pushed us to a new level of argument. I'm at a loss here. I really need outside perspectives. How do I move forward? Comments where OPP has replied, football 10 fan, I'm not saying it's impossible, but I've never gotten a bug bite that looked like a hickie. Did she show you her phone or provide any proof that could support her innocence or just dismiss you? The extra affection is a common move from guilt-ridden cheaters. Even if we stretch the imagination and believe it is a big bite, she wasn't acting trustworthy nor was she a good mother while there was in Vegas and she needs to address and correct that. Oh, okay, no, I haven't had access to her phone.

We usually have an open phone policy, but it's not something we've ever really done. I'm sure it'll be another argument. Jepetchi, why did you go on work trips with her in the past? Did she want you to, or did you not want her to go alone? What is, and why is it necessary to have, the system when one of you is away? Whose idea was the FaceTime birthday celebration? Did she not talk to the daughter at all on her birthday or just couldn't do the FaceTime celebration? Oh, O-Opa, work-life balance was an issue, so she'd invite me on the retreats.

The system is for an extended periods away from each other like how long the retreat was. Especially since we have a child now the birthday facetime was my wife's idea. She promised our daughter and got her excited about it. No, she didn't talk with our daughter until she was calling to cancel. That's another reason the birthday stunt rubbed me the wrong way, update one. February 28, 2025. I, 27M, wanted to give an update and thank everyone who reached out. The outside perspectives helped. Things are a roller coaster. I'm trying to process. It took a while for my wife, 28F, and me to have any real conversation about the bruise on her neck. We were

stuck between arguing and her showering our daughter, for F, and me with affection. I rarely saw the bruise because she was turtlenecked up. But I did note the healing process from reddish-purple to yellow. There wasn't any more discussion about the Vegas retreat. She made it clear she was done talking about it and that she shouldn't need to defend herself to her husband. I told her she could do whatever she wanted, but I was done being treated like an idiot, and I wasn't sharing a bed with someone I couldn't trust. So I moved into the guest room. Communication stopped. The The silences were palpable. Even our daughter noticed.

I'm not proud of that. I try keeping her out of fights. My wife came to the guest room one night and asked if we could talk. I could tell she'd been crying. She said she hated the way things were between us. She felt she was losing me either way. I told her I needed complete honesty. She confessed she hooked up with that co-worker, 23M, on our daughter's birthday.

The hickie was from him. She was lost in the heat of the moment and didn't realize he was sucking so hard on her neck. By her account, they made out while doing some on top of the clothes stuff and then he went down on her. It stopped there because he called her by a nickname that I affectionately call her. It snapped her back to the reality of her actions. She went to splash water on her face and saw the hickie. The guy made light of it and made a joke about the hickie being her. her souvenir. She blew up on him and kicked him out of her sweet. Part of the reason she was

avoiding me was out of guilt. She said she's coming clean because she doesn't want to hide things anymore. I asked her why she cheated. What was it about that guy she deemed worth risking everything? She claimed it wasn't him specifically, nor is she unhappy with our marriage. She doesn't really know how to explain it, but a part of her feels broken. The more she looks in the mirror, the more she sees her dad, 57M. A cycle of being consumed with work, distant from child, and the infidelity he put her mom, 55F, through. She said her family never talked about anything openly and how when she was growing up, My Mill never addressed anything with her. I said her parents didn't make her cheat. She chose to party up with the guy who constantly

disrespected our relationship. These were all her decisions, and she had any point could have chosen our family. She agreed. She wants to blame her parents but realizes this is on her. She apologized for cheating and for entertaining the guy's advances. She said she'll do whatever it takes to repair. Go to HR, quit her job, counseling, anything. She wants to make everything right. I told her I don't know what right looks like or if that's possible for us anymore. I knew we had our problems, but I thought there wasn't anything we couldn't talk out. She insisted we still could talk it out. We didn't have to give up on us. She tried giving this rally cry for our relationship, but I felt very numb. I said I didn't recognize her. Not just the betrayal

of our vows, but also how she treated our daughter. She's like a stranger. She feels she failed as a wife and mom, but she loves us both beyond words and wants our life together and our family intact. I told her I couldn't give her the answer she wanted and thought we needed to separate and re-evaluate. She didn't want separation. She felt we should stay together in our home, but I told her a separation was happening. Either she was leaving the home or I was with our daughter. She consented to leaving so as to best not uprood our daughter so much. She asked for our daughter not to be taken away from her.

My wife's staying with my in-laws. I know that's difficult in itself because she doesn't have the best relationship with her parents. One of the hardest parts is the shift for our daughter. Right now, she believes her mom's just busy with work per usual. She hasn't questioned it too much. My mill called the other day. She made no excuses for my wife, but she's advocating for us to work through it. She told me times when she heard my wife describe me as the anchor she always wanted.

She believes there's something worth fighting for if I'm open. Despite some family opposition we face throughout our relationship, my mill was always a supporter of us. I'm even more at a loss. I never imagined this kind of betrayal for my wife. She was my safe place. I feel numb yet broken. I'm in love with her.

That hasn't changed. But I don't see myself, her, our relationship, or our family the same. Everything's more tense because it's fresh. I think this period of separation is for the best. I'm not sure about divorce. I haven't let myself fully go there. I'm not said either way. I don't know where things go from here, but I'm focusing on our daughter and taking things one step at a time.

I feel that's all I can do right now. Thanks again to everyone for the support. It's much appreciated. Update 2, March 14th, 2025. Thank you again to everyone. I, 27M, couldn't respond to every message, but everything's appreciated. I wanted to provide an update. Things have been a little chaotic with the new status quo after my wife's 28F affair,

but I'm taking everything one step at a time. My wife and I explained the separation to our daughter, for F, in simple, concrete terms and reassured her that we both still love her without going into the reasons behind the separation. Our daughter's always been an observant kid, but I don't think the separation has hit her yet. She doesn't see the difference between her mom not being home and her usual busy with work. During visits, she's more distant towards her mom and clings to me. My wife attempted to play with her on this toy set, but our daughter wasn't having it and shouted at her mom that she didn't want to play with her. The disconnect between my daughter and wife hurts in a way I'm still processing.

I knew my wife's work-slash-life balance took its toll. Pre-Vagas, we were supposed to be working on reconnecting, but just how fractured things are is a lot more apparent. Our daughter interacts very little with her mom and becomes quiet around her like she does with strangers. I feel at her age we, as her parents, should be who she's closest with and not this disconnected from her mom. Their dynamic is something I've been reflecting on. My main focus is making sure my daughter's okay through all of this. As far as between my wife and me, she's advocating for us to reconcile. She's expressed she wants to work on our marriage not solely for our daughter but because she loves me.

Her rally cries for our relationship are still falling flat for me. I can't give her what she wants right now. I told her I wish she would have given herself these rallies before cheating. She's adamant about the affair timeline and what occurred with the co-worker, 23M. They connected because she felt bad he wasn't fitting in. He kept flirting and treating her like royalty. It started feeling good on the rougher work days. They had an emotional affair even though she didn't label it as such at the time.

The EA turned physical during the retreat. She dissociated from her life back home while away in Vegas. She still swears they had sex only once. The Hickey came from foreplay, and while giving her oral, he called her my nickname for her, which shook her out of it. She snapped at him about his immature attitude with the Hickey and then kicked him out of her suite. She thought she could quietly end things and salvage our marriage. I asked her if she wore her wedding ring during sex with him. She confessed that she did.

Knowing this hurts like hell. To me, our wedding rings were a physical symbol of our love, commitment to our vows, and our bond. She tarnished our rings. I haven't been able to wear mine. It never hurts any less. There are just new levels to the hurt. She admits to contributing to blurred lines. She's now changed her number and claims to have cut contact with the co-worker.

She reported the affair to HR. The company has suspended both of them while they investigate the extent to which the affair impacted the department. Co-worker relations violate their policy, and it doesn't look good for my wife in terms of power balance since she was the guy's mentor. They're also calling into question if she gave him favoritism. Some have suggested I reach out to the co-worker. I've considered it, but I'm not in a place to. I feel a lot of anger towards him. He knew exactly what he was doing with the hickie and nickname stunt.

I wouldn't get anything from him except trouble. He's not worth it. I'm choosing to focus on my daughter. I've chosen to pursue marriage counseling. This isn't under the promise of reconciling, but as an assist in working through this separation as healthy as possible for our daughter. I'm still numb in a lot of ways. I never thought this would be how my marriage and family turned out.

I've seen it happen to others. I've heard stories. I thought I knew what it was like. But it's nothing compared to dealing with it yourself. I don't feel like the same person anymore. I don't know how everything will pan out. It's an uphill battle, but I'm trying to show up to the battle. It's the best I can do right now. Thank you to everyone who has reached out. I appreciate the support, really. Update 3. Thank you again to everyone who's reached out. I, 27M, wanted to provide an update. Things aren't easy. I don't expect them to be. I don't regret the decision to separate. It was necessary. In many ways, I feel like my hand was forced with the betrayal. I don't expect them to be. I don't regret the decision to separate. It was necessary. In many ways, I feel like my hand was forced with the betrayal.

trail and all the lies. I'm still finding my footing. I don't put people on pedestals, nor did I ever believe my wife's 28F, and my relationship was perfect. I just didn't think we'd end up like this after all this time together. While HR were still conducting their investigation on my wife and the co-worker, 23M, my wife resigned. Apparently she received pushback. Some of the top brass were pulling for her to stay on. I wasn't too surprised because she's always been a yes employee who gets the job done. She worked with the company back as an intern in college. She said she wants to prove that she's taking every possible action and cutting ties with the guy.

I don't know what the investigation result was for him. I don't care, TBH. It's not a concern of mine. We've officially begun marriage counseling. It's a new experience overall. I didn't know what to expect. We're mostly discussing our relationships' journey up to now, the affair, and what we want from counseling. My wife's position on how the affair began remains consistent.

She can't really explain it precisely. She wasn't unhappy with me, but a part of her feels broken. The undivided special attention became like a drug to her. The Convo kind of shifted to my in-laws. 57M slash 55F, my wife's family life, and the impact of my Phil's infidelity. She believed she's a reflection of her dad and how she is as both a parent and a spouse. As a parent, she tried convincing herself she was better than him by showering our daughter, for F, with gifts in light of her lacking presence.

As a spouse, she tried convincing herself she was better because the affair wasn't physical pre-Vagus. She thought as long as they didn't do anything physical, then she was better than her dad. That was something she told her a fair partner while in Vegas actually. They could hang out as long as it didn't turn physical. I feel like she had so many chances to choose differently. To choose us and our family, but she tossed our daughter and myself to the train tracks. Our relationship wasn't enough to stop her, our wedding rings weren't enough, and our crying daughter wasn't enough. She chose herself every time.

She was selfish. She mentions the nickname thing, making her snap back to reality as if it's supposed to make me feel better. It doesn't. I believe she only stopped at Oral because she got off and had no more need to go further. I wasn't on her mind. Telling me that I was as like trying to put a band-aid on a gunshot wound. I didn't plan to say half of everything I did, but there was no going back once the door was open during my turn to talk. She agreed and said she has no excuse for her actions. It's not her

parents, it's just her. She swore that she loves me and our daughter and wants to fight for our family. I told her that the I love you's fell hollow now. She shut out our daughter and myself to give an intimate part of herself to her co-worker. She said she realizes how much larger than just the affair our problems are. She struggles connecting with our daughter and worries about messing her up, so she left the primary caretaking to me. She believes I'm better at it. She said that there's nothing she can say to change anything, but she wants to show change through her present actions. That's some stuff we've dug through in counseling. We're still in the early stages, but I believe it's aiding in communication through separation, which is more

healthy for our daughter. Our therapist recommended individual counseling as a compliment. It's something I'm seriously researching for myself. Not much has changed with our daughter since the previous update. She still doesn't feel there's a difference between her mom being home or not. I've watched her go from talkative and playful to instantly completely silent when her mom came by. I've scheduled her for play therapy. I don't know what to expect from that either, but I'm hoping for the best. My main goal is being present for her.

I know I need to learn how to trust again in general. That's shot right now. Free Vegas, I never had a reason to doubt my wife. My trust was something she had as an irreplaceable partner. I've been betrayed before, but this one did a number in a way the others hadn't. I'm trying to stay afloat and focus on what I have rather than what I lost. I can't afford to get lost in myself. Thank you to everyone for the support and for sharing your own experience.

experiences. Talking about all this isn't easy for me, but I appreciate the openness.