My husband and I had been married for eight years, living with his in-laws and his younger brother’s wife, Thu. Life seemed peaceful, but as time went on, I began to feel more and more that something was wrong.
My husband – the once cautious and thoughtful man – would come home late, his phone was always in front of him, and his clothes always smelled of a strange perfume. I didn’t want to be suspicious, but my husband’s intuition was troubling me.
One morning, while he was taking a shower, I was about to take his jacket to wash when I suddenly discovered a pair of black women’s socks in the bag. I had never worn those kinds of socks before, and they didn’t belong to my mother-in-law or sister-in-law.
I was stunned for a few seconds. My heart felt like it was being squeezed. But instead of getting upset, I just smiled weakly. After many years of being a husband, I understood that when men have problems, arguing is useless. We have to let them show themselves.
That afternoon, I took a jar of herbal itching powder from the cupboard, which I had used to repel insects in the garden. I gently sprinkled some on the other pair of socks, then put them back on – intact as if no one had touched them.
That night, he came home late. I pretended to be asleep. He changed his clothes, took those socks, and went out. A cold feeling crossed my mind: would he know anyone?
Around midnight, my phone rang. It was the district hospital. The nurse’s voice was startled:
– Are you Mr. Hoang’s wife? He and a woman named Thu are in the emergency room due to a severe allergic reaction!
I was stunned.
Thu… is my sister-in-law!
I clutched my phone, my whole body shaking. My head was spinning. My husband… and my sister-in-law?
When I arrived at the hospital, I almost fell over at the sight in front of me. They were both lying on the hospital bed, their skin red and swollen from an allergic reaction. The mother-in-law was crying, and her younger brother was screaming like a madman:
– You two… you two betrayed me?!
No one said a word. I just stood there. A nurse pulled my arm and whispered:
– They had an allergic reaction to a chemical that came into direct contact with their skin… probably from the fabric or socks.
I was shocked. It turned out to be those socks…
I didn’t expect my little experiment to reveal such a naked tragedy.
The next day, when she woke up, she held my hand, tears streaming down her face:
– I’m sorry… it’s all my fault. Thu is weak, I’m stupid, but I didn’t mean to leave you.
I looked at the man who had been my everything, and I felt empty.
“If I didn’t know, you would still continue to betray me under this roof, right?” – I asked.
He bowed his head. There was no reason.
Thu was transferred to another hospital, her younger brother filed for divorce and then left the country. Her husband’s family was destroyed overnight.
A month later, she came to me, her body emaciated. She said she wanted to start over, that she had come to her senses, that she had only acted out of a moment of weakness. I was silent for a long time and then replied:
“You know, betrayal is not just an action, but when you bring the person you left behind to life in endless pain. I forgive to have peace of mind, but I can’t live my old life again.”
I filed for divorce.
No tears, no resentment. But in the end, I understand – there are wounds, even if they don’t bleed, enough to kill trust.
A year later, I moved to another city and started a new life. Sometimes, I still remember that rainy night, his eyes, and the choking feeling when I picked up the phone and heard the bad news.
But I don’t regret anything. Because of that tragedy, I learned something important:
Women don’t need revenge, they just need the strength to walk away from people who don’t deserve them.
As for the old socks – I kept them, not to hate, but to remind myself that:
Sometimes, the most painful thing is not losing a man, but losing the belief that he truly loves you.