Derek was always the model of a loving husband and devoted father. He was always there for his family. Moreover, he worked hard, sometimes overtime, to provide a luxurious life for his wife and children.
From time to time, Derek had to go out of town on business, and his wife supported him and took care of the children while he was away.
One day when his wife was cleaning his car, which he usually did himself, she came across several pieces of paper and documents. Among them was a hotel receipt, and it dated back to when Derek had said he would be doing business with some of his colleagues. It was odd because the receipt was from a hotel in their hometown.
The wife thought there had to be a logical explanation for it, but she didn’t want to go into conflict with her husband. However, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t look into the matter further.
Determined to get to the bottom of the matter, she began to follow Derek’s comings and goings more closely. In the course of her thorough investigation, she collected every receipt she could get her hands on, whether accidentally left in his pockets or forgotten in his car. Although most of them were ordinary, representing everyday purchases, every now and then another receipt from the hotel would appear, and each one would send a little shock through her heart.
One day, when Derek announced another business trip, his wife decided to follow him.
As she drove after him, her heart skipped a beat when she realised he had stopped outside a hotel. There he met a gorgeous young woman. They kissed and laughed.
The shock of finding them so close and so intimate was overwhelming.
Fuelled by the adrenaline rush, she stepped out of hiding and came face to face with them. The expressions on their faces were a mosaic of shock, guilt and fear – all laid bare. Derek mewled, trying to explain something, but she wouldn’t listen.
She later learnt that Derek and his lover had been seeing each other for some time. What he didn’t know was that she was a fraud. After gaining his trust, she got him to open a joint account for their future life together, but ended up withdrawing every penny of it.
Once their relationship was exposed, Derek’s mistress took all the money and disappeared.
He was shocked. It was obvious he had fallen in love with her, but he had been deceived just as he had deceived his wife.
After their separation, Derek’s wife began to reassess every aspect of the years they had been together. Their once brightly coloured home now seemed changed, with a palpable void reflecting the impact of Derek’s choices on the marriage and the family’s financial security. The prenuptial agreement, once an insignificant piece of paper, had become a defence to preserve whatever was left for the children’s future.
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