I don't know how to begin. But maybe this is the right time to tell everything. I am Marites, a legal wife—yes, I am the wife on paper, in the church, in the law. But in my husband's heart, it seems that I am not the chosen one.
Allan and I have been married for seven years. At first, we were like a tandem in everything. He dreamed, worked hard, and built our little family with me. But as time went on, I felt him slowly drifting away. Not immediately, but there was a coldness in his embrace, a question in his eyes every time our gazes met.
Until one day, I found out. There was another woman.
It hurts. It feels like everything I worked hard for and fought for was erased by a woman I didn't know. She was "Jen"—young, beautiful, and always well-groomed. But she wasn't just any girl next door. She was the woman the man who was supposed to be mine fell deeply in love with.
I didn't immediately make a scandal. I quietly gathered evidence. Receipts, screenshots, messages that weren't hidden. Until I reached the point of explosion—the anger of the legal wife.
One night, I confronted Allan. In the living room of our house, just the two of us, I told him everything. There was no shouting. But every word I said was like a blow to his chest.
“You destroyed the family. Not just me, not just you—but also our children.”
He didn't say anything. Maybe because he knew he had no defense. But it didn't end there.
The next day, I looked for Jen. Not to hurt her, but to finish her off. I confronted her there. In the very place where they often met—a small café on the edge of the city. I said simply:
"Did you know he has a wife and children? Did you know it was me?"
He was just quiet. He couldn't look me in the eye. But it was enough for me for him to know that I knew everything.
I don't know if things will ever go back to the way they were. But one thing is certain: I will not feed on pain. I will not let anger defeat me. I am the legal wife—and I am not the one who is finished, but them.
Now, I have learned to love myself more. Not to seek revenge, but to rebuild the personhood destroyed by betrayal. And if you ever experience this too, remember—you don't have to scream to be heard. Sometimes, the silence of a legal wife is the most painful of all.
