I Was Christmas Shopping With My Mother-in-Law When I Saw My Husband Holding Another Woman’s Hand—Then She Whispered, “Don’t React. Watch Me.”

A fictional wife.

Convenient.

I think emotional affairs often require storytelling.

You do not simply betray a real partner.

You create a version of them that makes betrayal feel more reasonable.

That was what hurt.

PART 54 — MY OWN STORY ABOUT JONATHAN

Then I noticed I was doing something similar after divorce.

Jonathan the liar.

Jonathan the coward.