always thought I had the perfect husband until I received that fate-ful letter. As a successful family therapist, I’ve helped countless couples resolve their issues. Never did I imagine such a huge problem hitting my own family. I found this odd letter titled “Truth About Your Husband.” Confident I knew everything about him, I opened it calmly. Then my heart started racing. Inside were photos I should never have seen. My husband, a bed, and… If it were just an affair, it might have been less painful. But no, it was deeper than that.
The woman in the photos wasn’t some stranger. It was someone I knew. Someone I trusted. My cousin, Marella.
I dropped the letter and backed away from the table like it was on fire. My hands shook so badly I had to sit down. Marella had been coming over more often lately, saying she was going through a rough patch and needed family around. I had no reason to doubt her. She brought wine, helped with dishes, even folded laundry like we were still kids at our grandma’s house. And my husband, Galen, always made her laugh. I’d thought it was harmless—family being close. I was wrong.

For two days, I didn’t say anything. I went to work, nodded through my sessions, told couples to communicate and trust each other, while my own trust was cracked wide open. At home, I studied Galen with new eyes. The way he looked at his phone and quickly turned it over. How he smiled at Marella’s texts but never told me what she said. The tight hug they shared last week suddenly played back in my mind like a scene from a movie I hadn’t realized I was watching.
On the third day, I confronted him. No yelling, no crying. Just the facts.
“I got a letter,” I said quietly. “With pictures.”