Children see the world with a clarity adults often miss. At my father-in-law’s funeral, my 4-year-old son Ben noticed something I never would have—and it upended my life. Arthur and I had been married for six years. We met at a book club, where he made a sarcastic comment about Hemingway, and I laughed louder than I should’ve.
Two years later, we were married. Our life seemed perfect: a beautiful home, a sweet little boy, and a relationship built on friendship and trust—or so I believed.When Arthur’s father passed away, the funeral was huge. The reception afterward was filled with colleagues, friends, and family. I stepped away for a few minutes, leaving Ben with Arthur. When I returned, Ben had crawled under the tables, giggling.
I crouched down to get him, and that’s when he whispered something that stopped me cold:
“Daddy touched the lady’s leg. He said there were spiders.” “What lady?” I asked. He pointed to Rachel—Arthur’s father’s assistant and his longtime friend. I didn’t say anything then. But later that night, I asked Arthur if anything had ever happened with Rachel.
He denied it, of course. Said I was imagining things. I pretended to drop it—but I already knew the truth. What Arthur didn’t realize was that I still had access to his father’s old company email system. I used to help with logistics before James passed, and the passwords hadn’t changed.