Going on a trip with my sister was meant to be a refreshing break for me to reset and return to my small family of three revived. But instead, coming back turned into a nightmare! My husband of nine years betrayed me and our daughter in a way I couldn’t forgive and that caused us to leave.

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I never thought a quick two-day trip would be enough to unravel everything I believed about my marriage. When I left Friday morning, I felt content, even a little smug, thinking John and Lila would enjoy a weekend together. But when I stepped through the front door Sunday night, I was met with something completely different…

I’ll be honest, when I agreed to leave my daughter, Lila, with her father, John, for the weekend, I only had high hopes for their bonding. I pictured them making pancakes on Saturday morning, watching movies, and just having the kind of quality time they didn’t always get when I was around.

I was gone for a quick girls’ getaway with my sister, Tanya, but it was enough time for my husband and our daughter to end up with a destroyed bathroom door…

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When I got home on Sunday, the sight of Lila’s hug and John’s forced smile felt off from the beginning. My eyes immediately landed on the bathroom door. The top half of it was practically shredded as if someone had taken an axe to it!

Splintered wood was scattered on the floor, the door handle dangled loosely, and the lock was smashed into a heap of metal. None of them would tell me the truth about what had caused all the damage.

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“What happened to the bathroom door?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

I looked from my husband to Lila, hoping one of them would have an explanation that made sense. Instead, John looked stressed and shifted his weight while avoiding my eyes. Our daughter wasn’t any better, as her awkwardness about the situation was quite visible.

“Oh, it got stuck while I was in there, so I had to break it open,” my husband said, his voice low and unconvincing. “No big deal.”

I blinked, trying to process what he said before asking, “You got locked in? Why didn’t you call someone? And where was Lila?”

My daughter stood silently by the stairs, eyes glued to the ground. Normally, she would have jumped in with some sort of comment, something to explain away the weird tension in the room. But she didn’t. It was like she was a statue, rooted in place, and that made my heart race.

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“Lila, what happened?” I asked gently.

She glanced at her father and then back down at her shoes.

“Nothing. I’m tired. Can I go to bed now?”

“Sure, sweetie,” I said softly, my gaze still fixed on John. “We’ll talk about this in the morning my angel.”

After she ran upstairs, I turned back to my husband, waiting for a real answer. But he just shrugged and went to the living room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Something wasn’t right.

I knew John was hiding something, but I was too exhausted from the drive and the trip to press him. I needed a night to rest and figure out how to handle whatever this was. I figured I’d tackle it with him privately the next day.

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In my mind, I reckoned that maybe Lila had locked herself in, and was embarrassed by it. That’s why they were hiding it from me. With a lot on my mind, I decided to take out the trash before heading to bed, something John clearly hadn’t bothered to do.

The bags were overflowing, and a faint, unpleasant smell seeped from the kitchen. As I dragged them outside, I almost bumped into our next-door neighbor, Dave.

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“Hey, Taylor, I’m glad I caught you after your trip. There’s something I wanted to get off my chest,” Dave stated before I even had a chance to reply. “I’m really sorry for what happened,” he continued without taking a breath, his face etched with genuine concern. “I swear I didn’t know who was inside when I slammed the door into pieces.”

“But to be honest, that piece of [expletive] should pay for it!” Dave expressed in anger before catching himself. “Look, if you need someone to talk to, Taylor, I’m here,” he concluded his rant.

My confusion must have shown because Dave frowned and hesitated.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, feeling floored by his words, the unease in my stomach growing stronger by the second.

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Realizing that I didn’t know the truth and he was going to have to tell me, Dave looked away, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

“Look, I wasn’t trying to pry. Lila came running to my house on Saturday, crying, saying something was wrong with her father. She told me she heard strange noises coming from the bathroom and thought he was hurt or something.”

“She was so distressed that I didn’t even think about it and rushed over and heard, well, I heard banging and other sounds. I thought something terrible had happened, so I did what I thought was best… I forced the door open after fetching my ax.”

I stood there, holding my breath. “What did you see, Dave?”

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His eyes met mine, filled with sympathy.

“John wasn’t alone. There was a woman in the bathroom with him. They both screamed at me to get out.”

My blood turned to ice…

My legs wobbled, and I had to grip the side of the trash can to stay upright.

“What… what did Lila see?”

“Nothing, thank God. She was too scared to go near the bathroom. I pulled her outside and told her to stay with me until things calmed down.” Dav