When my son was 5 or 6, he would call a news reporter on TV “Daddy!” My wife would grin and tell me that children live in their own world. I just chuckled. Years later, the same anchor, that guy, came on television. I joked, “Come see your TV dad!”
My kid became pale, but before he could respond, my wife began coughing and requested him to bring her a glass of water. But my kid turned to me and exclaimed, “It’s time he learned the truth!” and added, “Dad, this man is—or was—Mom’s boyfriend. She used to take me to see him when I was a child.”
My wife burst out crying and said it was real. She described it as a fleeting fling that lasted several months. She told me she was feeling vulnerable at the moment, and I was so preoccupied with work. When someone prominent and on TV expressed interest in her, she got caught up in it. I was shattered. It feels as if the life I created with her was all a lie.