Mandy and Jack have always enjoyed their carefree, child-free marriage—exactly how they wanted it. They spent plenty of time with Jack’s childhood friends, going on group dates and adventures together. But recently, Mandy noticed that Jack had been keeping her away from certain events. Who or what was he hiding? The truth was about to unravel in a way she never expected.

 

Jack and I have been together for nine years, and our marriage has been the kind of story you’d recount with a smile—full of love, shared dreams, and countless adventures.

But about three months ago, things started to feel different.

We used to attend every event together, whether it was a work function or a gathering with his lifelong friends. Jack’s friends had been close since high school, having played on the same football team.

Recently, though, Jack started making excuses to leave me at home when these events came up.

“It’s just the guys, Mandy,” he would say while getting dressed. “Do you really want to sit around with them without the wives?”

To be fair, that didn’t sound appealing. As much as Jack’s friends had become like family, I knew a night with just the men would likely involve drinking, wings, cards, and maybe the occasional cigar.

So, I accepted his reasoning. Most of the couples had kids anyway, so I figured the wives were busy with their families.

Then one day, I ran into Kevin’s wife, Marcia, at the grocery store. Kevin is one of Jack’s oldest friends, and we used to see him and Marcia all the time—until they had twins, and we only met up at group events.

“Mandy!” she said, hugging me from behind. “How are you, dear?”

“I’m fine,” I replied, smiling at the twin toddlers in her shopping cart. “I haven’t seen you in forever!”

Marcia frowned slightly. “Jack told us you two were trying for a baby, and that you were taking hormonal shots. I didn’t know you were going through IVF! I would have been there to support you—you know that’s how we ended up with the twins.”

My jaw dropped. Why would Jack lie about something like that?

“How are you handling the shots now?” she asked, concerned.

“It took a while for my body to adjust,” I said, lying through my teeth.

“I hope this means we’ll see you at the next dinner!” she said. “I’ve missed having you as my partner in silently judging everyone.”

Next dinner? I thought. What else had I missed?

“You should have seen some of the outfits the other wives wore to poker night two weeks ago!” Marcia chuckled. “I was going to call you later and tell you everything, but I guess something came up.”

I forced a smile, hiding my confusion and frustration. This was Jack’s doing—Marcia was just repeating what he had told her.

“Yes,” I said, “I think my body just needed a minute to catch up.”

I had no idea if anything I said made sense because I didn’t know much about IVF.

But why was my husband lying about it?

I couldn’t figure out if it was his way of saying he finally wanted kids. But why would Jack tell his friends we were trying for a baby?

“He just doesn’t want you there,” I muttered as I walked to the cashier.

The drive home was a blur, tears streaming down my face as I tried to make sense of everything. I couldn’t comprehend what was going on.

At home, I sat on the living room couch, racking my brain for reasons why Jack wouldn’t want me at these events.

Was he taking someone else? No, that would be too risky. Surely, one of the wives would have let it slip.

Determined to get to the bottom of it, I decided to play detective.

I sat down with my laptop and accessed our joint calendar. Usually, when the group planned something, the invites went straight there. And there it was—an invite to a dinner for the following Friday evening, explicitly stating “wives included.”

I assumed Jack had been deleting previous invites he attended alone.

The RSVP hadn’t been done yet, so I RSVP’d for both of us, then removed it from the calendar.

On the night of the dinner, I presented it as a surprise for Jack.

“Date night, my love,” I said, getting dressed and doing my makeup.

“Fancy dinner?” he asked, eyeing my outfit.

“Yes! We don’t usually dress up, so let’s do it. Take some photos, enjoy the evening.”

I didn’t tell Jack where we were going—I just gave him directions as we drove. His brows furrowed in confusion.

My husband’s confusion morphed into shock as we arrived at the restaurant—greeted by an uneasy silence from our friends.

But the shock was mine to bear.

There, sitting among the familiar faces, was Jack’s ex-girlfriend, Sasha, not simply in attendance, but as the new bride of one of his closest friends.

The dinner passed in a blur of strained conversation and awkward glances. My stomach churned as I noticed the odd looks Sasha threw our way, and the way she directed the conversation to Jack specifically.

I didn’t know what to think. Yes, Sasha was there as a wife to one of the guys, but why had Jack kept it a secret from me? There was nothing wrong with her being in the group—she had every right to be there.

But why hide it from me? My mind raced, even considering the possibility that my husband was having an affair with his ex-girlfriend.

The drive home was thick with tension. Jack wanted to know how I found out about the dinner, and I wanted to know why he had been keeping me in the dark—not to mention the truth behind the IVF lie.

“Mandy,” he said slowly, choosing his words carefully, “Sasha joined the group recently. She and Mark got married—just a city hall thing. So, she’s back.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.

“Sasha thought it would be better to keep you two apart at these events. Remember the last time you saw each other?” he asked.

The last time we saw each other, Sasha had tried to trip me at a wedding rehearsal dinner. She was that petty.

My silence allowed Jack to continue.

“She said it made sense for her to be part of the group since she was in school with us.”

Which was when they dated.

“I don’t understand why you couldn’t have just told me, Jack,” I said. “Why let her decide? Most of the wives weren’t in school with you, but we’ve all gotten close.”

Jack remained silent, gripping the steering wheel.

“You should have told me first. You should have let me decide if I wanted to deal with Sasha and her pettiness.”

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“Or is there something else going on?” I asked. “You and Sasha—”

He stopped me before I could finish.

“No! Mandy, no! It’s definitely not like that,” he exclaimed.

When we got home, I washed my face and found Jack in the kitchen making me a cup of green tea—my usual bedtime routine.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated.

“We need to talk about something else,” I said.

“Yeah?” he asked, sipping his tea.

“Why did you tell Marcia about IVF?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I heard something about it on the radio, and when they asked about you, it just came out.”

I couldn’t help but giggle.

“There’s nothing more to the story?” I asked, wanting to be sure about the whole baby thing.

Jack and I had discussed it many times and decided we liked our lives as they were. We agreed that if we ever wanted to be parents, we would adopt.

“No,” Jack smiled. “We’re still on the same page.”

That night, I went to bed thinking about everything that had been confessed. I understood why Jack wanted to protect me from Sasha—she was petty and loved to taunt me.

But I couldn’t shake the thought of what might happen at the next event. Jack had promised not to hide anything from me again.

“I’m pretty sure Marcia will fill you in anyway,” he chuckled. “Did you see how excited she was to see you?”

The only thing left to figure out is why Jack lied about the IVF—I still don’t know how to navigate that one.