Sharing two true stories of friends, using pseudonyms A and B for privacy protection.

A and her husband met through a friend’s introduction. At the beginning of their relationship, the man was very attentive and treated A like a princess.

A’s husband studied medicine at a little-known medical school. After graduation, he worked at an unlicensed cosmetic surgery clinic, performing minor procedures like double eyelid surgery, eye bag removal, and wrinkle treatment. While plastic surgery was a lucrative industry, his share as a junior surgeon was minimal.

A’s mother was once the chairwoman of a company, but after business setbacks, she didn’t give up and opened a small beauty salon with A. Although not wealthy, it was better than the man’s family environment.

Their relationship quickly deepened, and the man proposed to A, who gladly accepted. Who wouldn’t want to be treated like a princess for life?

Despite her mother’s concerns about the man’s low income and marital readiness, she agreed to the marriage due to her remorse for not being there for A. A’s mother contributed financially to buy them a house. The man quit his job at the clinic and started helping at A’s and her mother’s beauty salon.

A’s mother hoped the couple would run the beauty salon together and live a stable life. She planned to exit the business and explore other ventures.

A became pregnant a year later. Experiencing severe morning sickness, she rested at home, while the man managed the salon. She promised her mother to manage the accounts, but she only casually asked her husband about them when he returned, without checking them thoroughly.

A felt her mother’s business experience made her distrustful of people.

After the child was born, A devoted all her time and thoughts to their child, leaving the salon entirely to her husband. She believed he could handle it. However, their business suffered over the next two years, and the salon’s profits declined. A didn’t want to pressure him.

During their child’s first birthday party, A received an expensive gift with a name she didn’t recognize. When she asked her husband, he claimed it was a gift from a friend to show gratitude for past help.

Soon after, a woman approached her, revealing that she had been with A’s husband for over a year, starting from A’s pregnancy. A couldn’t believe that the honest man who always obeyed her had cheated on her. The house and the salon were bought and owned by her. Did he not care about everything she had given him?

The man knelt, claiming it was a moment of folly and that he had felt oppressed by A’s mother’s judgment and his lowly background. He suggested a temporary divorce, taking their son with him, as he believed another woman wouldn’t want to be with him. He promised to return once he was successful and remarry her in style.

He cried all night, acting like the victim of the affair.

A cried all night too, feeling that her husband had it tough and should be given an out. She agreed to his request and gave him custody of their child.

The next day, A’s mother learned that her daughter had signed the divorce agreement. “You’re such a fool. How could you be so confused?” A realized she had become aware too late. She found that the salon’s accounts showed consecutive months of losses, with all the money going into her ex-husband’s pocket.

Clearly, the divorce had been planned long in advance. A was heartbroken and devastated.

B and her husband were high school classmates. He had pursued her ardently, and after many years, they were brought together at a class reunion.

After getting married, B discovered that her husband, who held the position of general manager at a company, rarely went to the office. At 28, he still slept in and treated his office visits like a stroll, making a brief appearance before leaving.

His parents couldn’t control him, and despite giving him a relaxed job, they hoped he would mature soon.

Two years later, B gave birth to a daughter. She expected her husband to grow up now that he was a father, but he continued his carefree ways, attending various dinners every night.

In order to secure a good school for her daughter, B bought a house next to the city’s best school. However, her husband complained about being awakened by the school’s announcements every morning and refused to move there, citing the small size of the house and the inconvenient commute.

B knew he had been spoiled by his parents and was self-centered, always putting himself first. She and her daughter moved into the school district, visiting him on weekends.

One weekend, B noticed that her husband’s towel was as dry as hers, indicating that it hadn’t been used for days. She was taken aback, believing that he, though playful, would know where to draw the line and wouldn’t disrespect their marriage.

A few days later, B drove to her husband’s building and saw no lights on at night. She called her husband, but he didn’t answer. When he called back, he claimed he had just taken a shower.

The next day, she stayed downstairs at the apartment complex, waiting until her husband’s car returned at 11 p.m. She called him to remind him to sleep early and drink less, but the house remained pitch dark.

The following day, B didn’t go to her in-laws’ company and continued waiting at the apartment complex. After three days, she finally saw her husband’s car return.

She didn’t react and continued waiting. After a while, her husband left again. She followed him in a taxi this time.

His car stopped at a mixed residential and commercial building near the Second Ring Road. She waited and saw him enter a unit on the 17th floor.

She followed him and saw the elevator stop at the 17th floor, which had six units. She waited, pretending to talk on the phone with her daughter and telling her husband to pick her up for dinner.

Soon, she saw the door of unit 1702 open. She hid in the stairwell, not daring to show herself. She took another elevator downstairs and saw her husband’s car start up.

In the following days, she searched for rental information online and by chance, found a rental unit opposite 1702. She paid a high rental price to the agent, claiming it was urgent.

She had a sign made for an advertising agency and installed a surveillance camera at the door.

As the month neared its end, she had the camera installed. The footage showed her husband being intimate with another woman in the apartment.

She called her in-laws for a meal and asked her husband to join them. He suggested changing the location, but she refused, demanding he arrive within 20 minutes.

When everyone was present, she asked her husband why he hadn’t invited the woman from 1702. His face turned pale.

She agreed to the divorce, refusing to acknowledge the affair as an isolated incident. She hoped to minimize the damage to herself.

Her mother-in-law felt guilty and offered B $1 million in compensation, hoping she would bring her daughter to visit them more often. B used some of the money to enroll her daughter in a daycare center, which also allowed her to take care of her.

In marriage, it’s important to be understanding but not naive. We shouldn’t be overly suspicious, but we also shouldn’t blindly find excuses for our partner when faced with various evidence and clues.

If a man doesn’t think cheating is wrong, doesn’t care even when hinted at, can we forgive him so easily?

Trust and honesty are the cornerstones of marriage. This trust is based on mutual respect, responsibility towards the family, and the partner.

Once one party starts to deceive or cheat, the trust in the marriage is destroyed, and love is lost with it.

Love is easy, but marriage is not. Please cherish the fate of being together. If you’re betrayed, may you, like B in the story, minimize the damage to yourself.