My wife, Camille, is as French as they come. We met in college while she was an exchange student studying International Politics, and we have been together ever since.<\/p>\n
Camille\u2019s parents live in France, but they visit us twice a year. I\u2019ve learnt a few weird words and phrases in French, but the language hasn\u2019t stuck with me.<\/p>\n
Aside than my ch\u00e9ri and other French foods, I don\u2019t know much. It\u2019s only been four days since my in-laws arrived, but I\u2019m already feeling left out at the dinner table when they\u2019re all speaking in French.<\/p>\n
So, I decided to invite my friend, Nolan to have dinner and meet Camille\u2019s parents. That way, I would also have someone to talk to. We\u2019re all gathered around the table, enjoying our bouillabaisse. Nolan and I were discussing an audit at work, while Camille and her parents were merrily speaking in French.<\/p>\n
Everything appears fine, right? Wrong.<\/p>\n
While we\u2019re talking about work, Nolan\u2019s face turns as white as a ghost, and he forcefully nudges my arm with his elbow.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo upstairs and look underneath your bed. \u201cTrust me,\u201d he murmurs desperately.<\/p>\n
My first reaction was to laugh it off, as it made no sense. But a glance at his wide eyes informed me this wasn\u2019t a joke.I said, \u201cExcuse me,\u201d to the table. \u201cI\u2019ll be right back.\u201d<\/p>\n
I reluctantly crept inside my bedroom, feeling as if I were entering a bizarre French noir picture. I lifted Camille\u2019s silver silk robe from the floor and leaned down to peek beneath the bed.<\/p>\n
My heart was racing like I was ready to have heart disease. But there it was\u2014a single black box.<\/p>\n
I opened the box with nervous fingers and hastily went through the contents, not knowing if Camille would come seeking for me. Then, in the bottom of the box, there found a series of images of Camille wearing almost nothing.<\/p>\n
My heart hammered harder, and nausea spread throughout my body.What have I just stumbled upon? I asked myself.<\/p>\n
As I was about to put everything back, the world turned black.<\/p>\n
It must have been hours later when I awoke in a hospital ward surrounded by vacant beds. The bright light blazed down on me as my eyes acclimated to the new surroundings and the pungent scent of detergent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWoah,\u201d I said, my throat scratchy.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when I spotted Nolan sitting next to me, his head leaned up on his arm.\u201cYou passed out in your bedroom, mate,\u201d the man remarked. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Then everything came back to me. Camille\u2019s box beneath the bed, my voracious curiosity, along with an accelerated pulse rate caused by a panic episode.<\/p>\n
But I did catch a glance inside the package. It turned out to be my personal Pandora\u2019s box. There were damning images of Camille, love letters to a man named Benoit, and trinkets, all of which contributed to a story of treachery.<\/p>\n
Camille was concealing an aff::air.\u201cYou were taking forever,\u201d Nolan explained. \u201cSo I followed you and saw you passed out on the floor. I shut the box and slid it back beneath before phoning Camille and an ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you know?\u201d I asked, remembering Nolan\u2019s war::ning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did French throughout high school, Chad,\u201d said the gentleman. \u201cDuring our conversation, Camille mentioned concealing things beneath the bed. \u201cI am sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Camille?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe stated in the cafeteria that she needed to stretch her legs. So she went to grab some coffee.<\/p>\n
I leaned back and remembered the letters my wife had been receiving.<\/p>\n
I was discharged the next day, and Nolan took me home. Camille fussed over me, preparing me a nutritious drink and ensuring that I was OK. Of course I wasn\u2019t. Nothing was okay.<\/p>\n
That afternoon, I had to put the record straight. I couldn\u2019t look at Camille and feel the same way I had before.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t continue in this marriage,\u201d I told Camille as she gave me a juice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d she inquired.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know about the black box under the bed.\u201d\u201cI can explain,\u201d she said, leaping up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw more than enough, Cami. I don\u2019t think your version of an explanation would change that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust listen,\u201d she said. \u201cMy parents set up the meeting with Benoit. They wanted me to be with someone French \u2014 to have completely French children.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her, wondering how she expected me to sit there and listen to more.\u201cSo, after they arranged it,\u201d she added. \u201cI\u2019ve met him. And we hit it off, and our relationship developed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want a divorce. \u201cImmediately,\u201d I answered, not wanting to hear anything further.<\/p>\n
Camille complained, accusing me of spying and invading her privacy. She threatened not to sign the divorce papers when they arrived, but I informed her there was no more love in our marriage after what she had done.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me another chance,\u201d she begged.<\/p>\n
But I did not want any of it.Camille opposed everything during the divorce process, from the house to spousal support, and even requested that I pay for her annual trips to France. I denied everything but the house. I didn\u2019t want to be there anymore. I\u2019m currently living in a bachelor pad closer to my office.<\/p>\n
Yes, I\u2019m heartbroken. But at least I\u2019m no longer living a lie. And that is freeing.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m also grateful to Nolan for telling me the truth and supporting me during the divorce.<\/p>\n
Now I\u2019m curious whether Camille will wind up with Benoit \u2013 I\u2019m sure her parents would be thrilled if she does.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My wife, Camille, is as French as they come. We met in college while she was an exchange student studying International Politics, and we have been together ever since. Camille\u2019s parents live in France, but they visit us twice a year. I\u2019ve learnt a few weird words and phrases in French, but the language hasn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnewsin34.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnewsin34.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnewsin34.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnewsin34.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnewsin34.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18257"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/topnewsin34.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18259,"href":"https:\/\/topnewsin34.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18257\/revisions\/18259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnewsin34.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/topnewsin34.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnewsin34.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topnewsin34.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}