Eliza thinks that Tom will whisk her away for a romantic retreat when it comes time for their tenth wedding anniversary. She converts it into a girls’ weekend when he needs to work and forgets their anniversary, only to discover that Tom’s business trip is actually a meeting with his mistress.
I had imagined us spending a romantic week there, wandering hand in hand, recreating Tom’s treasured recollections of his time spent there, ever since he first told me of Bellport’s seashore appeal.
My spouse had painted Bellport in such vivid detail since we were married that it appeared to be part of our marriage vows.
He’d sip his tea, leaf through a newspaper, and say, “Eliza, this is the most beautiful place.”
He assured me that we would travel every year, but there was always something going on in life—family issues, work commitments, and a never-ending stream of justifications.
“Darling, I apologize,” he would say. “I just have to take care of something that came up at the office,”
But then something inside me exploded when Tom ignored our tenth wedding anniversary.
Shaving, he added, “I have to leave town for the week.” It’s related to work. We are seeking out new customers.
I thought Tom would have reminded me to prepare for our romantic milestone and pack my luggage, but he completely forgot.
It had to end.
I had no intention of being a mere detail in my own romantic tale.
I then gave Jenny, my best friend, a call.
“My wedding anniversary is coming up, and we’re going away!” As she picked up the phone, I said.
“What?” She questioned, startled by what I had said. I could hear her drinking her go-to smoothie.
“That would irritate Tom!”
I told her that I was sick of being by myself and that Tom had to go on a business trip.
“Jen, get your bags ready,” I said.
I immediately headed to my closet and started packing my things. This was what I needed. I required some alone time. I opened my laptop and made a hotel reservation. We planned to laugh, heal, and get past the hurt of neglect this coming weekend.
Our first visit was the hotel that Tom had talked about so much.
Upon entering the lobby, which he meticulously detailed down to the ornate wall frames, my heart was filled with both excitement and a hint of melancholy.
Of course, I was glad to be here with my closest friend. However, it would have been so much better with lifelong memories if it had been with Tom.
Jenny said, “Let’s check in and leave our bags.” “And then stop by that place you’ve been talking about for the past hour to get some fish and chips.”
I then heard it.
Tom chuckled.
I glanced up and saw him standing across the room. My spouse, positioned in the lobby opposite me, his arm encircling a woman who was definitely not me.
It was a gut-punch kind of scene. He was there, sharing our dream with another person.
Initially, I wanted to charge into the lobby and confront them. However, rage gave way to a more calculated, icy tactic.
For this, after ten years of marriage? Was this a significant business trip for Tom?
Yes.
I took out my phone and began secretly recording them, catching their private glances and giggles, everything that rightfully belonged to me.
“Eliza, are you okay?” Unaware of what I had just seen, Jenny questioned me.
I gestured to Tom and said, “Look.”
Jenny gasped and put her hands to her mouth.
Emboldened, I walked up to the front desk.
I introduced myself as Mrs. Cooper. “You’ll notice that my spouse, Tom Cooper, checked in? I wanted to surprise my spouse because it’s our anniversary weekend.
The buyer was the woman behind the counter. She smiled at me and said if I could show that we were married, we would have free couple massages.
Subsequently, she handed me his room key.
I entered and recorded everything I could see, including their scattered garments, the champagne on ice, and the distinct atmosphere of a romantic retreat.
Jenny encouraged me to walk around Bellport’s streets. Anyone who was willing to see the video was shown it by us.
“How do you feel about a man who takes his mistress instead of his wife after promising her a romantic weekend?” I inquired with the locals.
Jenny recorded every response while I was speaking. Many expressed amazement and hurt for me; some even showed sympathy.
And as I got to know more individuals, I discovered that people weren’t simply against Tom; they also shared their own experiences with betrayal, which helped me relate to their suffering.
Jenny quickly edited our footage into a short film on her laptop as the two of us went back to our room and ordered room service.
Bellport: A Betrayal of Forgotten Promises.
We then posted it online and tagged Tom in it on Facebook.
Overnight, it became extremely popular. And as the outcry against Tom grew, so did the support.
Tom phoned me out of the blue after watching the video.
“Eliza!” he yelled. “Take it down! It’s not fair!
“Tom, it’s too late,” I calmly answered. “The truth is out there at this time.”
Tom continued, ranting on the phone about his problems.
“Why doesn’t he simply come look for you?” Jenny enquired. “We stay at the same hotel,”
That escaped my understanding as well. However, Tom appeared to be quite content to spend time with his mistress. I was aware that she was with him, most likely consoling him while my actions were upsetting him.
I told Jenny, “I’m not sure.”
After ending the call, Jenny and I headed out into the streets, prepared to drown our sorrows in ice cream.
Suddenly, as we were strolling, I received a call from a travel agency. After watching our short video, they extended an employment offer to me to work on “Truthful Travelogues.”
A woman named Natasha informed me, “You’ll just have to do exactly what you did for your short film.” “A laptop will be sent to you so you can edit on it as well.”
All of a sudden, I was more than just another despised woman who had to suffer in quiet while she waited for her husband to notice her. I was now a storyteller, creating genuine stories in stunning settings.
However, Tom’s life started to fall apart. His integrity was questioned by clients and coworkers, which damaged his professional reputation.
He was supposed to keep that journey to Bellport a secret, but it ended up becoming his undoing in public.
Some of the children who lived on our block even egged his car, which was unfair.
I moved in with Jenny shortly after I got back home and packed up everything. There was no one else I wanted to remake myself with, and she was single and my unwavering support.
The trip to Bellport wasn’t at all what I had anticipated, looking back. It was supposed to be a romantic getaway with my spouse, but it ended up becoming a girls’ weekend instead.
only for my marriage to start falling apart as a result.
I’m not sure if what I did was the best even now, but I had to take the necessary action. I had to call Tom out for the liar he was.
Ultimately, I had to regain my own authority. I could not continue to live under the shadow of Tom’s dishonesty and work.
I now have to try to start over as a freshly single woman who is prepared to receive her just desserts.
How would you have responded in that situation?