When my husband came back for the old mattress I threw out after discovering his affair, I thought he had lost his mind. But when I found out what he had hidden inside it, I realized his lies were much deeper than I imagined.
It was strange that he came for that old, lumpy mattress. I watched as he pulled up in a rented truck, looking like he hadn’t slept in days. His eyes were fixed on that mattress.
“What did you do to it?” he shouted, his voice urgent.
I crossed my arms. “It’s just a mattress. I threw it out, just like I threw you out.”
He went pale, clearly panicked. “I need it. Where is it?”
I almost laughed. “You need it? For your new girlfriend?” I shook my head. “It’s gone. The trash truck picked it up yesterday.”
His face twisted with anger. “You had no right!”
“I had every right!” I replied. “You cheated on me in our bed. What did you expect?”
Two weeks before, I found a lipstick stain on his shirt, a color I never wore. When I confronted him, he admitted the affair without remorse. My world shattered.
“Get out,” I whispered.
He left, and I started packing his things. Then I saw the mattress—the place where he betrayed me. I dragged it outside and dumped it. That night, I hoped he’d regret it, but he didn’t come back.
The next day, he returned, frantic, asking about the mattress. “Why is this mattress so important?” I asked.
His eyes were desperate. “I have to find it, Laura.”
I felt something was wrong. Later, I searched through the trash and found the mattress. Cutting it open, I found bundles of cash hidden inside—thousands of dollars.
I stared at the money, realizing he had been hiding it from me. I took the cash home, a mix of anger and empowerment filling me.
The next day, when he showed up again, I held up the money. “How long were you planning to leave me with nothing?”
He tried to explain, but I said, “I’m keeping it. It’s payment for everything.”
I locked the door behind me. The mattress had hidden more than I thought—it gave me the freedom to move on.
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