Anna, 38, thought she had the perfect marriage. She and Dylan had been together since they were teens, and their bond felt unbreakable. But one person always lingered in the shadows: Kevin, Dylan’s elusive best friend. He rarely appeared, avoided Anna, and was never discussed openly. Even their mutual friends shut down any mention of him.
Then came the unraveling.
One night, while Dylan claimed to be fishing with cousins, Anna hosted a girls’ night. A friend scrolled past a photo of Dylan and Kevin—together in a hot tub, looking far too intimate. The post came from Dylan’s private account, filled with photos of him and Kevin on nights he’d lied about his whereabouts.
Anna confronted her friends. The truth hit like a freight train: Dylan and Kevin had been secretly dating since college, even before Anna and Dylan married. Everyone knew. No one told her.
Kevin hadn’t skipped the wedding out of indifference—he was hiding guilt. Dylan hadn’t excluded Anna from hangouts—he was protecting a double life. Anna was devastated, torn between the love she still felt and the betrayal she couldn’t ignore.
She ended her letter with raw honesty: “I can’t even think of leaving Dylan, because he’s such an ideal partner… But I also can’t stand being in a competition against Kevin, and this thought is killing me.”
