I Followed My Husband to Quiapo Because I Thought He Had A Mistress—But The Real Secret He Was Hiding Was More Than Love/th

It was a hot afternoon when I began to get nervous. For the past two months, my husband Marco has not been the same. She always has a reason to go home late at night, always holding a bag she never shows.

I ask, but he always answers:
“This is just work, Liza. Don’t think anything anymore. ”

But as a wife, I feel something is wrong. My suspicion intensified the other night, I smelled a strange perfume on her polo—woman’s fragrance, not mine.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I decided to follow him.

—

Friday night, he said he had an “overtime meeting.” I quietly followed the jeep he was in. My chest feels heavy as he walks to the crowded road of Quiapo.

I saw her there—met a woman under the footbridge. Young, fair, beautiful. He was holding a bag and smiling when he saw Marco.

It feels like my world is crumbling. Omg she has a mistress.

I can feel from a distance as they speak. I’m even more heartbroken to see them go into a small nursery together. They ordered food, laughing, like lovers.

I’m holding my bag tight. I need to deal with him.

—

When I approached, my voice exploded:
“Mark! What is this?! Is this what you do every night?! ”

Marco’s eye dilated, he almost spilled his coffee. The girl, touched her chest, obviously shocked too.

“Liza! ” Marco is approaching immediately. “You shouldn’t have seen this… not yet today. ”

“Not yet now?!” ” my head almost exploded. “You mean, you’ve been fooling me for a long time! ”

But before I completely disappeared, the woman suddenly spoke. His voice is weak but I feel the weight:
“Until… not. This is not an affair. ”

I got a look. He was in tears while taking some paper out of the bag.

—

Marco opened the envelope and placed it on the table. Pictures. Kids. Five kids, scratched, smiling while eating porridge on the sidewalk.

“They’re orphans, Liza,” he explained, voice shaking. “I saw them once on my way home. Every night, they come up to me, asking for change. But instead of coins, I return them, bringing food. ”

My eyes just got bigger. I don’t know what to think.

He taught the girl.
“She is Grace, social worker. He’s been taking care of these kids for a long time. I’m working with him. The money you think I’m spending on other girls, here it goes—on food, supplies, and uniform for them to go to school. ”

I caught a cold. Time seems to have stopped suddenly. The pain I have accumulated in my chest, gradually replaced by shame and amazement.

Grace smiled and carried on:
“Ma’am, this is supposed to be a surprise. Brother Marco wants to adopt two of them. He has been saving and taking care of paperwork for a long time. His plan is to tell you when the requirements are complete. ”

—

Got me covered in the mouth. I can’t stop crying. While I thought he was cheating on me… the truth is, he’s fighting to be a father of children with no family.

Marco is holding my hand.
“Liza, I know we have been praying for a child for a long time. Maybe this is the answer. I didn’t say it right away because I want everything ready before I surprise you. ”

I hugged her so tight, my body shook with emotion. “Baby, please forgive me… I was thinking wrong. I thought you’ll lose me, but the truth is, I loved you even more. ”

—

Several months later, two children—sisters Junjun and Maya came home. Skinny, shy, but by our first dinner, I immediately felt—our home was complete.

And whenever I think about that night in Quiapo, I laugh and cry. The night I thought would destroy our family… He will be the one who will give a new family that we have been waiting for so long.