{"id":2109,"date":"2026-01-25T03:49:55","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T03:49:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/?p=2109"},"modified":"2026-01-25T03:50:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T03:50:04","slug":"betrayed-in-my-grief-replaced-in-a-month-but-on-their-1st-anniversary-they-learned-that-karma-doesnt-miss-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/?p=2109","title":{"rendered":"“Betrayed in my grief. Replaced in a month. But on their 1st anniversary, they learned that karma doesn’t miss."},"content":{"rendered":"

“Betrayed in my grief. Replaced in a month. But on their 1st anniversary, they learned that karma doesn’t miss.<\/b><\/h1>\n

When I lost my baby at 19 weeks, I thought the worst thing I\u2019d ever face was grief. I had no idea my husband and my best friend were already sharing a secret that would shatter everything. But a year later, karma handed them a \u201cgift\u201d I never could\u2019ve imagined.<\/p>\n

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My husband, Camden, was always steady, predictable, and calm. He was the kind of man you could build a life with.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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After years of heartbreak, that was exactly what I wanted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When we discovered I was pregnant, the first person I told was Elise, my best friend since college.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He was the kind of man you could build a life with.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Elise was all sharp angles and blinding charisma, the kind of woman who was so effortlessly magnetic that you just wanted to be near her.<\/p>\n

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She was my chosen sister. My family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Honestly, her reaction to the news was bigger than mine. She bought miniature socks with whales on them before I was even 12 weeks along.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She was my chosen sister.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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She was the one who dissolved into tears when I showed her the first grainy ultrasound photo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But, at 19 weeks, the tiny, fluttering life inside me just\u2026 stopped.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Camden, my rock, my \u201csolid\u201d husband, cried for 20 minutes, held me tight for one night, and then never mentioned the baby again.<\/p>\n

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He started taking long, late \u201cwalks,\u201d and sleeping with his back turned to me like a concrete barrier.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I was drowning, and he was swimming away.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I was drowning, and he was swimming away.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Elise backed off, too, and that really stung.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When I asked why, she texted: \u201cIt just hurts to see you grieving. I\u2019ll come when I can.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Six weeks later, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Elise. I thought she was going to offer her support at last, but instead she dropped a bombshell on me.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cBig news!! I\u2019m pregnant!! Please come to my gender reveal next Saturday\u00a0\"\u2764\ufe0f\"\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cBig news!! I\u2019m pregnant!! Please come to my gender reveal next Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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I ran to the bathroom and threw up every ounce of bitterness and shock in my stomach. Not metaphorically, either.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ten minutes later, Camden walked in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When I showed him the text, his body locked up, his eyes went blank, and his mouth snapped shut.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI can\u2019t go,\u201d I said, still curled up beside the toilet. \u201cIt\u2019s too soon\u2026 it hurts too much.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What he said next shocked me to the core.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What he said next shocked me to the core.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cYou have to go, Oakley,\u201d he insisted. \u201cIt\u2019s important to her. You can\u2019t make this about you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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You can\u2019t make this about you.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I should have known right then and there that something was going on, but I was still wading through my grief, trying to get through it one day at a time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It never even crossed my mind that the two people I loved most in the world would betray me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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It never even crossed my mind that the two people I loved most in the world would betray me.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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The party was exactly what you\u2019d expect from Elise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It was held in a rented event space that looked like a Pinterest board had vomited pink and blue onto every surface. The cupcakes were stacked like monuments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When Elise saw me, she squealed like a tea kettle and threw her arms around me in a hug that was just a little too tight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWow! You don\u2019t look depressed anymore!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWow! You don\u2019t look depressed anymore!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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I wanted to choke on the air.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Camden separated from me faster than water from oil. I turned around just in time to watch him vanish into the crowd.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I tried to ignore it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When it was time for the big reveal, Elise grabbed the microphone and launched into one of the weirdest speeches I\u2019ve ever heard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Elise launched into one of the weirdest speeches I\u2019ve ever heard.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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She started talking about \u201cunexpected blessings\u201d and \u201csecond chances\u201d and how \u201cpeople who show up when life surprises you are the only people that matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At one point, she looked directly across the room. I followed her gaze, and guess what? She was staring right at Camden.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Before I could wonder what\u00a0that<\/i>\u00a0was about, she popped the balloon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She was staring right at Camden.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Pink confetti rained down. It was a girl.\u00a0Who cares?<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The celebration felt like a mockery, and I couldn\u2019t take it anymore! I walked outside, needing just a moment of quiet and fresh air to recenter myself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I was just about ready to return inside when I spotted Camden and Elise through a window. They were tucked away in a quiet hallway. I watched as Camden tenderly brushed his hand across Elise\u2019s belly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I spotted Camden and Elise through a window.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Then he leaned in and kissed her.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Not a friendly peck on the cheek, but a familiar, practiced kiss between lovers. Elise pulled him closer, her body molding to his.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I might have been too blind to see the signs before then, but it was crystal clear to me now that my husband and my best friend were having an affair.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I stormed inside to confront them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I stormed inside to confront them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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I burst into the hallway where I\u2019d spotted them, my scream tearing from my chest, loud enough to stop the whole party. \u201cWHAT ARE YOU DOING?!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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They jumped apart. Elise clutched her belly protectively and started crying. \u201cWe were going to tell you. It just\u2026 happened. Camden\u2019s the father.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Everything after that was a blur of noise and white-hot agony. I left. Camden didn\u2019t follow, and Elise didn\u2019t apologize.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I burst into the hallway where I\u2019d spotted them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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My marriage ended right there. Two weeks later, Camden and Elise moved in together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The fallout was predictable and swift. Half of our old friends cut me off, half cut them off. It was ugly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Camden\u2019s family was initially cold toward me, but then Elise posted a maternity photoshoot on Instagram showing Camden holding her belly like a trophy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That was the line.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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My marriage ended right there.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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His own mother sent me a simple text message: \u201cI raised a snake.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Good.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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They married quietly the day their daughter was born. They had the audacity to send me a birth announcement, which went straight into the trash.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I started to rebuild. Months passed, and I was just beginning to feel something like normal again when Camden\u2019s sister called me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I was just beginning to feel something like normal again when Camden\u2019s sister called me.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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She was laughing when I answered. \u201cOakley. Oh my God. Have you heard?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked, my blood turning to ice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cYou need to sit down right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cHarper, what happened? Just tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She snorted, trying to compose herself. \u201cI know I shouldn\u2019t be laughing, but this is biblical. I swear.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cYou need to sit down right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWHAT happened?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She exhaled shakily, and then, she laid it out for me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Camden had surprised Elise with a \u201cromantic getaway\u201d at a cabin in the woods for their first wedding anniversary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On the second night, Elise heard noises outside. Camden, ever the hero, mumbled it was \u201cprobably a raccoon\u201d and went to investigate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It was not a raccoon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Camden had surprised Elise with a \u201cromantic getaway\u201d for their first wedding anniversary.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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It was Elise\u2019s boyfriend.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That\u2019s right. Eight months postpartum, Elise was having an affair. While married to the man she stole from me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But that\u2019s not even the worst of it! Apparently, she\u2019d been telling him that the baby was his. She had been telling Camden the baby was his. Both men believed her.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cSo, what happened?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That\u2019s not even the worst of it!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWell, this man, Rick, or Nick, something like that, showed up at the cabin, ready to \u2018confront the truth.\u2019 He wanted her to leave Camden and move in with him. Camden and Rick started yelling at each other, and then this man pulled out his phone and started flashing TEXTS. Screenshots. Dates. Times. Photos. Everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I could barely speak. \u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Harper\u2019s next words made me almost drop my own phone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Harper\u2019s next words made me almost drop my own phone.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThey both drove off and left her there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Camden drove straight to Harper\u2019s house, crying his eyes out, begging for a couch to sleep on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI told him to sleep in his car,\u201d Harper said. \u201cHe ruined your life for a pathological, garbage human being, and he finally realized what he threw away. He cried and said, \u2018I deserve this, don\u2019t I?\u2019 And I said, \u2018Yep, you really do, buddy.’\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I thought that was the end of it, that I could finally move on, knowing that karma had gotten them both, but two weeks after the Anniversary Cabin Disaster, I received a letter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Two weeks after the Anniversary Cabin Disaster, I received a letter.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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It was from Camden. I debated burning it, but my curiosity won out. I tore it open.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Oakley, I know I can\u2019t fix anything, and I don\u2019t deserve your forgiveness, but I need you to know the truth before someone else tells you. I got a DNA test after everything happened. The baby\u2026 she isn\u2019t mine. She never was. I am sorry. Camden.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I took his pathetic letter, folded it neatly, and slid it into a drawer beside my ultrasound photo from that life that was never meant to be.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I tore it open.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Three months later, I got another call.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This time, it was Elise\u2019s mother. I almost didn\u2019t answer it, but for some reason, I did.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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And she told me something that made me sit down so fast I nearly missed the chair. Elise had abandoned the baby with her mother and left town. No forwarding address, no goodbye, nothing. She was just gone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cAnd the baby, Oakley,\u201d her mother whispered, her voice tired and sad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She told me something that made me sit down so fast I nearly missed the chair.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThis little girl looks nothing like Camden. Nothing like that Rick fellow, either.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Which means there might have been a third man. A third lie. A third betrayal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s been a year now. I\u2019m healing, but I\u2019m also dating someone new. He knows my whole story.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Sometimes people ask if I\u2019m glad karma hit them so hard, but honestly, I\u2019m just glad to be free of the toxic relationships I thought were built on love.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I\u2019m just glad to be free of the toxic relationships I thought were built on love.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Betrayed in my grief. Replaced in a month. But on their 1st anniversary, they learned that karma doesn’t miss. When I lost my baby at 19 weeks, I thought the … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-life-story"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2109"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2111,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2109\/revisions\/2111"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}