My Husband Moved My Mother's Grave For His Mistress

On the eighth anniversary of our marriage, I was driving my daughter to school when my phone rang. It was a follow-up call from a luxury hotel. "Is this Mr. Julian Vance? Your wife, Chloe, left her diamond ring in the penthouse suite." I froze. Julian Vance was my husband. Chloe Sinclair was my best friend. Panic clawing at my chest, I rushed to my brother, Nathan, begging him to help me look into it. But Nathan wasn't surprised at all. He just looked at me with a calm, pitying expression and sighed. "Summer, they already have a child together. Just pretend you don't know." "Julian was only trying to protect you. That’s why he asked us to keep it from you." A cold sweat broke out over my entire body. Before I could process his words, someone else chimed in. "He’s right, Summer. Don't blame Chloe." "You’re both mothers. Try to show her some empathy." The speaker was my sister-in-law, Penny. She was also supposed to be my other best friend. And now, she was telling me to forgive a mistress and her bastard child. It turned out that in family, friendship, and love, I was nothing but an outsider. ***

Seeing the dead silence in my eyes, Nathan tried to persuade me with a heavy heart. "Summer, you're not young anymore. Besides, you have Lily to think about." "Take my advice. Close one eye and get on with it. A compromised marriage is still better than ending up single and lonely." This was my own brother. My flesh and blood. And here he was, actively helping my husband deceive me. Penny stood beside him, gently grabbing my wrist with a practiced, placating smile. "Exactly, Summer. At our age, where are you going to find the leverage to start over?" "Chloe didn't have a choice back then. When her family went bankrupt and got buried in debt, she was cornered by shady loan sharks. Julian bailed her out. She had nothing to offer in return, so she could only..." A sharp pain stabbed through my chest. Since our college days, Penny, Chloe, and I had been inseparable. We had sworn to be sisters for life. But now, knowing full well that Chloe was the homewrecker, she was still taking her side. People are biased. It didn't matter that I had once taken a bottle to the head and got eight stitches to save Penny from a group of thugs. None of it mattered now. I violently shook off her hand and said coldly, "Penny, from this day on, we are done." She gasped, startled. Before she could speak, the office door was flung open. Julian walked in, his face dark with fury. He stared straight at me. Nathan and Penny quickly took the hint and slunk out of the room. Only the two of us were left in the tense silence. Julian walked up to me, his voice deep and demanding. "Summer, what exactly are you trying to achieve by making a scene here?" In all the years we had known each other, this was the first time he had ever looked at me with such cold indifference. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I choked out, "Julian, what did I ever do to deserve this? You’ve been sleeping with my best friend behind my back, and you even have a kid with her?" Seeing the tears in my eyes, Julian's expression softened slightly. He sighed, pulling me into his arms. "Summer, don't worry. She will never replace you." My eyes stung. I stubbornly pushed him away. I refused to share my husband with another woman. Julian’s brows furrowed, his patience thinning. "Summer, if we go to court, I will fight for Lily's custody with everything I have. You know how that will end. Do you really want her to suffer poverty with you?" I stared at him, my mind blank. The boy I had loved since we were teenagers was now threatening to strip me of my daughter. Seeing me hesitate, Julian's tone softened a fraction. "Just live your life quietly. You and Lily will be taken care of forever. To the world, you will still be the glamorous Mrs. Vance." I hid my resolve deep inside and nodded slowly. From that day on, I pretended everything was back to normal. I picked Lily up from school, cooked, and smiled. I stopped questioning Julian when he stayed out all night. I stopped leaving the porch light on for him. Instead, I quietly hired an investigator to gather evidence of his infidelity. Until one day, a familiar figure appeared at my door. It was Chloe. We hadn't seen each other in a long time. She looked slightly anxious, standing on my driveway. For years, I had genuinely believed Chloe had a hard life. When she got pregnant out of wedlock a few years ago, she lived alone. I felt so sorry for her that I practically raised her child myself, buying most of the baby supplies. I had even begged Julian to help her out financially. Looking back, it was a joke. They didn't need my permission to be together. Chloe stepped forward, her voice soft. "Summer, can we talk?" I stopped in my tracks and looked at her blankly. "Say what you have to say." She bit her lower lip, glancing nervously at the passersby, and whispered, "Things weren't supposed to go this far. Julian and I... we've been together for years. The kids are growing up. I just want us to coexist peacefully." "I never wanted to ruin your life. But love... love is something we can't control." Listening to her pathetic excuses, I let out a dry, mocking laugh. "Cut the act, Chloe." I stared at her, a sudden realization hitting me. "Julian cheated on me with you during my second month of pregnancy, on my birthday, didn't he?" ***

Chloe's pale face gave me all the answers I needed. On that birthday, Julian had promised to come home early. I had waited all night with the positive pregnancy test in my hand. He didn't return until dawn, covered in cuts and bruises. I had panicked, trying to take him to the ER, but he had pulled me tightly into his arms, whispering, *“Summer, don't move. Just let me hold you. I missed you so much.”* It wasn't love. It was just the guilt of his first betrayal. Every red flag I had ignored over the years began to flash in my mind. No wonder Chloe had moved to a new apartment right after that night. She had claimed she was being stalked and a "good Samaritan" had saved her. That savior was Julian. "Summer, we can still be friends," Chloe said, reaching out to grab my hand like she used to. I flinched away. I let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Friends? The kind who sleep with each other's husbands?" Suddenly, a splash of cold water hit my face. Water dripped from my eyelashes. I looked up to see Penny standing there, holding an empty cup, her face flushed with anger. "Summer, do you think Chloe is having an easy time?" "Privileged princesses like you will never understand what it's like to struggle! No wonder you’ve never had any real friends!" A sharp pain stabbed at my heart. I swallowed my tears and forced myself to stay quiet. No. I couldn't ruin my plans now. Just then, Julian appeared. He handed me a napkin. His tone was patronizing, like he was dealing with a toddler throwing a tantrum. "Summer, stop making a scene. Lily is waiting in the car." All my rage was sucked dry. Right. I still had my daughter. Now was not the time to blow everything up. As I turned to leave, a stray dog suddenly charged out of the bushes toward us. In a split second, Julian didn't hesitate. He threw his body over Chloe. He shielded her in his arms, shouting at the dog. Terrified by his yells, the dog swerved and knocked me to the pavement. I hit the ground hard, scraping my hands and knees. Fortunately, a security guard ran over and tackled the dog. Julian gently helped Chloe to her feet. He didn't even look at me as he muttered, "Are you okay?" Before I could answer, he added, "I'm taking Mia to the theme park tonight. I won't be home." The evening wind blew, freezing the sweat on my skin. I shouldn't have expected anything else. I dragged my bruised body to the car. As soon as I opened the door, Lily threw herself into my arms, her small voice filled with confusion. "Mommy, why did Daddy protect that lady instead of you? You were closer to the dog." Even a five-year-old could see it. But he chose to be blind. Choking back my tears, I stroked her hair. "Because Daddy is farsighted, sweetie. He can only see things that are far away." My daughter nodded, trying to understand. For the next week, Julian didn't come home. Then, out of the blue, he called me. "Summer, Chloe has been terribly sick lately. We’ve been to every hospital, but the doctors can't find anything physically wrong with her." Before I could speak, his voice turned ice-cold. "I had a spiritual advisor look into it. He says the root of the problem is at the cemetery. Your mother’s grave is too close to Chloe’s mother’s grave. The conflicting energies are making Chloe sick." My fingers gripped the phone so hard they went numb. "What are you talking about?" "Move your mother’s grave." ***

Julian’s tone was completely matter-of-fact, devoid of any guilt. "Do it as soon as possible. Stop dragging Chloe's health down with your stubbornness." His words felt like a heavy blow to my chest, stealing the air from my lungs. When Chloe was in middle school, she and Penny used to come to my house all the time. My mother knew Chloe loved beef stew, so she made it for her every single time she visited. Later, when Chloe’s mother died of illness, her family was already bankrupt and couldn't even afford a decent funeral. It was *my* savings that paid for her mother’s burial. Neither my mother nor I had ever done her wrong. But now, she wouldn't let me live in peace, and she wouldn't even let my dead mother rest. I bit my lip, my voice trembling. "No way. My mother has been buried for years. She deserves to rest in peace. I will never move her grave." My refusal set Julian off. His voice boomed through the receiver, laced with disgust. "Summer, can you be reasonable for once? It’s just relocating a coffin! Chloe’s life is on the line, and you’re still trying to play your petty games?" He slammed the phone down. That afternoon, Julian took a crew to the cemetery. By the time I rushed there, everyone I loved was already standing by the plot. Nathan walked up to me, trying to play the peacemaker. "Summer, don't be so dramatic. It's just a grave relocation. The dead are already gone, but the living still have to survive." I looked at my brother, my heart freezing over. The last of my patience snapped. I marched forward and slapped Chloe across the face with everything I had. Her head snapped back. Instantly, tears welled in her eyes as she sobbed, "Julian... I didn't force him... I just felt so sick..." A murderous rage flared in Julian's eyes. He grabbed my wrist, squeezing so hard I felt my bones creak. His voice was laced with venom. "Summer! Are you insane? How dare you put your hands on her!" Nathan immediately stepped in, pinning my shoulders down. "Summer! That's enough! Apologize to Chloe right now! Stop acting like a lunatic!" I thrashed against his grip, screaming at the top of my lungs. "A lunatic? Who is the lunatic here?!" "I paid to bury her mother! I gave her everything!" "And what did she do? She destroyed my family, and now she wants to dig up my dead mother!" "Nathan, that’s *our* mother in there! How can you let them do this?!" Rain began to pour from the sky. The heavy drops mingled with the tears streaming down my face. Nathan's face stiffened, but he remained stubborn. "She’s already dead, Summer! It’s just a grave! Why do you have to make everything so difficult?!" With those words, the last thread of sibling love between us snapped. Julian looked at me, a brief flicker of hesitation passing through his eyes. But in the next second, Chloe whimpered miserably, "Summer is right. It’s all my fault. I shouldn't even be alive." Julian panicked. To comfort his mistress, he looked at me cold-bloodedly. "Since you slapped Chloe, you can watch your mother's grave get dug up as punishment." At his signal, several burly bodyguards stepped forward. They dragged me to the ground, forcing me onto my knees in the wet, cold mud. In front of me, the workers picked up their shovels and began to dig. The headstone bearing my mother’s name slowly began to tilt. I shook violently, my tears washing away in the torrential rain as I begged, "Julian, please... I’m begging you, stop." "That’s my mother. She’s gone. She did nothing wrong!" "Chloe's illness has nothing to do with my mom! You know that!" "Please, stop digging... I beg you!" I threw away all my dignity, but Julian remained unmoved. Chloe leaned against his chest, a smug, triumphant smile playing on her lips. She did this on purpose. Kneeling in the mud before my mother's desecrated grave, I made a silent vow: *I will never forgive them. Not in this life, not in the next.* After that day, I fell gravely ill. Then, a frantic call came from Lily's school. The teacher's voice was trembling with panic. "Mrs. Vance, you need to come to school right now! Lily got into a massive fight with another student!" "Both of them have run up to the roof of the building! It's extremely dangerous!" My heart leaped into my throat, my limbs going weak. Lily was a gentle, sweet girl. She never fought with anyone. How could she end up on a rooftop? Without thinking, I got into my car and sped toward the school. I prayed with everything I had that my baby would be okay. I pushed open the heavy iron door of the rooftop, and the scene before me made my heart stop.

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