I had just come out of a relationship with a man who had cheated on me repeatedly. I was distrustful of men in general and swore off love for good — or so I thought. That was until I met Grant, my current husband.
I was put onto Grant by a friend; he was an accountant and I needed someone good to take care of some tax issues I was having. He was very direct and very honest and, against my best instincts I found myself becoming increasingly attracted to him. He was — dare I say it — tall, dark and handsome and funnily enough it was me who asked him out. We had dinner and I was soon comfortable enough with him to tell him my tale of heartache with my previous boyfriend. He was clearly affronted by my ex-boyfriend’s behaviour and I dared to dream that Grant was “the one”.
We went out quite frequently over the next month and when we weren’t out together we spoke on the phone. Everything happened so fast. I asked Grant to go with me on a holiday that I’d had planned. We went up north for two weeks and it was just perfect. That was until I noticed all the attention that Grant received as a result of his dashing good looks.
At first I felt proud that others envied what I had, but my pride soon turned to jealousy. When we went out to eat, waitresses would giggle flirtatiously and direct their gaze toward him as though I wasn’t there. Grant seemed flattered by it all and alarm bells started going off in the back of my mind.
When we returned to our respective homes I was distant to the point where Grant would ask me repeatedly what was wrong and I would just say I was thinking about work or was tired. My mind was haunted by flashbacks of my last boyfriend and it started to eat me up inside. I then did something that I would forever regret. I set up an account on a well known dating website under Grant’s name.
I uploaded a photo of him and painted him to be a bit of a swinger in need of some action. I entered the fact that he was attached but looking and I waited. I also set up an e-mail account that I could check during the day. The e-mails started coming almost immediately — some with very racy photos attached. I picked out the woman I thought would most appeal to Grant and sent her a reply. Her name was Amelia and she was tall and slim with very sexy eyes.
We started communicating daily and I got some sort of sick thrill playing the part of Grant and wooing Amelia on his behalf. I looked forward to seeing her e-mails in the morning and watching her attraction to the character of Grant I had created. It wasn’t long before she was desperate to meet up and that’s when I set the trap.
I organised to meet Grant at our favourite bar in the city and e-mailed Amelia giving her the same details. I told her in no uncertain terms that I didn’t want to talk about the dating site. In fact I stated that I wanted to act out the fantasy that we had just met by chance and she seemed completely titillated by the idea.
I met Grant for lunch that day and in the afternoon told Amelia what “I” would be wearing — a grey pin-stripe suit and watermelon coloured shirt. I told Amelia where I would be sitting — the very booth where I’d said I would meet Grant that night — and she said she would approach “me” as if out of the blue. It was perfect.
I made sure I was running late to meet Grant that night — late enough to allow his “chance meeting” with Amelia. I was — as insane as it sounds — hoping to catch him flirting outrageously with the strange woman at the bar. I waited an hour — which felt like an eternity — and then called his mobile. I was trying to pick up on any signs of deceit in his voice. I imagined Amelia sitting opposite him and the thought burned me up inside. He sounded like he was just sitting and waiting for me but I didn’t believe it. I told him I couldn’t make it as I was swamped with work and that I would see him another time. I told him to enjoy himself and have a drink for me. He sounded disappointed but said he would stay a little longer then head home; the trap was about to spring forth!
I then made my way to the bar and walked slowly toward our regular booth. I was waiting to see the dark-haired beauty touching his arm and laughing rambunctiously. What I saw made my face and heart drop. He was alone — sipping on a drink and looking a little forlorn. I approached and mumbled something about catching up on my work the next day. He looked so happy to see me. He then — in his typically honest way — told me about the strange woman who had approached him. He said she looked so offended when he knocked her back and told her he was in love with a beautiful woman already. He said it took some convincing but she finally took the hint and, looking very put out, stormed off. He said he felt lucky to have me. I felt like the biggest turkey in history.
We were married six months later and Grant has turned out to be such a catharsis for me, the most loving and honest husband a girl could wish for.
Confessing this here is the first step. I’ll tell Grant about my awful deception as soon as I work up the nerve.
Picture posed by models.
