In a split second, he overheard another genuine confession from her that completely broke his heart. The wife admitted, “I’d give anything to be able to have sex with a real man again.” But never tried, only because she didn’t want to be blamed for leaving her sick husband. Her words shattered the OP.

“A real man? What does that make me?” he painfully reflected. OP said he’d always known his wife’s frustrations and annoyance towards him but never realized she’d been thinking so low of him. Inconsolably hurt, he walked into the kitchen and purposely dropped his tumbler to announce his presence.

At this point, OP’s wife realized he was home and rushed to check on him. He lied to her about returning to take his water bottle and decided to battle his worst emotions alone. After deep thought, he decided to make it easy on his wife. So that nobody would blame her for leaving him, he would portray himself as the bad guy.

He planned to tell his wife about a make-believe affair with another woman so she would get the happiness she sought. But after reading his plight, people advised him not to rush since his wife could’ve just been venting her frustrations.

“I will also add that the way she was feeling in that moment doesn’t necessarily mean it’s her “true” feelings,” wrote another Reddit user, explaining how everyone has unpleasant feelings and fleeting thoughts when upset or frustrated.

The person further added, “While hurtful, I don’t think she necessarily has been pining away for you to disappear just because she’s venting to her best friend.”

Another commenter agreed and shared how their mother would often rant about their terminally ill father by saying things similar to what OP’s wife said. “…but in the end, she’s just venting. She loves my father with all her heart. We all vent about our loved ones at some point, but we still love them,” the person explained.

Ultimately, OP was determined to see his wife happy and help her get everything he couldn’t give her. He knew his fabricated affair would hurt her but it would also set her free from judgment from other people. “She’ll be free from guilt…She will be free…from me,” he painfully asserted. If you liked this story, here’s one about how a girl pretends she’s asleep and overhears her sister flirting with their elder sister’s husband.