I thought I had the perfect marriage until my best friend showed up with a VHS tape and said, “Just watch this.” Minutes later, I was spying on my husband at my MIL’s birthday.
THE DAY I FOUND OUT MY HUSBAND WAS LOOKING FOR SOMEONE ELSE, IT STAYED WITH ME FOREVER.
“Just Watch This”—The Tape That Changed Everything
It was his mother’s birthday. I had to brace myself for that party because my MIL… Well, let’s just say she’s no blessing from above. She’s strict, controlling, and sharper than a drawer full of steak knives.
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She loved to mutter:
“Oh, Maisie… you never really suited my Austin.”
I bought her the gifts she listed in her birthday email. And sugar-free chocolates — from me. I knew she couldn’t stand them.
Eye for an eye.
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I was just about to leave the house when someone knocked at the door. It was my best friend, Layla. Unannounced, no makeup, and holding a grocery store bag like it weighed a hundred pounds.
“You hiding from someone?” I teased. “Layla, Austin’s waiting in the car, so if it’s not urgent…”
“It is. Maisie, I know it’s your monster-in-law’s big day, but I had to come. Just watch this.”
She pulled an old VHS tape from the bag.
The label read “Profile #042”.
I raised an eyebrow.
“What’s this?”
“You know how I joined that weird old-school dating club? The one where they record video profiles and then match you?”
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“Oh, Layla! I thought this was going to be something serious.”
“It is serious! Let me explain…”
“Maybe we can talk about your perfect man after I survive my family dinner?”
“You’re impossible,” she groaned. “Just watch the tape, okay? You’ll get it.”
“I’m late. My MIL is probably sharpening her tongue as we speak…”
“It’s Austin. On the tape.”
Everything inside me dropped.
“What?!”
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“I know. And he’s… looking for someone. I swear on every sale dress I’ve ever bought — the woman he’s describing? It’s not you.”
“I have to go.”
I barely got the words out, slipping the tape into my bag. I didn’t know what I’d find on that screen. But from that moment on, my husband fell under quiet surveillance.
I was ready to catch the truth, whatever it was.
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***
Something About This Party Felt… Off
The house was already buzzing when we arrived. My MIL, Vivi, looked impeccable — icy pink silk, dramatic earrings, that smug little smile.
But what truly struck me wasn’t her. It was a crowd of young women. Dozens. All perfectly styled, under thirty-five, sipping champagne like they lived in magazines.
“Old friends,” Vivi said airily, “from yoga, from the charity gala, from the club…”
They were all over the place. And one thing united them: they all flirted with my husband.
Subtle hand on his arm, coy laugh, playing with hair — textbook. My eye twitched every time someone said,
“Oh, Austin, you’re so funny!”
I tried to brush it off.
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Maybe that tape Layla gave me… maybe it’s not even him.
Maybe it’s a weird coincidence.
Maybe it’s just…
But every accidental brush of a manicured hand on his shoulder sent a jolt through me like a live wire. My nerves were splintering. I couldn’t wait.
I Had to Know—So I Hit Play
I have to see the tape!
I excused myself to the bathroom, then darted upstairs, almost galloping toward Vivi’s bedroom. I remembered she still had an old VCR setup. Probably the last in existence.
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I shut the door behind me, locked it, and dropped to my knees. I started fumbling with the buttons.
“Come on, baby… work.”
The machine made a low grinding noise, then a weak hum.
A miracle. Click. Cassette in place. Volume: low. Almost mute.
And then…
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A flicker. Static. “Candidate #042.”
My heart stopped. It was him. Austin. In the shirt I gave him. Just because. He once said he always wanted one like that. And I remembered how happy he looked when he unwrapped it. That same shirt. On the tape.
The screen version of my husband began to talk.
What He Said on That Tape Broke Me
“Hi, I’m Austin.”
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“I’m looking for someone real. Someone who gets me. I want to find the kind of love I’ve never known. Someone I can laugh with, trust. My best friend.”
What?! Best friend?
We went hiking together, we made blanket forts when the power went out, we had soup nights and silly playlists…
WE were best friends!
And yet, there he was, saying he wanted what we already had.
My breath hitched. I didn’t notice when I slid down onto the rug — Vivi’s perfectly polished, floral-scented rug.
What does she use to clean this thing?
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I wondered stupidly. My heart was aching so badly, I needed something else to think about.
What now?
A scene? Too childish.
Leave quietly? Too hard.
Talk? About what?
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“Darling, care to divorce me before you date again?”
Was I just a placeholder? How did I miss it? It all seemed so perfect.
And then — a creak.
Someone outside the door!
A faint shadow… and footsteps retreating. I leapt up, yanked the door open, and dashed down the hall. There, not even halfway down the corridor, stood my MIL.
“Oh, sweetheart, you were gone so long… I thought you might need help.”
“Oh, no… I… I just caught a whiff of something nice. Your rug… it smells amazing. What do you use on it?”
She smiled too sweetly. Then she took a small step closer.
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“Leave my son. He deserves a better woman. Don’t stand in his way.”
Her Real Plan Was Worse Than I Thought
I froze. No breath, no words, no ground under my feet. And then — footsteps on the stairs. Austin appeared at the top. Vivi turned, and in the blink of an eye, her face reshaped into maternal warmth.
“Oh! Two spoons of citric acid, equal parts baking soda, a splash of water… and just a pinch of oxygen bleach. It lifts everything, darling.”
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She was playing with me. Like she hadn’t just tried to wipe me out of her son’s life like a wine stain.
Oh. Okay. Two could play.
“Oh, Austin dear,” she cooed, tilting her head, “Esha’s not feeling too well, poor thing. Can you be a sweetheart and drive her home?”
Esha. The yoga friend. The one who looked like a catalog model and was at least thirty years younger than Vivi. The one who hadn’t taken her eyes off my husband all evening.
“I’d be happy to,” Austin replied.
Vivi gave me a look. Pleasant. Victorious. I smiled back. Inside, I was already ordering a cab.
My husband could drive her home. I’d be following.
This Is the Moment We Turned the Tables
Ten minutes later, I was in the back seat of a taxi, eyes glued to the red taillights of my husband’s car.
“Don’t lose him,” I told the driver.
“For fifty bucks, I’ll follow him to the moon.”
We didn’t drive far. Fifteen minutes, maybe. Then Austin’s car pulled into a small, faded roadside motel.
“Girls’ night out?” the taxi driver quipped.
I didn’t take my eyes off the windshield.
“Different kind of show.”
Esha stepped out first, looking radiant and relaxed. I almost let myself breathe. Maybe Austin was just dropping her off and…
No. No, no, no.
The driver whistled as we watched Austin get out and follow her toward the door.
“Oof. If that’s your guy, I wouldn’t wanna be him when you catch up.”
“No,” I said, eyes narrowing, “you wouldn’t.”
I tossed the cash over the seat and jumped out. I didn’t know what I wanted.
To throw a motel brochure at them? To yell? To demand honesty?
I just needed… something. A moment of truth.
I burst into the lobby. They were there together, sitting in the small, beige waiting area.
Austin was perched stiffly on the edge of the couch, Esha next to him, a few inches apart. They both turned as I walked in. His eyes widened. Hers narrowed.
“Maisie,” he said, standing.
I didn’t stop walking.
“So. This is it? A motel?”
“This isn’t what you think.”
“Really? Because it looks like you two drove off into a scene from a bad soap opera.”
Austin ran a hand through his hair. “Esha forgot her phone in the car. Again. I came in to return it.”
I turned to Esha.
“That old trick?”
Esha sighed. “Fine. You want the truth? Your MIL invited me. Through the dating club.”
“What?!”
“She showed me a tape of Austin. Said he’d be picking a new wife soon, and I was… on the list. She said his current marriage was falling apart.” Austin stepped forward.
“Wait, what tape?”
“Your dating profile,” I said. “I saw it too. Layla gave it to me. I watched it today.”
“That old VHS?”
I swallowed.
“You said you were looking for love. That you never had that before. You were wearing the shirt I gave you… I thought you recorded it recently.”
Austin’s eyes widened in understanding — then softened.
“No, Maisie. That video was from years ago. My mom made me film it. And the shirt? She bought me one just like it back then. I told you I’d always wanted one — that’s why you got it for me.”
I blinked. My chest loosened — just a little. It made sense now. Not everything was betrayal.
“So that was… her plan,” I muttered. “She sent the tape to the club. Invited strangers. Hoped you’d cheat.”
Austin dropped onto the couch, staring at the floor.
“She actually went this far. What else has she been orchestrating behind our backs?”
We stood in silence. Esha spoke first.
“Look, I feel stupid. I didn’t mean to step on anything. I just… believed what she told me.”
I exhaled slowly.
“Want to mess with Vivi?”
“Mess how?”
“We go back. All three of us. Eat the cake. Smile. Act like her plan worked — but not the way she hoped.”
Esha raised a brow. “I’m in!”
I smiled. “Let’s make her regret ever hitting record.”
Austin took my hand. “Now you’re speaking my language.”
Fifteen minutes later, we walked back into the party — Austin holding my hand, Esha beside us like the world’s most awkward flower girl.
Vivi’s fork froze mid-air.
“What on earth…?”
“Oh, we talked,” I said cheerfully. “Turns out Esha’s staying with us for a bit. She’s amazing. We’ve all bonded.”
Austin added, “We realized opening up our marriage emotionally could actually strengthen it. Thanks for inspiring us, Mom.”
Vivi stared, her lips twitching like a glitching computer.
“I only sent that old tape to heat things up. Not to… turn it into a polyamory cult.”
I raised an eyebrow. “That old tape, by the way, wasn’t yours to send.”
Vivi looked between us.
“I just wanted to make sure you two still had… spark.”
I smiled sweetly.
“Oh, we have plenty of spark. Especially now that we know how much effort you’re putting into keeping us together.”
Then I handed her a plate.
“Now. Cake?”
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