My parents divorced when I was young, and my mom remarried very quickly.

When my dad’s mom died about 5 years later, I found a notebook in her closet with detailed notes about my mom and stepdad based on information that my grandma had gotten from me and my little sister.

Apparently, she was convinced that my mom and stepdad were unfit parents, and the notebook was for a lawyer because they were, trying to get my dad full custody.

Of course, neither of those things were true, and she eventually calmed down about the situation when she saw how much we loved my stepdad.

But it was still shocking for me as an 11-year-old to read a bunch of misinformed, paranoid entries intended to paint my mom in the worst light possible. 2,

My best friend hated my husband. She always said, “Don’t trust him!” Weeks after our wedding, she left town. It was sudden.

I cried, but my husband said, “Just let it go!” 3 years later,

she returned and asked to see me. I froze when I saw her; she had beco me a mother. She introduced me to her little boy…

He was three. Then,

she asked me to sit. With a heavy heart, she told me the truth—her child was my husband’s son.

They had a brief fling while I was busy preparing for my wedding. My whole world shattered. I had never suspected a thing. It felt like a terrible nightmare, but it was real. I went home and asked for a divorce immediately.

Now, I can’t trust anyone—not a husband, not a friend.