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Learn English through Stories Level 3 ⭐ The Wife's Secret - Emotional English Story for Listening Practice

My name is Audrey. I am thirty-six years old. I live with my husband Peter. He is forty-one years old. We have a son. His name is Chester. He is nine years old. Peter and I have been married for twelve years. We are happy, or at least we used to be. Peter works hard. He is a good father and husband.
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Transcript
00:00My name is Audrey. I am 36 years old.
00:05I live with my husband, Peter. He is 41 years old.
00:11We have a son. His name is Chester. He is 9 years old.
00:18Peter and I have been married for 12 years.
00:22We are happy, or at least we used to be.
00:26We have a nice life, a house and a garden.
00:31Peter works hard. He is a good father and husband.
00:37Six months ago, we hired Ronald. Ronald works for us.
00:42He cleans the house and takes care of the garden.
00:46He also helps with Chester. He is nice and quiet.
00:51He always smiles. At first, I did not think much about him.
00:56He was just there to help us.
01:00One evening, I came home late from work.
01:03Peter was not home. He was still working.
01:07Chester was asleep.
01:10Ronald was sitting in the kitchen. He was reading a book.
01:14I sat with him. We talked.
01:16He told me about his life.
01:20He is from another city.
01:22He came here for work.
01:24He has no family here and lives alone.
01:27We talked for a long time that night.
01:30After that, things began to change.
01:34One night, Peter had to go on a business trip.
01:39He was away for three days.
01:41It was just me, Chester, and Ronald.
01:45On the first night, we had dinner together.
01:49After Chester went to bed, I sat with Ronald again.
01:54We talked like before.
01:57We laughed.
01:58He made me feel good.
02:00I liked talking to him.
02:02Then something happened.
02:05I kissed Ronald.
02:07It was just a small kiss, but it felt big.
02:10I pulled away and told him it was a mistake.
02:13He said nothing.
02:15He just looked at me.
02:18That night, I couldn't sleep.
02:21I felt so bad.
02:23I kept thinking about Peter.
02:25What had I done?
02:27I loved Peter.
02:29I still do.
02:31But something was different now.
02:33I had kissed Ronald, and I couldn't take it back.
02:38I told myself it would never happen again.
02:42I promised myself it was just one mistake.
02:46But a few days later, it happened again.
02:50Peter was still away.
02:52I was alone with Ronald.
02:55This time, we kissed for a long time.
02:59It wasn't just a small kiss.
03:01It was real.
03:02And I didn't stop it.
03:06Now, I didn't know what to do.
03:09I was scared.
03:11I had a big secret.
03:13I didn't want to tell Peter.
03:15He would be so angry.
03:18He would never forgive me.
03:20But I didn't know how to stop what was happening with Ronald.
03:24Every time I saw him, I felt something strong.
03:31It was like a fire inside me.
03:34I couldn't control it.
03:36Days passed, and everything got normal.
03:41Peter didn't know anything.
03:43He came home from his trip, and life went on as usual.
03:49I cooked dinner.
03:51We watched TV.
03:52We played with Chester.
03:55But inside, I felt different.
03:59I was keeping a secret.
04:01And it was heavy.
04:03I couldn't tell anyone.
04:05Ronald still worked for us.
04:09He was good with Chester.
04:12He was always polite to Peter.
04:15When we were all together, everything looked normal.
04:18But when Peter wasn't around, things were different.
04:24Ronald and I would look at each other.
04:28We didn't talk about what happened, but we didn't need to.
04:33We both knew.
04:35I felt guilty all the time.
04:38When I kissed my husband, I thought about Ronald.
04:42When I was with Chester, I thought about the secret.
04:47It was always there in my mind, and it was getting bigger every day.
04:54I couldn't sleep at night.
04:56I stayed awake, thinking about my mistake.
05:01I thought about telling Peter.
05:04I wanted to tell him, but I was scared.
05:07What would he say?
05:09What would he do?
05:10I didn't want to lose him.
05:14I didn't want to hurt him.
05:16But I had already hurt him, even if he didn't know.
05:21One night, I was lying in bed next to my husband, Peter.
05:26He was sleeping.
05:28I looked at him and felt so sad.
05:32He didn't know what I had done.
05:35He trusted me.
05:36He loved me.
05:37And I had broken that trust.
05:41I wanted to cry, but I didn't.
05:45I just lay there, thinking about my mistake.
05:49A few weeks later, something changed.
05:53I found out that Peter was also hiding something from me.
05:58He had been seeing someone else.
06:01I didn't know who she was, but I knew he was meeting her in secret.
06:06I saw messages on his phone.
06:10They were from a woman.
06:13At first, I was angry.
06:15How could he do this to me?
06:18I was his wife.
06:19But then I realized I had done the same thing.
06:24I was no better than him.
06:27We were both living a lie.
06:29Now, everything was even more complicated.
06:32We were both keeping secrets.
06:37I didn't know what to do.
06:39Should I tell him about Ronald?
06:42Should I ask him about the woman?
06:44Or should we both keep quiet and pretend everything was fine?
06:49One night, I made a decision.
06:54I couldn't live like this anymore.
06:56I couldn't keep the secret.
06:59It was too heavy.
07:01I had to tell my husband the truth.
07:04Even if it hurt him.
07:06Even if it ended our marriage.
07:09I couldn't lie anymore.
07:11I sat down with him after dinner.
07:14Chester was asleep.
07:16Ronald had gone home for the night.
07:19I looked at Peter and took a deep breath.
07:22Peter, I need to tell you something, I said.
07:26He looked at me, confused.
07:29What is it?
07:30He asked.
07:32I've been seeing someone, I said.
07:35I couldn't look him in the eye.
07:37There was silence.
07:39Then he spoke.
07:40Who?
07:42I told him everything.
07:43I told him about Ronald, about the kiss, about the nights when he was away.
07:51I was afraid he would leave.
07:54I was afraid he would yell.
07:56But he didn't.
07:58At last he spoke.
08:00I've been seeing someone, too, he said.
08:04Now it was my turn to be silent.
08:07I didn't know what to say.
08:09It began a few months ago.
08:13I didn't mean for it to happen, Audrey.
08:16But it did.
08:18I'm sorry, he said.
08:21We both sat there not knowing what to do.
08:24We had both made mistakes.
08:27We had both hurt each other.
08:30But now, there were no more secrets.
08:32We decided to talk, really talk.
08:38We spoke about our marriage, about our mistakes, and about what we wanted.
08:45It wasn't easy, but we both agreed that we still loved each other.
08:51We didn't want to end our marriage.
08:53We wanted to try and fix it.
08:57The next day, we made some changes.
09:01We let Ronald go.
09:02It was not easy, but it was the right thing to do.
09:08Months passed, and slowly, things got better.
09:13Peter and I worked on our marriage.
09:16We spent more time together.
09:18We talked more.
09:20We were honest with each other.
09:22When Ronald left, it felt strange at home.
09:27The house felt quiet.
09:29Chester missed him.
09:32He asked where Ronald had gone.
09:35I told him Ronald had found another job.
09:38It was the hardest part of all this.
09:42Trying to keep the truth from my son.
09:47Peter and I went to marriage counseling once a week.
09:50At first, it was hard.
09:53We had to talk about our mistakes, our feelings, and why we both did what we did.
10:03The counselor asked questions that made me think about things I didn't want to think about.
10:10Why did you kiss Ronald, the counselor asked me.
10:15I didn't know how to answer.
10:18I loved Peter, but I still kissed Ronald.
10:22Why did I do it?
10:24I told the counselor that I felt alone.
10:28Peter was always working.
10:30He was always busy.
10:32I felt like we were living separate lives.
10:35Ronald made me feel seen.
10:39He made me feel special.
10:41Peter looked hurt when I said that.
10:44But it was the truth.
10:45We both needed to hear the truth.
10:49After I told Peter about Ronald,
10:52he didn't trust me the same way.
10:55He didn't say it out loud.
10:57But I could feel it.
10:59If I came home late,
11:02he would ask where I had been.
11:06If I was on my phone,
11:08he would look at me differently.
11:10I couldn't blame him.
11:12I didn't trust him completely either.
11:16Not after learning about the other woman.
11:20The counselor told us that trust takes time.
11:24She told us we had to be patient.
11:28I wanted things to go back to normal,
11:31but I knew it would take time.
11:35Every day,
11:36I worked hard to show Peter that I was sorry,
11:40that I loved him,
11:42and that I wanted to make things right.
11:46Peter did the same.
11:48He started coming home early from work.
11:51We had dinner together as a family more often.
11:56One day,
11:57I asked Peter about the woman he had been seeing.
12:02I hadn't asked before
12:03because I was afraid of what he might say,
12:07but now I needed to know.
12:10Who was she?
12:12I asked him one night after Chester went to bed.
12:16Peter didn't want to speak about it,
12:20but I needed to hear the truth.
12:24Her name is Imogen.
12:26She works at my office,
12:28he said.
12:29My heart broke when he said her name.
12:33I didn't want to know anymore,
12:35but I had to ask,
12:37do you still see her?
12:40No,
12:41it ended before you told me about Ronald,
12:44Peter said quickly.
12:46That made me feel a little better,
12:48but it still hurt.
12:52Peter had been seeing someone else
12:55while I was at home
12:56taking care of Chester,
12:59thinking everything was fine.
13:02It wasn't fair,
13:05but then again,
13:06I had done the same thing.
13:09We sat in silence for a while.
13:12Then Peter spoke again.
13:15I'm sorry, Audrey.
13:16I made a mistake.
13:18I love you,
13:19and I don't want to lose you.
13:22I love you too,
13:24I said,
13:25and I meant it.
13:27We both had made mistakes,
13:29but we both wanted to fix things.
13:33Months passed.
13:35Peter and I began to trust each other again.
13:40Chester was growing up fast.
13:42He didn't ask about Ronald anymore.
13:45He was happy,
13:46and he loved spending time with us.
13:51We played games,
13:52went to the zoo,
13:54and had fun together as a family.
13:57It felt good to be together again.
14:01But there were still hard days.
14:04Some days,
14:05I would think about Ronald
14:07and feel guilty.
14:10Some days,
14:11I would wonder if Peter thought about Imogen.
14:15One year after everything happened,
14:20Peter and I took a trip together,
14:23just the two of us.
14:25Chester stayed with my sister.
14:28Peter and I went to a small beach for a weekend.
14:32It was the first time we had been alone together in a long time.
14:38The trip was good for us.
14:41We both wanted to stay together.
14:45We wanted to make our marriage work.
14:49On the last night of the trip,
14:52Peter surprised me with something.
14:55He pulled out a small box from his pocket.
14:59Inside was a new wedding ring.
15:01I want us to start fresh.
15:05A new ring for a new start,
15:07Peter said.
15:08Tears filled my eyes.
15:11I love you, Peter,
15:13I said.
15:15I love you too, Audrey,
15:17he replied.
15:18Now,
15:20Peter and I are closer than ever.
15:22I'm not proud of what I did with Ronald,
15:25and I know Peter isn't proud of what he did with Imogen.
15:31But we learned from our mistakes,
15:34and we became stronger because of them.
15:39Now,
15:39I feel happy and at peace.
15:43Our home is full of love and laughter.
15:46We're not perfect,
15:48but we're real,
15:49and that's what matters.
15:53Marriage is something you have to work on every day.
15:57It can be hard,
15:59but if you truly love someone,
16:03every effort feels worth it.
16:06If you liked this story,
16:08please like, comment, share, and subscribe.
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