Everything started from a nasty weekend. My brother was planning a short vacation with his male colleagues. although his wife didn’t want him to go. she wanted to have a vacation too. It’s been almost two years since they got married and their only romantic trip was their honeymoon.
He convinced her and prepared for his special weekend. As far as I remember, he used to have lots of random weekend plans like this but this time he was giving it extra attention.
A day before he leaves, he came to me and asked to borrow my camera. it was very unexpected, he had a much better camera. why would he take mine?
I never liked my brother. He’s a weird selfish person who keeps people that he needs around. now, he came to me after a while and all he talks about is my camera. I wasn’t sure if he will return my camera in one piece. It was my mom who persuaded me to do it. I gave him the camera eventually but he made me regret it to this day.
he brought my camera back the next Monday. thank God it wasn’t damaged. by habit, I turned it on to make sure it works fine.
I wish I haven’t.
because I just couldn’t believe what I saw!
The camera was in gallery mode so when I turned it on, it automatically opened the photos. there were the worst pictures I could see. My brother was right there cheating on his wife!
And he didn’t bother to remove the pics!
What was he thinking?!
“Did he just cheat on his wife?” I kept asking myself as I scrolled between their photos. I was looking for anything that proves she was just a friend
but there was nothing…
there is no way a man holds a female friend like that!
I couldn’t act foolish. The reality was in front of me, right in those photos.
I was so freaked out. I was picturing what could happen to his life, to my sister-in-law. she is too innocent to deserve this.
I was so embarrassed to have such a cheater brother. I was so angry! I wanted to strangle him with my own hands! how dare he ruin the great life he had?! my sister-in-law wasn’t perfect but she didn’t deserve it at all.
In less than 5 minutes, he turned into the most hated person in my life. I dialed his number many times but I couldn’t hit the call button. I was too stunned to speak, especially to a maniac like him.
I didn’t do anything. I wasn’t only traumatized that he cheated on his wife. I was shocked that he wouldn’t mind if I find out.
he must’ve been sure that I won’t tell anyone!
it seemed like he did it on purpose. he was evil enough to put the blame on me and pretend that I was the one who took these photos and I knew about it all along.
I was very sure my brother has a plan B to turn everyone against me if I expose him…
I wouldn’t be surprised if he would say I made him cheat on his wife!
it was a hell of a time…
I didn’t know what to decide.
There was no way… literally no way…
I spent that day crying my frustration out.
then I removed all those evil photos from my camera.
I had to pretend as if nothing happened. but could I make it?
Absolutely not.
The photos were gone, but their memory remained.
I never felt comfortable around my sister-in-law again, I knew her marital life is being destroyed every day and I can’t do anything about it. She used to share how busy he’s getting busy in weekends.
To me, it was obvious why.
I was overwhelmed with guilt. there was literally no one to hear me out who could make a wise decision.
When my brother got married, I was hoping I could have a good bond with his wife. We could be very good friends but my monstrous brother ruined it.
it was very hard to get in their car or visit their home without having racing thoughts.
“Did he cheat right where I’m sitting?” “How toxic is it to live with a cheating man?!”,“how can he touch his wife with the same hands he cheats on her?!”
I failed to save my sister-in-law but I still had a chance to save myself. I know it sounds selfish but one sacrifice was enough.
Why would I be the one paying for his mistake?
I made my decision and stopped talking to my brother forever. I kept the intention to this day. all I give him is an angry look and he knows very well why, although he never cares.
But as a saying goes that truth will always reveal itself, and it did.
a couple of months passed. I started to feel much better, busy dealing with my own life. I was hoping my brother is ashamed of himself and let go of cheating.
We met again at a dinner party. He and his wife were back from a holiday and she was so excited about it. It seemed she had lots of fun and I was happy for her. I wanted to believe that he was treating her better and no longer cheating on her.
it was nothing more than wishful thinking!
She wanted to show me their holiday photos. “All the photos were taken by his phone because it has a better camera”, she said while waiting for my brother to unlock his phone.
I was getting nervous
As she was explaining the photos to me, and she froze when a photo opened.
I couldn’t believe it! It was my brother and the same girl again!
And he had the audacity to keep those photos on his phone!
What a jerk!
The poor woman was left in shock. This time they looked like dating pics.
She left me without a word to discuss it with my brother and I knew that was the end.
I was getting prepared for a fight. I was both happy and sad for her, she didn’t deserve my brother. he was pure evil.
I was expecting everyone at the party to shame him when his wife exposes what he did.
But it didn’t happen.
He said that the woman in the photo was a cousin’s girlfriend. well, I’m ashamed to say that I also have an asshole cousin who faked it in front of her.
Can you believe that all of these happened in silence? She was so kind not to beat the hell out of my brother in front of everyone.
She tried to make sure first and that became her biggest mistake. She had no idea what a monster he was living with yet.
I wasn’t brave enough to tell her either, I would’ve loved to support her to get divorced and start a good life on her own. but unfortunately, women’s right in Iran is a joke. Society treats divorced women much worse.
She was left in shock by that situation for hours, I could hear her sobbing alone in a room. but I wasn’t strong enough to go into that room and relieve her. I would definitely fail to do that because I knew what was going on. She was assured that everything is okay yet she couldn’t regulate her emotions. Was her heart broken? I don’t know. I was too scared to ask, I was worried that the truth slips out of my mouth and I will regret its consequences for the rest of my life.
I had to stay away, far far away that his toxicity won’t poison me again.
And I still hope that truth will reveal itself again.
—
This post was previously published on medium.com.
***
You may also like these posts on The Good Men Project:
White Fragility: Talking to White People About Racism | Escape the “Act Like a Man” Box | The Lack of Gentle Platonic Touch in Men’s Lives is a Killer | What We Talk About When We Talk About Men |
—
Photo credit: iStockPhoto.com
The post I Saw My Brother Cheating on His Wife and I Couldn’t Do Anything About it appeared first on The Good Men Project.