Way Too Comfortable
He took one look at the photo his friend had sent him of his wife while he was overseas and immediately grew suspicious. She looked too comfortable in the picture for this to be anything other than a blatant abuse of his trust in her. Furious, he took extreme action which would change both of their lives forever.
Goodbyes Are The Hardest
It’s a melancholy story to tell that millions of people, both in America and everywhere around the world, share. It’s the loneliness and hardship of a loved spouse leaving you behind in the courageous decision to fight for one’s country. Fighting for freedom and the safety of the nation is no small sacrifice and is to be respected.
Deployment
When a serviceman, or woman for that matter, gets deployed overseas they face the heartbreaking task of leaving their loved ones behind. Whether it’s a few weeks or a few months, these missions take their toll on any family unit and every single person will admit that it is not an easy thing to overcome.
Fear Sleeps In Your Bed At Night
The fear of losing your partner is always at the forefront of your mind. This is the person you have tied yourself to, perhaps the person you have decided to have children with and start a family with, too. The idea that this person could be in imminent danger would surely endear them to you even more than before, but for some people, this is clearly not the case.
Apart But Faithful
More often than not couples remain faithful to one another during this extremely trying time apart, but there are exceptions to the norm. It’s not a pleasant thing to think about but it does unfortunately happen and this is where our story begins. With a seemingly normal husband and wife missing each other across an ocean plagued with emotion.
Not Even Two Weeks
John had recently been deployed to Syria, where over 400 Marines are taking part in Operation Inherent Resolve. He had been there for less than two weeks and missed his newlywed wife terribly. Their courtship had been a whirlwind of passion and romance and he knew she was the one. So he proposed to her in hopes that they would marry before any mission required him elsewhere.
A Small Marriage
She accepted, obviously, and they were married in a beautiful but small church ceremony, surrounded by family and a small gathering of friends, but it wasn’t long before the dreaded deployment was announced. Although his obligation in this mission wasn’t one that posed a dire threat to his life it still meant months apart from his newly married wife. Their goodbyes were passionate and lingering right until the moment he walked out of the door.
It’s Always Been About Trust
All relationships are based on an inherent trust in the other person, but sometimes trust is misplaced. Some people are not cut out for a long distance relationship, no matter how soon their spouse is due to return home. It’s a devastating turn of affairs, especially for the brave soldier, away risking their lives every day for a country and something so much bigger than himself.
Be The Bigger Person
Surely when someone puts his whole life on the line a person would feel compelled to give something of as much value back? Well, this was not the case with marine Mark Matthews. Recently married and even more recently deployed he grew lonely and missed his beautiful wife back home. Everything was new and different and fraught with danger and decisions.
One Small Favor
His only request? For a photograph of his beloved wife. He asked a close friend whether he could check in on her and make sure she was okay and wasn’t wanting for anything while he was away. And one more simple request of his friend… a picture of her, unsuspecting so as to catch the natural beauty he had fallen in love with. No Instagram filtered or altered depiction of her. How could he refuse his life long friend?
Caught Unawares
She had no idea what was coming her way when Mark’s friend arrived at her door, ringing the bell. She quickly pulled on a loose vest, one that perhaps belonged to Mark for it was far too big for her small frame and went to answer the door. Stepping through the threshold of the couple’s doorway the loyal friend enquired how Jess was doing and if there was anything he could do for her while he was around. She nervously sat on her and Mark’s bed, hiding her fidgety hands.
Stuttering And Stammering
Jess began thinking quickly about anything at all that she could possibly need in order to get Mark’s friend out of the house but her mind was a blank. Asking him to fix something would only prolong his presence and that’s when it happened. He pulled out his camera and quickly snapped a candid picture of her, just like Mark had asked him to do.
A Bright Light
Stunned by the suddenness of what had occurred she stumbled for an answer to his question. No, she in fact needed nothing, she stammered while regaining her composure. After the necessary pleasantries, Jess showed Mark’s gracious friend to the door, relieved to finally have him gone. She believed her secret was still safe.
Fate Was Sealed
The next day, the beautiful and alluring picture was sent to her husband unbeknownst to Jess herself, and what happened next would leave her reeling. Mark was trained as a military man to analyze evidence and what he saw left him cold. If you look at this picture that was sent to him could you decipher exactly what made him decide on the extreme action that he took?
The Worst Course of Action
Before he had even returned home, in fact, before Jess had even known that he had received the damning photograph of her Mark had filed for divorce. She received the documents without hearing a word from him and was fearful and at a loss as to why he was making such a sudden and final decision. But it would all be revealed if only you would look more closely at the damning evidence right in front of you.
Have A Closer Look
If you take another look at the photograph that Mark’s friend snapped in what seemed to be a natural organic moment was, in fact, evidence quite to the contrary. Jess, it seemed, was a master deceiver because although you didn’t see the evidence of her infidelity he saw it as clear as day. Beneath their marriage bed was the unmistakable evidence of a man’s hand, reaching out to grab an item of clothing that may incriminate him.
Caught Red Handed
Little does the unknown man know that at this exact moment his presence was caught on camera for his mistresse’s husband to see. Grabbing his clothing was far more damning than a pile of clothing could have just been Jess’s discarded clothes thrown in a pile upon the bedroom floor. A badly timed grab to hide evidence resulted in a marine saving his heart and sanity.
Plastered All Over The News
The picture and post were uploaded to quite a few social media sites and it soon went viral with hundreds of people commenting on it “First of all, she was dead wrong, he should divorce her. Second, the dude she was cheating with was stupid. Why did he leave his hand out? He should have tucked his hand under his chin. Lastly, she looked busted and disgusted. So totally obvious that something was going on. She deserves everything she gets.” said one woman.
Everyone Gives Their Two Cents
Another woman commented, “She has a guilty look on her face,” on the Facebook page. “If you can’t see the hand, look from the woman’s elbow nearest the edge of the bed and go directly left. It’s sticking out from under the bed. It’s a dark skin coloured hand outstretched.”
But Is It Real?
Now it has been speculated by some people that the image may have been the result of Photoshop. But the very real divorce papers served on Jess do not lie. And thankfully, this Marine has distanced himself from a cheating wife because he deserves someone who will wait for him while he fights America’s battles.