I’ve been in a relationship with this man for over a year now. I work in the emergency department, where we often have to deal with disruptive or intoxicated patients, especially during night shifts. There’s a particular security guard I’ve seen many times handling these situations with ease, and I was always impressed by how he managed it. Over time, we grew closer, and one thing led to another—I ended up having an affair with him. At that point, I was still married to my ex-husband. The security guard is 30 years old.

He encouraged me to divorce my husband. I wasn’t happy in my marriage, but I likely wouldn’t have filed for divorce if I hadn’t met him. The divorce left me financially secure since I received a significant settlement from my husband, so I saw it as a win-win situation. I never looked back.

One day, my son’s fiancée saw me with this man and confronted me. She’s very close to me, so I told her everything. She then insisted on being introduced to him, threatening to reveal everything if I refused. Reluctantly, I introduced them, and since then, they’ve started seeing each other. However, I’ve continued my relationship with him separately. For context, my son is 25 years old.

The situation has grown more complicated because the man wants my son’s fiancée to stay with my son and marry him, despite encouraging me to leave my husband. I believe he finds it amusing that my son has no idea what’s going on. His plan is for her to divorce my son after they marry, causing him pain and humiliation.

I’m torn because this relationship feels essential to me, but I can’t ignore the heartbreak waiting for my son when his fiancée eventually leaves him. Worse, my son may never know the real reason, just as his father never knew why I left him. Part of me believes I can keep this secret, hold on to this man, and maintain my relationship with my son. Although there’s always a small chance my son might find out, I’ll do everything in my power to prevent that.

Sometimes, when I look at my son, I feel the urge to say sorry.