Or Maybe that should say… still. Yesterday was one of the worst days of my life in a long time. I feel like I have been kicked in the stomach. I feel like I just want to burst into tears all the time. I don’t know how I got here. I don’t know how I could let someone in so deep that when they left it would devastate me this much. I frankly have no idea how I can recover from this and be the same person I was. Maybe that’s the point. Maybe this was the catalyst to create a change in me.
It was all a lie. S. started lying to me the minute he started talking to me. It’s hard to believe that this all started in December, maybe even November when I met him. It’s hard to believe that this wonderful, caring, loving, sweet man was nothing but a con artist. However, it’s true.
I sent him the following mail yesterday morning;
Dear Steve,
This is by far one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but it has to be done. I will probably always love you, or at least the person I thought you were. You came into my life when I wasn’t REALLY looking for anyone. I had been recently hurt and I was not sure about taking a chance on someone with little kids. I did though, and I fell hard. I guess I trusted you and felt more comfortable with you because you were from here. Home. I thought you would understand why I enjoy raising kids here, and the local festivals, and all that the coast has to offer. I thought that you and I were going to start a life together here, and it would be perfect. I just wanted love. I just wanted someone to call my own, who would love me unconditionally.YOU led me to this belief that I could have that with you, many many times. I feel like I was duped.
I let you into to a place I don’t let many people, and you took advantage of that. I loved you with my whole heart, and you broke that into a million little pieces. I trusted you enough to be around my family, and now my kids are let down too. How can you, as a person who wants to heal people, come into another person’s life and do what you have done? WHY? Why would you take another human being’s heart and just stomp all over it by cheating? Why didn’t you just tell me you didn’t want to be with me anymore? Why couldn’t you just be the man you pretend to be and tell me what I did wrong, and move on? I gave you chance after chance after chance to tell me the truth with no repercussions, and yet you STILL lied. Do you even know what the truth is anymore?
I’m not sure what happened. I’m not sure when the lies began. I’m not sure if any of those things you said to me were true. I want to believe you are a good person, and a part of me STILL did believe that right up until yesterday. I believed that a person like you, a compassionate person, a good dad, a “fight for justice” kinda guy would never use, or abuse someone. I want to believe that you did love me, and you did think I was beautiful. I want to believe that when I was in your arms, that is where YOU wanted me to be. I want to believe that you were coming for Christmas until Gino got sick. I want to believe that on Valentine’s day you were umpiring in another city. I want to believe that there is no one else in your life but me. I want to believe that you were going to finish school and come here and we were going to be happily ever after. I wanted to believe that you were coming two weeks ago to see me. I want to believe in YOU. However, I don’t. I have caught you in too many lies. Too many wacky crazy stories, about funerals and being sick, and needing time for school, and being able to drive home from San Pedro in record time. You lied to me from day one about the living situation between you and Shelly. You waited until I was in Camarillo to tell me. I should have been upset and that should have been enough to make me walk away, but you already had my heart.
I’m not a fool. I knew in Jan. something had changed. I don’t know what. I may never ever know why you changed your mind about being with me. I may never know if you ever really meant all of the things you said to me. I may never really know if you truly loved me or not. I may never really know about all the other women. However I do know enough to know that you have been lying to me long enough. I don’t know if you really wanted a gas card or more money, or crazy sex or a place to live. I have no idea why you continued to tell me that you loved me while seeing other people. That’s not love. That’s a lie. That’s cruel. That’s emotional abuse. For months you have made me think all of this was in my head and that *I* was crazy, when it was actually all true.
You need help if you think that love is dating more than one person at a time. I pray to God that you find happiness with yourself, so that you can find happiness with someone else. I pray that you don’t raise your sons to think that what you did to me is ok to do to women. Because it’s not. I wish things could have been different. I wish you could have been the man you made me believe you were. I wish our story was truly “History in the making”. I wish so much that our first kiss was my last first kiss. I wish that when you read this you are sad, and wish you could hold me in your arms and kiss me again, but I know that’s not how you will feel. You will feel angry, and indignant. Go ahead. Blame me. Tell the world you were scorned. It won’t help. I wish you loved me the way you said you did, but I know I can wish and wish and wish all day on falling stars and it’s never going to make you change.
Can I have my heart back now?
I thought it was a nice letter, and he did act just as I thought he would. He told me never to txt him or call him again. Gee, I thought that is what I was saying in that letter? It made me angry that he still treated me like I had done something wrong.
Yesterday I talked to K. K, you see is his OTHER girlfriend of the past two months. I had seen that he added her on facebook, and I just knew. I looked at her profile, and of course it said she was “missing her boyfriend Steve” I emailed her and asked if she had a boyfriend named Steve Indendi(cause all liars and cheaters shall now be called out by name). She said yes. I felt like I needed to throw up. I felt so broken hearted all over again for me but also her. I knew she had no idea what kind of man he was. I wrote her a letter telling her everything, but I didn’t send it. I waited, and prayed and talked to my friends about what I should do. I knew that once I sent that both of our lives would be changed forever, and I wasn’t sure that I could live with that. Then I decided it wasn’t me that was hurting her, that is was Steve. He did this. He lied to her, and me, and whoever else is out there. I sent the e-mail yesterday morning and waited for the fall out. She gave me her phone number and I called. I was shaking like a leaf. I told her my story, and she told me hers. It started much like it did with us. He met her on a dating site, and turned on the charm, hard and fast. He told her how much he loved her, and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He told her she was beautiful, and she was a great mom. He told her that they would take a cruise together for her birthday. He also told her that he had never been married, and… he has… twice. He also forgot to mention his current living arrangement to her. The fact that he lives with his ex and lied about it should be a problem. The entire time, he was still txting me telling me he loved me and missed me and how badly he wanted to be with me. I knew he was lying to me, but deep down a part of me wanted to believe that maybe he wasn’t. That maybe I was just being paranoid and some how all of this would magically be fixed. I know that was me just trying to hang on to that fairy tale. When she told me about herself I couldn’t help but think, no wonder he picked her. She is really smart, and funny, and seems to have a lot going for her. I am not just heartbroken for myself, but also for her. I just wanted to tell her it wasn’t her fault and give her a hug. I wanted to rewind the clock for her more than me. I feel like she has so much more to offer to someone, and someone like her should not have to feel the way I currently do. When we got off the phone she seemed to be ok. She said she was going to be done with him. She didn’t have time to waste on him. She was so strong, that she inspired me. She is someone I would like to be friends with, but if she gives him another chance I would just be so sad for her. He’s a very convincing person, and I know that he has an answer for everything I told her, because she told me the horrible things he said about me. I can deal with him calling me a liar, and a stalker. I expected that from him. This is exactly what he said about the girl who tried to warn me about him in Jan. *I* know the truth. I know that I did the right thing. I know that I tried to save her from anymore pain. She has to do the rest.
I’m sad. I’m not sad because Steve turned out to be a douche-bag. I’m not sad that he borrowed money from me he will never pay back. I’m not sad because I “don’t have a boyfriend” I am sad because I am grieving the “what was going to be” All the things that I let myself believe could happen. The happily ever after. All the wonderful fairy tale pictures he painted for us. The thought that all the simple things he told me we would do together, like cook dinner, or snuggle on the couch, will never happen again. We will never travel to Utah together, or decorate the Christmas tree together. We won’t raise kids and grand kids together.
I can look back now and see signs. I can see a lot of signs now. He never called me from home. He was always in the truck. He slipped up one time and said to me “…you know your favorite show Little House On The Prairie?” I asked him why did you say that? That’s never been my favorite show! He said “Oh! I just thought you would like it.” He then laughed and made a joke about it, and I forgot all about it, until yesterday. He sent me the same pic from his phone a couple of times and when I would tell him that he had sent that to me, he would say things like… oh well it missed you. At the end he was getting sloppy. I see that now. I mean it must be hard to juggle a wife(maybe) and several girlfriends, and go to nursing school right?
I found out a lot more yesterday. It wasn’t just K. and R.(the girl that warned me in Jan.) and I. There were at least two other girls we know about, and *I* suspect at least another recent one while he was with K and I. He asked them to borrow money too.What do we all have in common? We are all curvy, single moms with big boobs. I guess he figured that fat curvy women have less self esteem and would be more likely to be in need of the kind of attention he gives.
He starts by making you feel beautiful all the time. He tells you that he could easily fall for you, and you are the only woman he wants to be with. He loves all the same music, and movies as you. He has been to the same places as you, and he loves all the same hobbies as you. He is a “simple family man who just wants to snuggle on the couch”. He has waited his whole life to find someone like you, and he knows why… because YOU are his soul mate. What he forgets to tell you is he just sent that text message to 3 of his other soul mates!He starts every morning with “Good Morning Beautiful” He ends each day with “Good Night My Love”. He sends you a text with his voice saying I love you over and over. He texts you all day every day just to let you know he is thinking about you, or loves you. He tells you he loves to cook, and bake, and he can’t wait to cook for you. He tells you that once you are together he will fix things around the house that have needed fixing for a while. He tells you that this time next year you two will be together, living happily ever after. He tells you he wants to take you on a cruise, and show you the world. He will tell you that he wants to take you to all of his umpire tournaments. He will tell you all about how beautiful the Mormon tabernacle is and how he wants to take you with him to Utah to see it again. He will tell you that he would love to help with your kids, and he can’t wait for you to meet his kids. He will tell you that he will take care of you once he becomes a nurse and makes all kinds of money.
Then it happens, his phone acts strange and he needs money to get it fixed, or you can’t talk to him until he can afford a new one. His phone bill needs to be paid, he doesn’t have the gas money to come see you… He never comes right out and asks you for the money. He would rather hint around until you feel so bad for him, that you give him money. You will feel bad for him too. He is that good.
He is always the victim, never the bad guy. His first ex wife accused him of this and that and is a psycho that’s why he’s not with his daughter. Oh wait. He didn’t tell you he had a teenage daughter? Oh he does! Then his current roomie, and said ex wife he will tell you is also a psycho, bi-polar mess who doesn’t even want her kids. If he tells you he is living alone, ask to come see his place on any given week night, I bet he has an answer for why you can’t come over then too. The first girl that tried to warn me of all of this. He painted her out to be some crazy girl he talked to on line who was obsessed with his kids. She is actually an RN who he stood up on new years eve, left her crying all night long with no explication of where he was or why he didn’t show up until the next day. He also paints a lovely picture of me now. I am currently know as the crazy girl he went to high school with who he dated a long time ago but I turned into a stalker.Well we did go to high school together, at least THAT isn’t a lie. I guess in his eyes, going around trying to catch him in a lie, because he was telling me he was in love with me right up to the day that I talked to K, would be stalking. If that’s what it takes to catch him cheating, then so be it. I have a family to protect, and my heart to worry about. I asked him to tell the truth and he didn’t. What was I to do? Pretend that it’s ok that he’s with all these other women? I think Not.
When he leaves your house he will tear up, and tell you he doesn’t want to leave you. How he can see himself living with you for the rest of your life.
He never had any intention of doing any of these things. He is a con artist who wanted someone to pay for things for him, and give him a place to live. That is my new reality. No more fairy tales. No more happily ever after. Just me, and my kids, and my dog.
UPDATE(May 12th): I just read this again after two months. My letter was how I was feeling. It was real, it was who I was, and what I believed at the time. After finding out all that he is/was, and what he has/is doing to women. I feel like I almost need to edit the letter and tell the world… no no no I don’t love him anymore, I never will love him anymore, and I never really did love HIM. I loved this persona that I thought he was. Sadly, nothing he ever said to me was real. I am great. I have moved on. I am a whole person again. However, looking back makes me sad for the person I was back then, just two short months ago. I could not have gotten through any of the without the grace of God!