It sounds like an episode of "The Young and the Restless," but it's real life. Amy's real life.

Amy and Jason had been married for nine years when she discovered that Jason had been having an affair for a year with his secretary, Diana. And if that weren't enough, Diana had become pregnant with Jason's baby. And if that weren't enough, Amy found out about the affair and the baby when the sheriff's deputy delivered paternity papers to her home. But wait, this all happened while she and Jason were in the process of adopting a baby.

Let's back up. During the year of the affair, Amy says she asked Jason "many times" if something was wrong. "Every time I asked him, he denied it. The day before the arrival of the sheriff's deputy was the last time I asked him. He told me that not only was he not having an affair, he was getting upset that I kept asking him.

"When the sheriff's deputy arrived, I was alone in the house with our five-year-old son."

After the shock, Amy began to read the petition. She said first she felt sadness. "Then relief that I wasn't crazy. Then embarrassment when I realized the deputy was watching me read the petition and learn that my husband had been unfaithful and had a six-month-old baby daughter. Then sadness again when the deputy apologized for having brought me the news. Anger came and pitched a tent the next day."

A woman who finds out her husband has had an affair should be allowed some time to wallow in her emotions — all of them. But Amy didn't have that luxury. There was a baby to consider. Amy's first pregnancy had caused complications. She and Jason had gone through fertility treatments in order to have another child, but they hadn't worked. They had decided to adopt.

"We had just found out that the adoption was going through when I learned of the affair. Their adopted daughter and Jason's daughter would be six months apart."

Amy says she thought about leaving Jason "many, many, many times. But I take my marriage vows seriously." She agreed to stay with him, but she had certain conditions. One of them was that he be a real father to all his children, "not just a check in the mail."

The other was that all the children know each other and know their relationship.

"When they were younger, the girls used to be friends," says Amy. "But as they got older, they drifted apart. They're now 14. They'll always be sisters, but not necessarily friends. And that saddens me. I love them both."

Amy used to be friends with Diana, but that friendship is, of course, long over. "We're cordial, nothing more. Things I had wanted to say to her were not worth the pain they would have caused. I used to have fantasies of visiting her with a baseball bat, but I chose not to act on them. It was an extremely difficult decision. I sometimes wonder if I chose wisely."

Next, has Amy really gotten over the affair? And what is Jason's side of the story?

How did you find out your partner was having an affair? Send your tale, along with your questions and problems to [email protected]. And check out my new ebook, "Dear Cheryl: Advice from Tales from the Front."

Photo credit: at Pixabay