Okay guys, quick update.
The talk was interesting. I felt level-headed, cool, and calm the whole time. It went down like this.
I started and began saying that I don't just want to talk about the kids, and that I had a list of things. She said that she had something to say too and started talking. I stopped her and said that what she had to say isn't more important than what I had to say. I felt like that set a good tone for the coming discussion.
I had a spiel about her lying, gaslighting, deceit, etc. I said that I was going to ask her questions about the affair and that she could either answer honestly or lie, but to keep in mind that I already know the answers to many of my questions. She wound up answering everything and a lot of what she said lined up with what I had already uncovered in the texts. Either she was being truthful or she wised up to what I knew, but either way I got it all recorded.
She gave me the details of how it started. Who initiated, how it began, what she did. It broke my heart and I wanted to scream HOW COULD YOU but I maintained composure. I also asked about the other guy. Sounds more like an emotional affair, and she hung out alone with him a few times but claimed she never did anything physical. Could very well be a lie but I don't have any evidence on that one.
I allowed her to say her part as well. She came across as genuinely remorseful today, which was nice. She said she feels like she has been battling postpartum depression since our daughter was born and it not only made her feel like she didn't love me, but didn't have any feelings at all. No shame, no remorse, just nothing, empty. I truly do feel bad for her in this, I really do. She also apologized multiple times.
I didn't say much to any of this. I let her talk, and then moved back on to what I wanted to discuss. I'm sure I was extremely cold. She attacked me a few times for different reasons (being controlling, etc) and I told her that I refused to be on the defensive and wouldn't engage with her. Steered things back to where I wanted them to go.
She admitted she emailed OM yesterday and he asked her to try and convince me not to tell his wife. I don't remember the exact wording but she posed a question to ask me to not do it. I said I wouldn't commit to that. Her eyes widened and I could see panic. And I had a few other words about how she keeps talking like this happened "to" them and I am going to be responsible for ruining his and his kids lives.
She asked me if what she did was a deal breaker. I said I didn't know. I used the phrasing of a helpful member here and said that she had 12 months to indulge in an illicit sexual affair while I agonized at home and tried to make this work. And now I have had only 3 days to digest this information and didn't know what I'd be doing with it.
Then we went through my living situation and my kid proposal. She got very indignant when I suggested that I have more time with the kids than her. I let her go off a little bit and she talked about it being not fair. I said what wasn't fair was that the kids had a cheating mother who chose to have an affair. She warned me that she'd be fighting for them, I simply acknowledged it and said that I see how it is going to be.
And that's pretty much it. She tried to drag me in a few times and I resisted. I feel awful right now and I wanted so badly to comfort her and tell her what she wanted to hear. That's just the person I am. But I didn't. I reminded myself over and over that she's my adversary, and she isn't the person I knew. I thought of her agreeing to go back to his hotel room with him the first time. How the person I thought I knew would have never done that. It helped me stay strong. But I feel like I'm going to be sick.
Oh and we also talked a bit about the work situation. She feels that she can continue to engage with him professionally. She brought up the fact that she didn't want to ruin either of their careers, blah blah blah. A switch flipped and she became terrified and hostile when she realized I could bring this to HR. She tried to put me on the defensive and I diverted the subject.
Now I'm going to drive to Best Buy and get a motion-sensitive camera. I'm going to pick out a few spots around the house to stash it when I'm either away and want to observe, or at work while she works from home and I want to see if she is video chatting in my bedroom with OM.