Shadowing Practice: She Caught Him ⭐ English Listening Practice Story Level 3 | Graded Reader - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
B1
I never thought I would be the woman telling this kind of story.
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I never thought I would be the woman telling this kind of story.
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You hear about these things happening to other people.
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You watch it in movies.
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You read about it online.
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But you never think it will happen to you.
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Let me start from the beginning.
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My name is Samantha, and this is the story of how my life broke into pieces on a normal Tuesday afternoon.
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I married Kevin eight years ago.
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We met at a coffee shop in downtown Chicago.
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He was sitting alone, reading a book,
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and I accidentally spilled my coffee near his table.
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He looked up, smiled, and said,
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well, that's one way to get my attention.
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I laughed.
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He laughed.
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And just like that, something started between us.
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Kevin was everything I wanted in a man.
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He was tall, kind, funny, and hardworking.
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He worked as a project manager at a big tech company.
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I worked as a marketing coordinator at a small advertising firm.
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We were not rich, but we were comfortable.
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We had a nice house in the suburbs,
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two cars, and a dog named Biscuit.
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From the outside, we looked like the perfect American couple.
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But no one ever sees what happens behind closed doors.
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Looking back now, I can see the signs.
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They were small at first.
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So small that I did not even notice them.
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Kevin started coming home late from work.
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He said there were new projects, new deadlines, new meetings.
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I believed him.
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Why would I not?
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He was my husband.
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I trusted him completely.
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Then his phone became his best friend.
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He was always on it,
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texting, scrolling, smiling at his screen.
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When I asked who he was talking to,
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he would say, just work stuff.
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He started keeping his phone face down on the table.
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He changed his password.
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He took his phone to the bathroom every single time.
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I told myself I was being crazy.
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I told myself I was being that jealous wife that everyone makes fun of.
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So I pushed my feelings down and tried to be a good wife.
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I cooked his favorite meals.
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I planned date nights.
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I bought new clothes to look nice for him.
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But slowly, I could feel him pulling away from me.
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His kisses became shorter.
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His hugs became colder.
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he stopped saying I love you before bed.
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My best friend, Amanda, noticed it too.
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One evening, while we were having dinner together,
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she said, Samantha, is everything okay with you and Kevin?
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You seem sad these days.
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I almost cried right there in the restaurant,
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but I held it together and said,
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everything is fine, just tired from work.
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Amanda looked at me with those knowing eyes,
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but she did not push.
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She just held my hand across the table and said,
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I am here for you, always.
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Then came that Tuesday.
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It was a regular day at work.
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I had a big presentation in the afternoon,
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but my boss called a meeting in the morning and told us that the client had canceled the project.
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Just like that.
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Three months of work, gone.
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My boss told everyone to take the rest of the day off.
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I was disappointed about the project,
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but a small part of me was happy.
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I thought I would go home early and surprise Kevin.
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He had been so stressed lately,
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or at least that is what he told me.
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I thought maybe I could cook a nice lunch,
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open a bottle of wine,
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and we could spend some quality time together.
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Maybe it would fix whatever was breaking between us.
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I stopped at the grocery store and bought ingredients for pasta, Kevin's favorites.
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I bought fresh flowers, too.
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Yellow roses.
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I was actually smiling in the car on my way home.
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I was playing our wedding song on the radio.
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I was thinking about how surprised he would be.
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When I pulled into the driveway,
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I noticed a car I did not recognize.
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It was a red sedan parked right behind Kevin's car.
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I thought maybe it was a co-worker or a friend.
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Kevin sometimes had people over when he worked from home.
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I did not think much of it.
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I grabbed the grocery bags and the flowers and walked to the front door.
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I unlocked it quietly.
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I wanted to surprise him so I did not call out his name like I usually did.
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The house was quiet.
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Too quiet.
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Biscuit came running to me, wagging his tail.
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I put the bags on the kitchen counter and noticed two wine glasses on the table.
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One had lipstick marks on it.
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My heart started beating faster.
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I did not own that shade of lipstick.
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Then I heard it.
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Laughter coming from upstairs, from our bedroom.
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My legs felt heavy as I walked up the stairs.
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Every step felt like I was walking through water.
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My hands were shaking.
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My mind was racing.
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I was telling myself, there is an explanation.
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There is always an explanation.
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I reached the bedroom door.
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It was half open.
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and then I saw them.
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Kevin was on our bed,
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the bed we shared, the bed where we talked about our future,
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the bed where we held each other during storms,
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and he was not alone.
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There was someone with him.
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They were both half-dressed, comfortable,
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laughing, wrapped in each other's arms.
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The other person was tall,
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with long dark hair and beautiful features.
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And it took me only a moment to realize that this person was a transgender woman.
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For a few seconds, I just stood there, frozen.
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My brain could not process what my eyes were seeing.
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It was like watching a movie,
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but the movie was my life.
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life.
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Then Kevin looked up and saw me.
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The color left his face.
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He jumped up from the bed like it was on fire.
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Samantha, what are you.. you're supposed to be at work.
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That was his first reaction.
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Not I'm sorry, not I can explain.
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But you were supposed to be at work.
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As if my schedule was the problem.
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As if I was the one who did something wrong by coming to my own home.
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The other person, I later learned her name was Nicole,
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grabbed her clothes and started getting dressed quickly.
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She looked embarrassed.
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She looked scared.
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She did not say a word.
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I dropped the yellow roses on the floor.
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I remember watching the petals scatter on the carpet.
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And then the tears came.
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Not slowly, not gently.
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They came like a flood.
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How long?
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I asked.
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My voice was barely a whisper.
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Kevin was putting on his shirt, his hands shaking.
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Samantha, please, let me explain.
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How long?
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I said it again, this time louder.
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He looked at the floor.
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six months six months half a year 180 days of lies of looking me in the eyes
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and telling me everything was fine of sleeping next to me
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at night after being with someone else the thought made me
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feel sick nicole walked past me without making eye contact i heard the front door close.
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I heard her car start.
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And then it was just me and Kevin and the ruins of our marriage. Who is she?
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I asked.
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Kevin sat on the edge of the bed.
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He put his face in his hands.
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Her name is Nicole.
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I met her online. Are you...
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How long have you known that you...
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I could not even finish my sentence.
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I have always known, he said quietly.
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Since I was a teenager,
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I was attracted to transgender women, but I was scared.
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I grew up in a small town.
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My father would have disowned me, so I buried it.
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I thought if I married a woman,
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if I lived a normal life, it would go away.
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But it never did.
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I stood there, listening.
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Part of me wanted to scream,
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part of me wanted to break things.
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But another part of me,
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a small, quiet part, felt something unexpected.
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I felt sad for him.
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Not because what he did was okay.
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It was not okay.
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The lying, the cheating, the betrayal,
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none of that was okay.
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But I could see the pain in his eyes.
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The pain of hiding who you are for your entire life.
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You should have told me,
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I said, before the wedding.
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Before we built a life together.
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You should have told me the truth.
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I know, he said.
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And he started crying.
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The next few weeks were the hardest of my life.
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I moved into Amanda's apartment.
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I could not eat.
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I could not sleep.
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I lost seven pounds in two weeks.
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I called in sick to work so many times that my boss finally asked me what was going on.
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I went to therapy.
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My therapist, Dr. Williams, helped me understand that Kevin's identity and attraction were not about me.
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It was not because I was not pretty enough,
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not smart enough, not good enough.
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It was about him and who he truly was.
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But his choice to lie,
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to cheat, to betray my trust, that was about character.
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And that was the part that hurt the most.
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I was not angry that Kevin was attracted to a transgender woman.
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Love is love.
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People are who they are.
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What broke me was the dishonesty.
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He used me as a shield.
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He used our marriage as a mask.
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He let me believe in a future that he knew was built on lies.
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We filed for divorce three months later.
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It was quiet and sad.
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There were no big fights in court.
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We split everything fairly.
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I kept Biscuit.
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He kept the house.
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On the day I signed the papers,
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Kevin said to me, I'm sorry, Samantha.
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You deserved better.
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Yes, I said.
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I did.
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It has been a year now since that Tuesday.
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I moved to a new apartment.
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I got a promotion at work.
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I started running every morning.
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I adopted another dog, a little brown one I named Hope,
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because that is what I needed.
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Hope.
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Some days are still hard.
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Some nights I still cry.
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I still have trust issues.
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I still check the door twice before I sleep.
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But I am healing.
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Slowly.
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Like a broken bone that needs time to grow strong again.
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Amanda asked me last week if I was angry at Nicole.
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I thought about it for a long time.
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And honestly, no. Nicole was not the one who made promises to me.
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Nicole did not stand at the altar and say,
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Till death do us part.
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Kevin did.
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My anger, my hurt, my pain,
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it all belongs to him.
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I learned something important through all of this.
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You cannot make someone love you the way you need to be loved.
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You cannot fix someone by loving them harder.
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And you cannot build a real life on a false foundation.
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My name is Samantha.
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I am 34 years old.
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I live in Chicago.
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I have two dogs, a good job,
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and a best friend who never lets me down.
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And I am going to be okay.
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Thanks for listening to my story.
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If you liked it, hit that subscribe button.
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Drop a comment and tell me where you're listening from.
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About This Lesson
This listening practice lesson is drawn from the engaging narrative of Samantha, who shares a deeply personal story of trust and relationships. As you listen to her recount her experiences, you will not only enhance your English listening skills but also work on your speaking and pronunciation through shadowing. This method encourages you to repeat what you hear, thereby improving your fluency and helping you learn English with YouTube in an interactive manner. The tone is conversational yet reflective, making it ideal for learners at Level 3. By practicing with this story, you'll also be preparing for IELTS speaking practice, as the narrative includes useful vocabulary and structures commonly found in everyday conversations.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Spill coffee: To accidentally drop a drink, often causing a mess.
- Pulling away: To gradually become less involved or connected.
- Trust: A firm belief in the reliability or truth of someone.
- Signs: Indications or signals that something may be occurring.
- Best friend: A term used to describe someone very close or important in someone’s life.
- Faced down: To place an object, such as a phone, upside down to hide the screen.
- Jealous: Envious or insecure about a personal relationship.
- Comfortable: A state of physical ease and relaxation, often in a relationship context.
Practice Tips
To make the most of this lesson, embrace the technique of shadow speech. As you listen to Samantha's story, focus on the rhythm and intonation of her voice. Because the speed is moderate, it’s an excellent opportunity for you to practice English pronunciation. Here’s how to effectively shadow:
- Pause and Repeat: After each sentence, pause the video and repeat what you heard out loud. Pay attention to Samantha's emotion and try to mimic her tone.
- Record Yourself: To track your progress, record your voice as you practice. Compare it to the original audio to identify areas for improvement.
- Use Contextual Clues: If there are phrases or words you struggle with, revisit those sections to catch nuances and context. This is particularly useful for vocabulary related to relationships and emotions.
- Daily Practice: Consistency is key. Spend at least 15-20 minutes each day with this listening practice to effectively improve your English speaking skills.
By implementing these tips, you will not only enhance your listening comprehension but also significantly improve your English pronunciation—vital skills for communicating naturally in conversations and during the IELTS speaking practice.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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