You probably don't need us to tell you that marriage is a big deal and requires a huge amount of work. And while each union has its own way of making things work, most married couples would agree you need trust, loyalty, friendship, and love to make it to forever. Audrey Phillips thought she had found all that in her husband, Glyndwyr. In her eyes, they had an ideal marriage and family unit. But years after her husband passed away, she learned the truth about her Glyndwyr, and it changed everything. Overnight, her memory of them as the perfect couple was changed.
A Simple Life
From the outside, Audrey and Glyndwyr's lives weren't over-the-top or special. They were just two people who seemingly loved each other and two people who lived a simple life. They weren't overly wealthy, but Audrey loved her job as an economics teacher, and she also loved her husband. She cherished every moment that they spent together, and she was distraught when he passed away and left her to live life without him by her side.
But then, Audrey realized that her husband had lied to her throughout their whole marriage. They weren't the husband and wife team she had thought they were, as he had worked incredibly hard to pull the wool over her eyes.
Love at First Sight
But to truly understand this incredible story, we need to learn a little more about Audrey and Glyndwyr. The two lovebirds first met in a bar when they were much younger, and for Glyndwyr, it was seemingly love at first sight. He couldn't get enough of the woman standing in front of him, and he thought that she was the most beautiful person he had ever laid eyes on. For Audrey, however, it was more of a slow burn.
Glyndwyr was a very secretive and elusive man, and at first, Audrey didn't know what to make of him. But over time, she realized that she wanted to spend every waking moment with him.
Happily Ever After
For the first few months of their relationship, Audrey and Glyndwyr did everything together. They went on dates, they held hands, and they kissed under the stars. Audrey felt incredibly lucky and knew that she had finally found her happily-ever-after - but there was one downside to her new relationship. Glyndwyr was very secretive about his work, but one thing Audrey knew for sure was that he often had to leave town for business.
Absence seemed to make the heart grow fonder for both of them, and it wasn't long before they made their love official and tied the knot. Then, something happened to change their lives on an even bigger scale.
A Growing Family
A few months after they became husband and wife, Audrey started to experience severe abdominal pain. It was excruciating and seemed to come from nowhere. Luckily, Glyndwyr had just returned from an out-of-town business trip and was on-hand to help his wife - and he knew that something wasn't right. So, they headed to the emergency room to get checked out, as they figured that it was better to be safe than sorry.
After a few tests, the doctor confirmed that the abdominal pains were the result of their pregnancy. Yes, the couple were expecting their first child! And eight months later, they welcomed their son Jake into the world.
He Was Always Heading Out of Town
While Audrey and Glyndwyr loved being parents, there was no denying the fact that raising a baby was hard - especially as Audrey was often left on her own while Glyndwyr worked out-of-town. On the one hand, she appreciated Glyndwyr's committed to his work. But on the other hand, she didn't understand at all. Glyndwyr had explained that his work was extremely secretive, and that he wasn't allowed to share any information with his wife.
This made Audrey question everything. What was he getting up to? What job did he have? But while she was skeptical, she also knew that the man she married was kind and loving, and to her that was all that mattered.
Life-Changing News
Glyndwyr's secretive employment status rarely caused fractures in the husband and wife's marriage, but that all changed when Glyndwyr revealed some life-changing news. After going for a walk - something he often did after returning home in an effort to clear his head - he opened the front door and informed his wife that they would have to leave their home immediately. He looked frustrated and scared, and Audrey didn't understand what was going on.
Glyndwyr seemed insistent that they pack up their things and move as soon as they possibly could. But Audrey was a strong woman, and she wasn't going to be bulldozed like that.
Putting up a Fight
Audrey loved where they lived. She loved their family home, she loved the neighborhood, and she loved the friends that she had made over the years. So, she didn't appreciate her husband's sharp and insistent words - and she definitely didn't want to move. To make matters worse, Glyndwyr couldn't give her a valid reason as to why they needed to uproot their whole lives and move to a new home.
Because of this, she put up a fight. She wouldn't leave her home willy-nilly, and she made this known to her husband. So, she folded her arms and stood in his way.
Putting Arguments on Hold to Rush to the Hospital
In fact, Audrey felt so strongly about the situation that she made herself into a physical barrier between her husband and the door. She stood in front of the entryway with her arms folded and a scowl on her face, and she put her foot down. She didn't want to move, and she was going to do everything she could to stay in the home that she and her son loved.
But in the middle of their argument, they quickly realized that they would have to put their raised voices on hold. That's because Audrey started to experience more sharp pains in her abdomen.
A High-Risk Pregnancy
It was like deja vu for the husband and wife. After heading to the emergency room, they were once again told that they were expecting a child - this time their second. However, the doctor wasn't as happy for them as he was the last time. With a grave look on his face, he told the couple that it was a very high-risk pregnancy and that the ordeal would have a massive impact on Audrey's health.
Not only that but they were also told that this second child would also have to be their last. Of course, they did have a choice to not go through with the high-risk pregnancy if they didn't want to risk it.
Staying Put
Despite the risks involved, Audrey and Glyndwyr were over the moon to learn that they were going to be parents again. So, they decided to continue the pregnancy - but Glyndwyr and the doctors kept a close eye on Audrey throughout the whole process. As she needed to be close to the hospital, this also meant that they had to stay put. Yes, it was too dangerous for the family to move out of their home during this time.
While Audrey was happy to learn that they would be staying in their family home, she could see that the new development had left Glyndwyr unsettled. She didn't realize why until decades later.
Focusing His Attention on the Family
Although Glyndwyr was battling his own private worries, he tried not to let it affect his personal life. He wanted to live the best life as husband and wife and as parents to their kids, and he wanted to be there for them when they needed him the most. In fact, he even started to work less so that he could spend as much time with his family as possible.
He still went on the occasional out-of-town business trip, but he was gone for shorter lengths of time, and they weren't as frequent. It seemed as though he really wanted to put his family first.
Changing His Mind About Moving
In fact, it wasn't long until Glyndwyr changed his mind completely about moving away from their family home. When they welcomed their second child into the world, he told Audrey that he believed it was best for them to stay put and focus on raising their kids in their lovely family home rather than uprooting them and moving elsewhere. As you can imagine, Audrey was very happy with her husband's change of heart.
In the back of her mind, though, she wondered what had really prompted her husband to change his mind. After all, he had previously been insistent that they moved house.
A Happy Life With Their Kids And, Eventually, Grandkids
All in all, Audrey and Glyndwyr had a happy life. For the next five decades, they continued to build their lives together, and they were extremely proud of the family they had raised. As time wore on, they even became grandparents, and their hearts swelled with love and adoration. Throughout it all, the husband and wife team also grew closer and closer. They weren't going to let anything tear them apart.
However, their happily-ever-after was thwarted when Glyndwyr's health took a tumble. As his old age caught up with him, Audrey noticed that his hands had started to shake, and he struggled to walk unaided.
Glyndwyr Was Diagnosed With Parkinson's Disease
As his health continued to deteriorate, Audrey convinced Glyndwyr to see a doctor. She knew that something wasn't quite right, and she wanted her husband to receive the help and the treatment that he needed. However, it wasn't good news. After numerous tests and investigations, it was confirmed that Glyndwyr had Parkinson's Disease and would only get progressively worse as the months went by. Of course, they were both devastated.
Their children and grandchildren were also upset by the news, and they just didn't know how to cope. They knew that Glyndwyr didn't have long left, but they didn't realize how quickly that time would go.
Saying Goodbye
As Glyndwyr's health declined with each passing day, he wrestled with his mind. On the one hand, he wanted to share his secrets with his wife, and he wanted to share the secret life that he had been leading for the past five decades. But on the other hand, he had been sworn to secrecy, and he didn't want to break the vows that he had once made. So, he kept his secrets to himself.
A short time later, Glyndwyr sadly passed away. He left behind a devastated and heartbroken wife, but he also left behind a wife who wouldn't learn about his secrets until many years later.
A Loss for the Community
The death of Glyndwyr wasn't just a huge loss for Audrey, their children, and their grandchildren. It was also a huge loss for the community, as Glyndwyr was a huge figure who was friends with everyone and helped everyone out. Many people also appreciated just how hardworking he was, and how he dedicated his life to his family despite having such a high-flying career that took up a huge amount of his time.
Of course, the local community had no idea what Glyndwyr actually did. They had always been told that he had been a civil engineer - but that was far from the truth.
Going Through His Belongings
For three years after Glyndwyr's death, Audrey found herself struggling with grief. She couldn't bear to think about the loss of her husband, and she actively avoided the rooms in her house that were full of his belongings. But she soon realized that she couldn't avoid it forever and that she was only delaying the inevitable. So, one day, she decided to tackle this task and go through his belongings.
The process was hard, and her heart broke with each new photo and memory that was unlocked. But then she spotted something in a drawer that raised alarm bells in her mind.
Cleaning the Study
When Audrey was cleaning Glyndwyr's study, she came across a drawer that she had never opened before. But as Glyndwyr often made his way to his study to write poems and stories, she had just assumed that it was full of the creative writing work he wasn't ready to share with the world. In a way, Audrey was excited. After all, her husband had not allowed her to read his writings before.
As he had passed away three years earlier, Audrey felt as though enough time had passed for her to finally read the words that her husband had poured over for years. But she still felt as though she was invading his privacy.
A Strange Name
Much to Audrey's surprise, the drawer wasn't actually filled with his creative writing works. Instead, the whole drawer was filled with documents that she had never seen before. They looked incredibly official and incredibly old. But as Audrey read them, her brow wrinkled in confusion. The documents all focused on a man she had never heard of before. The name wasn't familiar to her in the slightest, and she had no idea who he was.
Audrey was confused. Why had her husband had a whole drawer full of documents about a man he had never mentioned before? Who was he? And what connection did he have to her husband?
A Gifted Youngster
The more Audrey read the documents, the more she realized that the person in the documents was once an incredibly gifted youngster. The documents claimed that he was extremely smart and bright and that he had an impressive memory. In fact, he had a photographic memory that allowed him to remember the smallest details in maps and pictures perfectly! Audrey knew that this was very impressive, but who was he?
The more she read, the more confused Audrey became. She came across countless letters, documents, and photos pertaining to this unknown name, and she learned even more about the young boy.
A Smart Young Boy
Bizarrely, everything in Glyndwyr's drawer was associated with this strange name - but she just didn't understand. Audrey had been married to Glyndwyr for over five decades, and not once had she mentioned anyone with this name. But one thing she could tell from the letters and documents was that he was a very smart young boy. He was even removed from school when he was 13 due to his high intelligence.
It was decided by his parents and the school board that traditional schooling just wouldn't benefit him, so at just 13 years old, he was taken away from his friends. But what happened next?
Doing the Math
At first, Audrey was stumped and had no idea who the young boy was. But as she stared at the dates of the documents and looked at the age of the young boy in the letters and the photographs, she did the math and realized that her late husband was the same age at the same time. So, did her husband know this young boy? Had they been friends at school?
Still, something just didn't add up. But as she wanted to get to the bottom of the documents that had been hidden from her for over five decades, she wasn't going to stop digging.
Picking Apart the Details
In the back of her mind, Audrey knew that she was missing something. Her husband had been a smart and trustworthy man, and she knew that he must have had a reason for keeping these documents. So, she made it her mission to pick apart the details and uncover the truth about the young boy in the documents and his connection to her late husband. After all, it had to be there somewhere.
The deeper she dug, the more she learned about the young boy. And after weeks of investigations, she found something that led her down a rabbit hole she had never expected to go down.
Uncovering Secrets
At the bottom of the pile of documents, Audrey came across a document that seemed incredibly important. As she delved into the details, she couldn't really understand what the document was talking about. It spoke of 'Operation XX' and seemed to hint towards a counter-espionage plot. Of course, Audrey was taken aback. Whoever was involved in this project was obviously some kind of spy, so why did her husband have the documents in his drawer?
The more Audrey read into the document, the more confused she became. But when she came across a phone number, she decided to do something that would hopefully answer her questions.
Full Steam Ahead
Although Audrey wanted answers, she was also worried. She had no idea what was going on, and she had no idea who the phone number belonged to. And if she rang the number, she knew that there was no turning back. She had a feeling that, as soon as she spoke to the person on the other end of the phone, a whole host of secrets would unravel themselves - and she didn't know if she was ready for that.
She weighed up her options. She could either sit with this bizarre information and ponder over all of the possibilities, or she could ring the number and uncover the secrets - however shocking they may be.
Weighing the Options
Audrey was torn. She had had such a loving and wholesome life with Glyndwyr as husband and wife, and the last thing she wanted was to learn something that would change her opinion of him. But equally, she couldn't understand why her husband would hide something from her. Because of this, it took her a few days of to-ing and fro-ing to decide whether to ring the phone number or not.
But in the end, her quest for answers outweighed her worries and concerns. She needed to know what her husband had been hiding from her for over five decades, and she needed to know right there and then.
Making the Call
Finally, Audrey decided to sit down with the phone number in front of her and make the call - but nobody answered. She began to wonder whether the number was out of service and the whole thing was a waste of time, and so she tried to put the whole thing to the back of her mind. But a few hours later, she received a phone call herself from a man asking whether she was Audrey Phillips.
As she explained how she had come about his number and the many questions she had about her husband, the man sighed. He explained that he could give her the answers that she wanted, but he wouldn't do it over the phone.
A Knock on the Door
Audrey was wary, but there was something about the man's voice that told her that he was a friend rather than a foe. So, she gave him her address and arranged a meeting for the next day. When he knocked on the door, Audrey was a bundle of emotions. She didn't know whether to be scared of excited, but one thing she did know was that she was finally going to get answers.
As the man explained himself, he confirmed that he had worked with Glyndwyr for over three decades. But during that time both of them had been sworn to secrecy and had to keep huge secrets from their loved ones.
Explaining Himself
The more he explained, the more the pieces of the puzzle were put together. The man explained that Glyndwyr had been an incredibly gifted child and that his intelligence and memory were extraordinary for a boy so young. Because of this, both his teachers and his parents decided to take him out of the school system, and it wasn't long before he was recruited to become a member of the army.
As he went through basic training, his superiors could see that Glyndwyr wasn't like any other recruit. He was special, and he was so much more than just a soldier.
Receiving Special Training
The man sitting in front of Audrey had been in the same boat as Glyndwyr. They had both been picked out of the soldier bunch as having above-average intelligence, and they were both selected to be part of a special military program that was shrouded in secrecy. Because of this, the two men couldn't tell anyone what they were doing. The only people they were allowed to inform were their fathers.
Under the cover of secrets and lies, the men were then trained in special combat, as well as other training programs and language lessons. In fact, they became fluent in German.
The War Was Coming
For the man and Glyndwyr, the whole experience was a whirlwind. They were still so young, but they had both been thrown into a world that they weren't prepared for. Of course, their memory was above-average, and they were extremely intelligent, but this special training was unlike anything they had ever experienced before. However, they were excited for what lay ahead, and they enjoyed being thrown in at the deep end.
But as they were finishing their special training programs, they were faced head-on with their biggest challenge so far. It was at this time that the Second World War began.
Gaining Their Trust
With the war in full force, the man and Glyndwyr took on new roles as spies. They were instructed to gain access to German prisoners of war and to provide them with vital information that would save their lives. However, this wasn't easy. To get to these prisoners, they had to tunnel underground and crawl through dirty pipes. It was grueling work, but it was also essential and life-changing work.
But while the men managed to provide the prisoners of war with this information, there were risks associated with this job. If they were ever caught, they would be killed on the spot. After all, spies weren't tolerated.
Keeping the Ball Rolling
By the time the war had come to an end, Glyndwyr and the man sitting in front of Audrey had saved countless lives and successfully completed their mission as spies. And while they went home for a while, they stayed in touch with their commanding officer. As you can imagine, he didn't want their impressive resume, their out-of-this-world intelligence and their amazing memory to go to waste. So, he kept them on his books.
He continued to train them and call upon them when he needed help with more spy missions. But while the missions changed, the rules stayed the same: they weren't allowed to tell anyone what they did.
A Double Life
In fact, a huge part of their spy training revolved around the ability to live a double life. They were instructed to live under false identities and fake names, and they were even encouraged to build a normal life for themselves. Their commanding officer wanted them to find wives, have children, and seem like normal citizens living a normal life. Then, every so often they would have to leave that behind to undertake new missions.
This resulted in them being away from their families for weeks on end, but it was all part of the job. And despite the general perception of spy work, these jobs weren't glamorous.
The First Mission
When Glyndwyr and the man were given their first big mission, they were tasked with capturing enemy spies and bringing them back to base. To do this, they had to infiltrate an enemy military camp and successfully bring the spies to justice. But as is the case with most spy work, they weren't paid before they started the job. Instead, they would only get paid is the mission was successful.
As it was their first mission, both Glyndwyr and the man were scared - but, thankfully, they succeeded. And from then on, they were tasked with even more dangerous missions.
On the Lookout
As the man continued to share stories and secrets about Glyndwyr's life and career as a spy, Audrey could tell that her husband was just as loyal and respectful as a spy as he was as a husband. In fact, he told her about one particular mission, where Glyndwyr had to rescue other spies from the middle of the ocean. As they traversed the deep ocean water, Glyndwyr made sure to keep a lookout for as long as he possibly could.
He then did everything he could to rescue his colleagues despite the fact that he was putting himself and his own life in grave danger. Thankfully, it all worked out in his favor in the end.
Post-Wedding Bruises
Although their missions were scary and dangerous, the man in front of Audrey had to laugh when he explained another one of their missions. This took place just a few weeks after Glyndwyr and Audrey became husband and wife, and Audrey remembered that, at the time, he had told her that he was going away with his friends to play football for the weekend. When Monday came back around, he was covered in bruises.
Audrey had assumed that the bruises came from the rough-and-tumble of sports, but the man in front of the widow quickly confirmed that he had actually been on a secret spy mission.
Even More Questions
As Audrey listened to what the man in front of her was saying, she just didn't know what to think. How could a man she had been married to for over five decades kept such secrets from her? How did she not realize that he was living a double life? The more the man answered her questions, the more even more questions popped into her head. She wanted to know everything.
While Audrey appreciated that her husband had a valid reason for not telling her the truth, she wanted the stranger in front of her to answer all of her questions. But he had something much better to offer her.
A Long-Lost Letter
The man in front of her produced a letter from his pocket, and Audrey immediately recognized her late husband's handwriting. It seemed as though he had left this letter with his colleague to give to his wife after he passed away, and Audrey was eager to read what Glyndwyr had written. Amazingly, he explained everything - from why he was sworn to secrecy to his hopes for her happy and healthy future.
In this long-lost letter, he also wrote that he had a surprise for Audrey - as long as she was ready to forgive him and accept why he did what he did. But what was it?
A Parting Gift
Hidden in an envelope within the letter was a check, and Audrey couldn't believe the numbers that were written on there. It turned out that Glyndwyr had saved every single cent he had earned over his many years as a spy, and with each successful mission, he siphoned the money away and refused to touch it. In fact, that's why he chose to live such a frugal and humble life.
He wanted to save all of the money and give it to his wife when he passed away, and so that's exactly what he did. Now, he wanted his widow to have fun.