My Husband Forgave His Friends of Decades After They Betrayed Him

Lima silang magkakaibigan. They’ve been friends since high school, and they were churchmates, to be exact. He was their friend to cry on, takbukhan kapag gipit, playmates, advisor, etc. Hanggang sa pumasok na sila sa corporate world, and everyone got busy with their own lives. Pero tuwing uuwi siya sa Bulacan, lagi silang nagkikita. Their friendship was solid, and kumbaga, walang iwanan—kahit lumubog ang barko. Sama-sama tayong aahon, mantra nila. For almost 15 years, maayos ang friendship nila.

Noong 2020, nagdesisyon silang magtayo ng small business sa Bulacan. Bago nila simulan, twice na nilinaw at nag-set ng expectations ang asawa ko na mahihirapan siyang umuwi sa Bulacan kasi mahirap mag-file ng VL sa company nila. Inipon na lang niya yung leave credits niya para mag-file ng leave sa December, dahil yun ang peak season, para makatulong siya sa kanila. They said it’s okay. Twice. Na walang problema. So they proceeded to start the chicken business. Since mas kilala ang asawa ko sa area nila, he promoted their business online, asking also his relatives to support and visit their branch.

It was December 2020 when things started to fall apart. Merong inggitan, silipan ng kita, reklamo dahil hindi pantay-pantay ang workload. At nagpaplano na pala sila na tanggalin ang asawa ko at yung isang friend nila nang hindi nila alam. Nakarating ito sa asawa ko, and he was shocked. He couldn’t believe it. He told me he won’t believe it unless it comes directly from them. So, um-absent ang asawa ko at umuwi ng Bulacan.

Nag-usap-usap silang lima. Umamin yung tatlo sa kanila, and they were very sorry. May GC pa sila na wala sya at dun sila nagsasabi ng mga reklamo nila tungkol sa kanya. Tanong ng asawa ko, bakit hindi siya kinausap at dumirekta na lang sa kanya? He’s willing to remove himself from the business naman if they feel it’s unfair to them that he’s not there. Money is not an issue. Ang gusto niya lang ay maging honest sila. He’s willing to give up the money if that’s what will save their friendship. They were silent and had no answer.

They felt na lugi sila sa hatian ng income dahil sila lagi ang tao sa branch, kaya gusto nilang tanggalin ang asawa ko. Pero nabreak na yung tiwala niya. He was also disappointed because he didn’t expect things would come to this point. These guys had been his friends for more than 10 years, and betrayal was the last thing he would think of them. They’ve been through a lot, and he never imagined their friendship would crumble just because of money. They returned the money to my husband.

After their conversation, bumalik rin siya ng Manila kinagabihan. Sinabi ng asawa ko na hindi niya tatanggapin yung sorry nila, kasi nahihirapan pa siyang magpatawad. My husband is very soft-hearted and easily forgives, but when he said he didn’t want to forgive them… that’s when I realized the gravity of what happened. Kwinento niya sa akin lahat, and I could hear the sadness in his voice. I felt the same way, kasi witness ako sa samahan na yun.

Blinock niya sila sa social media, pero ako, I stayed friends with them. Hinayaan naman ako ng asawa ko. Pero sa 4 years na yun, napansin ko na tuwing magsa-story ako ng photos namin, lagi sila nagrereact. Walang mintis. Kinasal kami noong December 2022, at pinost ko yung mga photos namin ng asawa ko sa story ko. Lahat sila sineen, and nag-react.

Four years later, noong January 2024, tinanggal ng asawa ko yung block sa kanila. Then they sent a request to him. I didn’t expect anything naman. That’s when I realized that their friendship had been strengthened by time. This time, they told him how sorry they were. Na noong kinasal kami noong 2022, sinubukan daw nilang pumunta sa church kung saan kami ikakasal, pero nandoon lang daw sila sa malayo, kasi baka makita sila. They apologized repeatedly and said they didn’t expect to be forgiven, but they still hoped that someday, things would go back to how they were. Na sana bigyan pa sila ng isang chance na manumbalik ang samahan nila. My husband forgave them. Nakita ko pa siya habang nagbabasa ng chat nila, na nateteary-eyed siya. Huminga siya ng malalim at yumakap sa akin. He asked if it was the right time to forgive them, and I asked him back, "Ano bang nararamdaman mo? Do you already forgive them?" He nodded. He said he was just afraid it would happen again. So I asked him, "Ano ba pagkakakilala mo sa kanila?" He answered, "Hindi sila ganun." Three words. But it melted my heart. He still believed in them. I hugged him this time and said, “Kung ano man ang nasa puso mo, follow it.”

December 26, 2024, we came home from the grocery and found them in the living room. Muntik na magkaiyakan. HAHAHA. I left them for a while to give them space to talk. They finished around 12 AM, and my husband shared a lot of things. Malaki rin ang naging impact sa kanila at malaking lesson yung nangyari. They became so aloof to people and didn’t attend church much because they felt like hypocrites for attending church after betraying their friend. Life goes on, but they’ll always have that “what if.” In those 4 years, hindi rin sila madalas magkita-kita ng tatlong iba pa, because it reminded them of the betrayal. So they decided to give each other space for a while.

I feel so happy. Hindi ko alam, pero sobrang saya ko para sa kanila. Nakita ko rin yung happiness sa husband ko, and I’m just as happy.

Bukas, kakain daw sila dito sa bahay (since si husband pa lang ang may baby sa kanila) and magluluto siya ng adobo.