out here with your stuff?”
Jake glanced at his little sister, Emily, who clutched her stuffed rabbit tightly. “You texted us,” he continued, his voice soft. “You said to pack and wait for Dad. He was coming to get us.”
I froze, confusion giving way to panic. “I never sent you a text. Let me see your phone.”
Jake handed me his phone, and as I read the message, my blood ran cold.
“This is your mom. Pack your stuff, take the cash I left, and wait for Dad. He’ll be there soon.”
The words blurred in front of me. I hadn’t sent that message. I’d never tell them to leave. My heart pounded, and a wave of nausea swept over me.
“Mom?” Emily’s voice broke through my panic. Her wide blue eyes searched mine. “Are we going with Dad?”
“No, sweetheart,” I said firmly. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Just as I stood up, trying to figure out what to do, I heard the rumble of a car pulling into the driveway. My blood froze. I turned slowly to see who was behind the wheel.
It was him—Lewis, my ex-husband.
“Kids,” I said, keeping my voice low and steady. “Go inside. Now.”
Jake and Emily hesitated for a moment before grabbing their bags and retreating into the house. I turned to face Lewis, who had already stepped out of his car, wearing that same smug expression I’d grown to despise.
“Well, well,” he sneered. “Leaving the kids alone like this? Great parenting.”
“Are you serious?” I snapped, stepping toward him, my body trembling with anger. “You told them to pack up and wait for you. What are you trying to pull, Lewis?”
He leaned against his car, arms crossed, feigning innocence. “Just looking out for their safety. Maybe if you can’t handle things, they’d be better off with me.”
My anger boiled over. “You lost custody for a reason. Don’t forget that.”
His smirk grew wider. “Maybe that was a mistake.”
Before I could say another word, the front door creaked open. Jake and Emily stood in the doorway, tears streaking their faces, fear written all over them.
“Stop fighting!” Jake’s voice cracked as he pleaded. “Please, Mom. Please, Dad. Stop.”
Seeing their distress, Lewis shrugged, clearly unfazed. Without another word, he got back into his car and sped off, leaving me to pick up the pieces.
As I stood there, watching him disappear down the street, something shifted inside me. I had held it together for the kids, but deep down, I knew this wasn’t over. Lewis wasn’t going to stop. He would keep manipulating them, keep trying to twist the situation in his favor. I had to outsmart him.
I pulled my children into my arms, their tears soaking into my shirt. I made a silent vow to protect them, no matter what it took. I wouldn’t let Lewis turn them against me or make himself the hero in this mess.
I had heard rumors about his new girlfriend, Lisa—a woman who, like everyone else, believed Lewis’s lies about me. He had painted me as the “crazy ex-wife,” the unreasonable one who wouldn’t let him be part of his kids’ lives. But now, I had proof. The fake texts, the custody rulings, years of manipulation—all of it was about to come to light.
Determined, I gathered every piece of evidence I had—messages, legal documents, anything that could expose Lewis for the liar he was. I didn’t want revenge, but I wanted the truth to be known.
I reached out to Lisa, asking if we could meet in private. Surprisingly, she agreed. When we sat down together, I could see the hesitation in her eyes. She was guarded, ready to defend him. But I didn’t approach her with anger. Instead, I calmly laid out the facts, handing her the phone with the fake messages and the legal documents detailing the custody arrangement.
“Look,” I said, my voice steady. “I know what he’s told you about me, but this is the truth.”
Lisa’s eyes widened as she read through the evidence, her confidence wavering. I could see the gears turning in her head, the doubt creeping in.
“I’m not here to ruin your relationship,” I continued. “But I thought you deserved to know who he really is. He’s been manipulating you, just like he manipulated me.”
Lisa glanced up, conflicted. She tried to defend him at first. “He said you were difficult, that you wouldn’t let him see the kids…”
“I’m sure he did,” I said gently. “But the facts speak for themselves.”
She didn’t say much after that, but I could tell she was starting to question everything. It was only a matter of time before she’d realize the truth.
A few weeks later, I heard through a mutual friend that Lisa and Lewis’s relationship was crumbling. She had started confronting him about the lies, and their once-solid bond was unraveling. Small cracks turned into gaping holes, and the web of deception he had spun around her was falling apart.
I didn’t have to lift another finger. The truth had done the work for me.
I didn’t get revenge in the traditional sense, but I got something better—justice. Lewis’s manipulative games had finally caught up with him, and his house of cards was collapsing. It was all I had ever wanted.
And that was enough.
Phil Collins reveals he can “barely hold a drumstick anymore”
He can barely walk and confessed that he can no longer sing.
With eight Grammy awards under his belt, Genesis drummer and lead singer Phil Collins is one of the most prominent musicians there are. He is one of only three musicians, alongside Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney, who have sold more than 100 million albums both as a solo act and a member of a band.
Born on January 30, 1951 in London, England to parents who possessed creative spirits, Collins fell in love with making music.
When he was just five, his uncle made him a drum kit out of tambourines, triangles, cymbals and toy drums, Collins recalled. “The old cliché is, ‘Well, at least it will keep him quiet’,” he told Interview Magazine.
Soon after, he found himself performing in shows at his parents’ boating club.
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“When I started playing seriously, the English beat thing was just happening, the Shadows and bands like that. It was the very early ’60s,” Collins recalled.
“I remember buying Please Please Me. I used to put the record player on very loud and set up my drums so I was facing the mirror, that way you don’t look at what you’re doing.
“Then when I was fourteen I went to a teacher to learn to read drum music. I figured when this rock-and-roll thing finished I would have to make a living playing in a dance band or in an orchestra pit. So I learned to read drum music, but I found that my capacity for reading was not anywhere near as good as actually playing by instinct.”
It was in the 1970 that Collin’s life changed forever. He was already playing in some bands when he came across an ad by a group called Genesis which was looking for a drummer. He decided to get in touch with them and the rest is history. In the first years of Collins being part of it, the group released five albums with singles that reached the charts.
After the founder and lead singer of Genesis left the group, Collins took his place. He was both a singer and a drummer. Speaking of his new role, he said he didn’t really feel comfortable, but as the group failed to find a singer, he simply stepped in.
Besides being a member of Genesis, Collins also had a very impressive solo career. With smash hits such as In The Air Tonight, You Can’t Hurry Love and I Don’t Care Anymore he soon became one of the best in the music industry.
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When he decided to leave the group and focus on his solo career, Collins said: “Having been with Genesis for 25 years, I felt it time to change direction in my musical life.
“For me now it will be music for movies, some jazz projects and of course my solo career. I wish the guys in Genesis all the very best in their future. We remain the best of friends.”
However, in 2017, he decided to reunite with the band. Last year, they announced a world tour, The Last Domino, but had to put it on hold because of the pandemic.
And as fans were looking forward to seeing the group on stage together, Collins gave an interview with BBC Breakfast which made many concerned about his health. He and his band mates announced that it will be Collins’ son Nicholas who would do the drumming and Collins will only sing.
“Nic is a great drummer, but he is capable of sounding like early Phil. For Mike and I, that was always quite exciting,” Genesis band member Tony Banks said.
“It means you can play some of the songs that you haven’t played with Phil as the drummer for a long time.”
Speaking of why he’s not getting behind the drums, the musician revealed: “I’d love to but you know, I mean, I can barely hold a stick with this hand. So there are certain physical things that get in the way.
“I’m kind of physically challenged a bit which is very frustrating because I’d love to be playing up there with my son,” adding that he doesn’t know if he wants to be touring any longer.
“We’re all men of our age, and I think to some extent, I think it probably is putting it to bed,” he said. “I think yeah, I think just generally for me, I don’t know if I want to go out on the road anymore.”
During the past few years, Collins experienced certain health issues which left him struggling to get on his feet. Speaking to Billboard, he revealed that after a surgery in 2009, he was left with dislocated vertebra, nerve damage. He had also suffered a foot fracture that left him feeling like he’s walking “on sticks.”
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