I want to tell you a story from my previous life, one that happened in what is now my former family.
We lived together for two years – one year before marriage and one after. At first everything was wonderful. We were deeply in love, completely understood each other, and shared perfect harmony.
But a year after the wedding, things began to change. My wife started constantly criticizing me, mostly about money – it was never enough for her. She wanted expensive gifts, luxury resorts – the beautiful life. I wouldn’t say we were poor exactly – we had enough for basic comforts. But her demands were on another level…
I hoped getting a promotion at work would resolve our conflicts.
I did eventually get that promotion, but by then it couldn’t improve my wife’s situation. We were already divorced…
Even as our relationship was falling apart, I still thought we could fix things. Then one day I came home from work early and overheard my wife talking with her friend. That’s when I understood there was no chance left for our marriage…
It all started with the New Year’s office party. I had no problem letting her go – I trusted her completely, as I’d never given her any reason to doubt me. She came home very late, completely drunk. Even then I had no suspicions – though I should have.
The truth came out in that conversation I accidentally heard a couple months later:
— So what should I say? That I got pregnant at the party?
— Irene, you don’t even know if it’s your husband’s or the boss’s baby.
— Oh please… So what? I’ll say it’s Steven’s. There’s nothing to gain from my husband anyway, but Edward can definitely provide for us.
— But he’s married.
— So? His wife isn’t a brick wall. And anyway, he stopped loving her long ago.
— What about Steven?
— I told you. There’s nothing there. He was poor then and he’ll stay poor.
I couldn’t listen anymore. I stormed into the room, barely stopping myself from slapping her. Naturally, I threw her out. Filed for divorce…
The divorce went through quickly, despite Irene being pregnant. She didn’t contest it – apparently counting on a comfortable life with her boss. We had no joint property – the apartment and car were mine, so there was nothing to divide…
Honestly, the betrayal devastated me. I didn’t even want to live. To distract myself from dark thoughts, I threw myself into work. And soon got that long-awaited promotion…
Life went on. My work started bringing in good money. Several months after the divorce, when I was beginning to move on, my ex-wife reappeared. She came to my workplace begging forgiveness. Said she loved me, that the boss was a mistake, and the child was definitely mine. But I didn’t care anymore. I didn’t believe a word – only one thought kept going through my mind:
“How did she even find the energy to drag herself across the whole city to my office in her condition?”
I’d learn the real reasons later. For now, I sent her packing – though I promised to support the child if DNA proved it was mine. She kept calling for a while, then finally stopped…
A couple years later, I learned from her friend that the boss had rejected Irene. He changed his mind about divorcing and stayed with his wife. Irene had to quit her job. To get rid of her, her former boss gave her a substantial sum and told her to stay out of his life. The money ran out before the baby was even born. That’s why she’d come to me – her last hope, but nothing came of it.
When the child was born, DNA tests showed Edward was the father. But this didn’t make my ex wealthy. All of Edward’s property – even his company – was legally his wife’s, and his official salary was tiny. Irene had to move with the child to her parents’ old house with a wood stove, surviving on pitiful child support from the wealthy but unscrupulous father. Numerous court cases went nowhere – in response, her ex even threatened to take custody of their son.
For a long time I wondered:
“What was so bad about living with me?”
Then I met my current wife Kate and understood everything happened for the best. That’s how karma works – what goes around comes around.
No comments