It was 11 PM and my wife Natalia hadn’t returned home yet. When I called, she hesitated, claiming to be caught up in a company gathering and couldn’t leave. I didn’t confront her. Instead, I quietly watched as she, the woman I had dated for four years and married for five, entered a bar hand-in-hand with another man. “I’ll probably be a few more hours. Don’t wait up for me; go to sleep,” she said in a rush and hung up. This was her eleventh late return this month, and it was the last chance I was willing to give her. At 4 AM, Natalia came home. She immediately rushed to the bathroom to shower. The clothes she carelessly threw on the sofa were missing the stockings she had worn out. I sighed, picked up the clothes to wash, and went to the kitchen to make some sobering soup. “You’re the best, Gerold!” she exclaimed suddenly, embracing me from behind. Her voice was still sweet. “Staying up late to make soup for me? Aww, you’ll spoil me.” My usual warmth was gone; I pushed her away coldly. “Have some soup first. You have stomach problems, and without this, you’ll have trouble sleeping tonight.” Natalia smiled, settling down like an obedient cat, sipping the soup bit by bit while muttering, “Work has been so hectic recently, always either overtime or gatherings. Looks like I won’t get a break this weekend either, it’s killing me…” I remembered she had said the same last week. When I worried about her irregular meals and brought her lunch, I discovered she never stayed late at work. Her empty desk held only a photo frame that included a picture of her and Jason. Her colleague told me the frame hadn’t been changed in years. “If you’re tired of hiding it, just stop.” “Hiding what?” Natalia’s eyes widened in an instant. “Your thing with Jason. It must be exhausting to lie every day, drinking late into the night, then having to scheme around me. It’s really not necessary.” As I spoke, I poured the soup into a prepared dish, pointing out each ingredient, instructing her to remember how to make it. “Next time you drink, you might need to learn to make it yourself.” “Gerold, stop it!” “Are you saying you won’t make soup for me anymore? You don’t want me anymore?” Natalia clung to my arm, her eyes beginning to redden. Years of marriage had me holding back my anger. “You cheated on me, and I failed to win your heart even after nine long years. I think that’s enough.” “What are you talking about? I’m not that kind of woman!” Natalia released my arm and glared at me furiously. “Haven’t I explained it to you? Jason and I are just friends. He recently came back from abroad, with no place or job settled, so I met with him a few times to help. “Can’t you just man up? Stop being so irrationally jealous. It’s really unbecoming!” She frowned in disgust. The last time I caught her lying about a date with Jason, she had used a similar excuse. But if it was just a friendship, why the repeated lies? Why were her returns home getting later and later? I sighed, no longer able to tolerate it. “Then let’s get a divorce. Go find your classy Jason!” Her childhood friend for many years was nothing but a jobless leech, living off his parents and spending his nights at bars and clubs. Yet inexplicably, she was drawn to him.
“Divorce? “Gerold, you can’t just act like a jealous prick! Just because I come home late, you throw around the word divorce? That just makes me dislike you more!” Natalia grabbed the soup bowl and smashed it on the floor. “And I’m your wife, not your pet. I don’t need your permission to see people! “Instead of watching me like a hawk every day, you should spend some time improving yourself!” She yelled and then stormed into the bedroom, slamming and locking the door behind her. The heart I thought could no longer ache twisted painfully once more. For nine years, I cooked for her because of her poor stomach. Every holiday, I never forgot to give her gifts. Whatever she wanted, I went out of my way to provide. Yet none of that could replace the photo of her childhood sweetheart on her desk at work. “Enough is enough,” I sighed deeply and began to pack my bags. [Gerold, it’s been so long. Why haven’t you come to make up with me?] [No matter how mad I was, you never left me alone for more than 10 minutes. Do you really not want me anymore?] I could visualize her tear-stained, pitiful face from the texts on my phone. I remembered the weekend last month when she lied about working overtime. I saw her at a 24-hour bar, nestled in Jason’s arms, their embrace too intimate for just friends. At that moment, I felt insane with jealousy as I grabbed Jason by the collar to confront him. Natalia frantically pushed me away, protecting Jason. “He’s just a good friend! Let’s talk about it when we get back. Don’t embarrass Jason right here!” Her determination to defend Jason mirrored the way I had always defended her. Later, she left with Jason, leaving me stranded, a husband watching his wife walk away with another man. It felt like a cruel joke. That incident had planted the idea of divorce in my mind. But when I brought it up, Natalia locked herself in the bedroom, crying. She claimed I was the one she loved most. She didn’t want to upset me, which was why she hid her meetings with an old friend. Then, she said she had stomach pains from drinking. After nine years of love, her tears shattered my resolve. I chose to believe her one more time. But there would not be a second. “Gerold, you know I can’t sleep. Why didn’t you come to coax me? “Nothing happened between Jason and me, I swear. From now on, I won’t hide our meetings to avoid your suspicions. “My stomach hurts again. I didn’t drink much of the soup. Could you make me another bowl, please?” When Natalia came to me with tears in her eyes, I was writing her a note. It listed her favorite recipes, her menstrual cycle schedule, where the stomach medicine was kept, and the dosage she needed… She had never paid attention to these details, accustomed to my constant care. “Didn’t I already tell you how to make the soup?” I handed her the note. “From now on… you’ll need to learn to take care of yourself.”
Natalia froze in place, not reaching for the note I placed on the table. I stood up, grabbed my suitcase, and started to leave. Only then did she react, lightly tugging at me, her eyes brimming with tears. “You’ve packed your bags already? You really don’t want me anymore? You want a divorce?” Her tears began to fall. In the past, her crying would instantly soften my heart. But this time, I simply said calmly, “Yes, Natalia, I gave you chances. But now, I’ve had enough.” I pushed her hand away without a second thought. “Are you never done, Gerold?! How many times do I have to tell you? Jason is my best friend. I haven’t betrayed you, or done anything inappropriate!” Natalia suddenly burst out yelling, “I might have been closer to him, and yes, we had something in the past, but that’s all it was! “If I really couldn’t let go of him, why wouldn’t I just divorce you and be with Jason?” She pushed me in frustration. I hadn’t yet cleared the broken pieces of the bowl from earlier, and a shard pierced through my shoe and deep into my foot. Blood began to seep out, reflecting my tall but frail figure. For nine years, I prioritized Natalia above all else. I worked tirelessly to provide a better life for her, taking on all household duties after long hours at work. Gradually, my back began to stoop from the strain. “Perhaps it’s because you’re used to being taken care of. You see me more as a caretaker than a partner…” I couldn’t think of any other reason. “It’s not that, Gerold, it’s not. “I chose to be with you because of love. I can’t bear to leave you…” Natalia’s voice trembled slightly as she spoke, kneeling to inspect the wound on my foot, a flicker of pain crossing her eyes. “Gerold, I’ll get the first aid kit to bandage that up.” She stood to rush to the living room and just opened the cabinet when her phone rang. She instantly forgot about my injury and ran to the bathroom to answer the call. The voice on the other end was loud enough for me to hear. It was Jason, and he was drunk. “Do you have any money left, Natalia? I missed you so much I couldn’t sleep, so I went to the bar for a few drinks. But I drank too much, and now I’m short on cash…” As Jason’s voice faded, Natalia rushed out of the bathroom, urgency in her eyes as she hurried to the foyer to change her shoes. Opening the door, she remembered me for a moment, casting a casual glance back. “Gerold, can you bandage it yourself for now? I have an emergency. I need to go out; it’s important.” I couldn’t help but smirk bitterly. “Go ahead, and remember to make some food when you get back. You’ve been drinking all night without sleep; your stomach must be…” She didn’t have the patience to let me finish and rushed off toward Jason. It was clear who mattered more to her. The blood from my foot spread further, forming the shape of a flower. It seemed to serve as a memorial to our marriage that had now thoroughly perished. Goodbye. Natalia. I pushed the suitcase, waving farewell to the home we had shared for five years, leaving without a backward glance.
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