My wife Mira’s first love moved into our house after he got sick. Mira immediately became gentle and attentive, rushing home from work every day to take care of her first love. I urged her to keep her distance from him. But she said, “I just want to make up for past regrets.” I couldn’t win the argument, so I left home heartbroken. That’s when a woman’s figure blocked my path. I looked up in disbelief to see the woman I’d secretly loved for years, supporting herself awkwardly on crutches, yet with tender eyes. Tears instantly filled my eyes. In that moment, I suddenly understood my wife. I couldn’t help but grasp the woman’s hand and say, “Come home with me. Let me take care of you.” “Why are you only getting back now? Hurry up and get inside. Don’t let the cold air blow in—Liam can’t handle the cold.” “Also, Liam is seriously ill. We need to be careful about his diet. I’m making special meals for him, and you should stop eating all that…” Mira, wearing an apron, froze in place. I didn’t have time to pay attention to her as I carefully helped Anna along. “Be careful. I’m replacing this door tomorrow—the threshold is way too high.” Anna didn’t move. She sighed deeply. “Leo, I appreciate the gesture, but me moving into your house really isn’t appropriate.” “I can manage on my own…” Before she could finish, her left leg started trembling noticeably. I quickly let her lean against me, my heart aching. “How can you manage alone?” “Your leg is in this condition—how can I not worry?” Anna still stood stubbornly at the door, refusing to enter. She was being so careful not to make any sudden movements—where was the confident woman she used to be? Seeing her like this, I felt like I couldn’t breathe from the pain. I looked up, following her gaze, and Mira said in a heavy tone: “You want to bring another woman into this house?” “Did you ask for my opinion?” Anna’s leg could barely support her, and she quietly leaned more weight on me. My heart clenched, and I said angrily: “So what if I bring her in?” “She’s disabled. What could she possibly do?” “She’s already in this condition—don’t you have any compassion at all?” Mira let out a cold laugh. “What does a disabled person have to do with me?” “If people find out my husband brought another woman home and is openly making a fool of me, won’t I be completely humiliated?” “No! I don’t agree!” I was about to argue back. That’s when a man’s weak voice called out from inside. “Mira, where did you go? I feel terrible. Come here quickly!” I felt relieved and said sarcastically: “If people find out my wife brought another man home, I wonder if she’ll have her reputation destroyed?” Mira stared at me intently. “How dare you? How dare you slander Liam?” I shot back without hesitation, “Why wouldn’t I dare?” The man inside started moaning softly. Mira panicked, gritting her teeth. “Don’t disturb Liam.” With that, she hurried toward the inner room. I knew this meant she was backing down for Liam’s sake—she’d agreed. I helped Anna inside. Her foot had long since given out. Once in the house, I quickly had her sit on the sofa. She still said quietly: “Leo, I really shouldn’t intrude on your life…” “I just wanted to see you from afar, but I… it’s all my fault…” “I think I shouldn’t drag you down.” A scoff came from the kitchen. “If you know you’re disrupting someone’s marriage, why are you putting on this act?” I ignored Mira and helped Anna position her crutches properly, saying gently: “Don’t mind her. That’s just how she is.” “Just settle in and stay.”
I carried Anna’s things straight into the guest room. Mira shouted, “Stop right there!” “You’re not seriously going to let another woman live with you?” “Letting her into the house is already my biggest compromise. Are you really going to push it even further?” “Absolutely not!” I didn’t stop walking and continued pulling the luggage into the room. Mira rushed over without even rinsing the soap suds off her hands, grabbed my arm, and demanded: “Have you lost your mind?” I shook off her hand and said, confused: “Liam’s body isn’t comfortable. He can only sleep well on a big bed.” “I’ve already given up the master bedroom. Didn’t you say I could do whatever I wanted with the guest room?” When we got married, neither of us particularly cared about the house. But we still wanted our own little life together after marriage, so we bought a small place. The house only had two bedrooms. Liam had already claimed the master bedroom, half crying and half throwing a tantrum. My things in there were looked down upon—Liam felt there was too much stuff and it made him feel suffocated. So I, along with all my belongings, was forced to move into the guest room. Mira hesitated for a moment, seeming to remember that incident. Her tone softened slightly, but she still frowned. “This isn’t about whether you can do whatever you want.” I said, puzzled, “Then what is it about?” “Anna already has mobility issues, and her legs are still recovering. If she doesn’t sleep in this bedroom, where else would she sleep?” Mira’s temper flared again. “But she’s a woman!” Seeing Mira’s face turn completely red, I finally understood a bit—weren’t these all my own lines from before? I sighed. We really should talk this through properly. “Mira, I was wrong.” Mira also backed down. “Good that you understand.” I looked into her eyes sincerely. “I mean, I finally understand how you feel inside.” “Liam is your first love. Now that you see him suffering, your heart aches.” “Today when I saw Anna, I felt the same way. I don’t think I can just ignore her situation.” “How about this—you take care of Liam, I’ll take care of Anna, and we’ll all get along.” “You can fill in your past regrets, and I can fulfill my past self. Win-win.” But Mira blurted out: “Ridiculous! This is absolutely ridiculous!” I said, confused, “Isn’t this perfect? Besides, you were the one who let Liam move in first. If anyone’s being ridiculous, you were ridiculous first!” Mira stood frozen in place, unable to speak for a long time, but her face was still flushed—clearly she hadn’t thought it through yet. Liam made noise in the master bathroom again. “Mira, come quick!” Mira surprisingly didn’t rush in immediately like before. She stood there, quietly studying me. “Leo, are you using this method to blame me?” Liam’s voice inside was getting louder and louder. I didn’t have time to argue with her, so I pushed her along. “What blame? Just go in already. Liam is a patient—if something happens to him, that wouldn’t be good.” Mira finally left, half-pushed. I also breathed a sigh of relief and quickly sped up my organizing. Anna was sensitive. I needed to go keep her company quickly.
Early the next morning, I walked out of the kitchen carrying the breakfast I’d made and ran into Mira, who was just coming out of the master bedroom. She stammered out an explanation. “Liam didn’t sleep well last night. I stayed with him in the second half of the night.” I looked at her oddly. Wasn’t this her daily routine lately? Why was she explaining herself to me? I nodded blandly and was about to walk past her. Just as I lifted my foot, I heard Mira’s delighted voice. “Leo, I knew it. I’m still the most important person to you.” “These pork buns are my favorite.” I swatted away her reaching hand. “What are you doing?” “Doesn’t Liam have a terrible reaction whenever he smells meat?” “This is specially prepared for Anna.” With that, I walked past her without hesitation toward the living room. I loved eating meat, but once Liam moved in, I was stripped of the right to eat meat at home. It even got to the point where after I ate lamb spine hot pot outside and had a bit of the smell on me, he would make a huge fuss. Liam was like he had a tracking device—he could always smell meat on me. He would yell at me, then immediately cover his nose and dramatically go to the bathroom to run the water at full blast. But later I kept seeing him ordering meat snacks online. When I brought it up, Mira just said, “He’s a patient. Why are you arguing with him?” I shook my head, clearing away these unhappy memories. I walked into the living room and saw Anna, who had been happily greeting me, suddenly become cautious again. I turned around and realized Mira had been following me the whole time. “Leo, thank you so much for all you’ve done!” “I’m so useless. If only my legs weren’t injured!” “You stayed up all night watching over me, and now you’re making me breakfast. I really…” Seeing her somewhat guilty expression, I hurried forward to comfort her. “How could that be? I did all this willingly.” “And your legs—you got injured saving that child. Because of you, he survived that traffic accident.” I was about to continue when Mira behind me exploded. “Didn’t we agree I’d sleep in the study and you’d stay in the living room?” “Leo, you actually spent the entire night in the guest room watching over her?” As her words landed, I noticed Anna lower her head. Anger immediately surged through me. “Mira, her leg is uncomfortable. Of course I need to watch over her.” “Isn’t that the same reasoning as you watching over Liam?” Mira froze, instinctively arguing: “It’s not the same…” “How is it not the same!” I cut her off. “I don’t care about you caring for Liam, so don’t care about me caring for Anna.” At those words, Mira instantly fell silent. She stood there, seemingly lost in thought. I didn’t have time to deal with her. I carried the plate over to Anna. “Anna, this is from your favorite place. It’s definitely delicious.” Anna finally broke into a smile. “Thank you, Leo.” But Mira snatched it away. “What do you mean, ‘Leo’?” “What gives you the right to eat what my husband bought?” “What gives you the right to call my husband that?” Anna murmured, “But he is my Leo…” I looked at Mira, exasperated. “What’s wrong with you?” Liam called out again from inside. Mira surprisingly remained unmoved again, her eyes fixed firmly on me, showing no sign of backing down easily. In the tense standoff, Liam walked out with red eyes.
“Mira, didn’t you hear me calling?” “Or do you also think I’m a burden?” “Maybe I should just leave. I’m only dragging you down by being here.” Liam’s red-rimmed eyes—if this were in the past, I definitely would have rolled my eyes. But now, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Mira quickly denied it. “Liam, how could you be a burden?” “I just didn’t hear you. Hold on, I’ll prepare breakfast for you right away.” Mira practically skipped into the kitchen. Watching Mira leave for Liam’s sake, I breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that Liam had appeared at just the right time. After breakfast, I faced a new problem. I had to go to work, but I wasn’t comfortable leaving Anna at home with them. Anna seemed to sense my concern and said considerately: “Leo, if you have work, go ahead and take care of it.” “I’ve been on my own before. You know my personality—I can handle basic daily life myself.” I glanced toward the kitchen. Mira happened to come out just then and scoffed. “What do you think I am?” “Am I some kind of villain who would attack a disabled person?” I laughed awkwardly. Was I really doubting my own wife’s character? Although Mira had been emotionally unstable lately, she was undoubtedly a good person. I married her because I valued her inherent kindness. In life, she respected her parents, was loyal to her friends, and before Liam arrived, we’d had a very happy married life. At work, she was consistently voted the students’ favorite teacher year after year. She also regularly donated to charities and did volunteer work. I really shouldn’t doubt her. After thinking it through, I could finally go to work with peace of mind. At the office, I was still somewhat worried. Colleagues noticed my distraction, and some even asked about my situation. Finally counting down the seconds until quitting time, I rushed home. The moment I walked through the door, I saw Anna fallen on the floor, looking completely disheveled. I immediately ran over to check on her condition. But Anna forced herself to say: “I’m fine.” Mira sneered, “Of course she’s fine. She’s just pretending.” “Leo, don’t be fooled by how she looks.” Anna lowered her head, pressed her lips together, and her eyes reddened. “Leo, I’m such a burden. All I do in this house is annoy people. You should just let me leave.” That phrase sounded somewhat familiar. Before I could remember where I’d heard it, Mira immediately agreed. “I think she’s right. She’s way too much trouble here. Let her go.” Rage instantly filled me, and I was about to start an argument when I caught sight of Anna’s reddened eyes in my peripheral vision. Almost immediately, I calmed down. Actually, thinking about it carefully, my marriage with Mira was already in name only. Maybe separating would be better. Anna had injured both legs. If she stayed in this house, I didn’t dare imagine what harm she might suffer when I wasn’t around. Leaving truly was the best choice. I nodded. “You’re right.” Mira said happily, “I’m glad you’ve come to your senses.” I looked at her seriously. “Our current situation really does call for separation.” “Mira, let’s get divorced.” Mira said in disbelief, “Leo, what are you saying? Are you divorcing me for a woman with crippled legs?”
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