Cruel Husband, I Don’t Want It Anymore!

The first time I met Alexander was in the women's restroom at the university library.

Back then, stalls didn’t have doors.

I had just dropped my pants and squatted down when Alexander barreled in, stopping dead in his tracks.

I screamed instinctively, startled out of my wits.

He bolted, muttering about being in the wrong place.

Outside, he was pacing by the door, waiting for me. showering me with apologies.

She showered me with sincere apologies.

Tears welled up as I shot back, "Apologies won’t unsee what you’ve seen."

He rubbed the back of his neck, then pledged with conviction, "I’ll make it right."

Sobbing, I retorted, "And how do you plan to fix this? It’s unforgivable."

Gently, he wiped my tears and promised, "Post-grad, you and I are getting married."

Then he was gone.

Watching him go, I was convinced I’d encountered a full-blown nutcase.

That was the last I saw of him until graduation.

A typhoon was brewing that day. My folks were anxious and came to fetch me.

But they never made it—they were killed in a crash.

I clung to their lifeless bodies, weeping until I blacked out.

On the day I laid them to rest, the heavens opened up, and I knelt there drenched.

My tears mingled with the relentless rain, the greatest pain putting its weight on me.

Suddenly orphaned, despair swallowed me and light in my world whole.

Drowning in sorrow and helplessness, the will to go on just evaporated.

Just then, a black umbrella cropped up, shielding me from the downpour.

Alexander stood there, a pained expression on his face, "Marry me, and I’ll look after you forever."

I snapped back, not missing a beat, "Don’t do this out of guilt."

“It’s not guilt,” he pressed on.

He locked eyes with me, sincerity in his voice, "From that day in the restroom, I couldn’t look away. I watched over you all through college. This isn’t some fleeting thing."

"I want to build a home with you, to be your shelter from any storm, to spend all my days with you. Marry me, will you?"

His tone was gentle, yet there was an undeniable resolve that reached out to my shattered spirit.

It sparked a sliver of hope in my desperate heart.

Dazed, I nodded, and we got married later.

Alexander turned out to be the caring type, showering me with love and attention.

Under his devoted wing, we welcomed our son into the world.

The first time he held our boy, he was overcome, vowing to be our rock so that our son could thrive and I could lean on him without worry.

He really stepped up, being everything to us.

No matter the chaos at work, he was there for our boy—feeding, changing, bathing, and walking our son.

Once, he slipped, and our little guy took a nasty fall, sprouting a huge bump. Gutted, Alexander smacked himself.

He swore it wouldn’t happen again and promised better days for our son.

But when Vivian came back to town, everything changed.

She was his old flame. They two shared a long history.

Her return yanked his full attention and love away from us.

"Vivian’s back—I’m tied up for a few days."

"Vivian’s under the weather—I’m taking her meds. You two have fun without me on his birthday."

"Vivian can’t be alone right now—she needs me. Try to understand..."

Any call from Vivian no matter when the time was and where he was, and he’d drop everything and go to her place.

Our family suddenly played second fiddle to him.

If I dared to question him, I was the villain.

Night after night, I lay awake, wrestling with sadness.

But for our son’s sake, for the family, and because of my undying love for Alexander, I kept tolerating him.

I figured as long as I could hold down the fort quietly, our son would have a happy, secure life.

How wrong I was.

My patience only seemed to license Alexander’s neglect, culminating in that reckless demand for a silly game during a typhoon.

Knowing full well how I lost my parents, how could he risk our son the same way?

How could he be so heartless?

My heart is heavy, my spirit crushed, and I feel utterly abandoned.

As we said goodbye to our son in the flames, my love for Alexander turned to dust.