The Light of My Life

Was I going to get a divorce? Of course, but now wasn't the best time to start the proceedings.

My rational side was telling me that if I filed for divorce right away, I wouldn't be getting custody of Nate. The party with greater financial stability always had a bigger chance of being awarded custody.

I didn't care to know why Edgar had cheated on me. Perhaps he merely craved some novelty, or maybe it was the thrill that excited him.

Either way, from the moment he put his arms around that woman, I knew he'd abandoned our marriage and the promises he once made.

As usual, I picked Nate up from kindergarten and took him home. Soon after that, Edgar came home.

He looked a little tired. As soon as he entered the house, he hugged me and buried his head against my neck.

"Work was exhausting today, but now that I have you in my arms, I feel energized again!"

He had to be exhausted. After all, he'd exerted himself in bed during lunchtime!

I quietly pushed him away and pretended to sniff him.

"Why does it seem like I can smell a woman's scent on you…"

Edgar stiffened, but he swiftly brushed me off with a smile. "Impossible. I'm a married man! No other woman can even get near me."

His righteous declaration made me feel like laughing. In the past, I thought this was his way of reassuring me, but now that I knew the full story, I could see he was just trying to hide his guilt.

Nevertheless, I didn't confront him about it. The time wasn't right for that yet.

Over the next few days, when Edgar was fast asleep, I did what many women who got cheated on did—I checked all of his texts and transaction records on his phone.

Every month, he would transfer his salary to me, leaving only a portion behind for him to use on our mortgage and some of his other daily expenses. I found nothing amiss in his call logs or text records.

He had always been a careful, meticulous man.

For the time being, I was stumped, so I went online to look for more information about other cases of divorces that involved a cheating spouse.

At last, I remembered seeing the purchase record for the phone he bought last year. At the time, he said he bought it for his mom, and I didn't ask any further.

However, when we went back to his hometown during the holidays, I saw the phone his mom was using. It wasn't the one he bought.

He had another phone I didn't know about.

…

On Friday night, we were clearing the table after dinner when he got a call. I picked up from the bits and pieces I heard that it was a work call. Ever since he got a promotion, he started getting a lot more work-related calls.

In the past, I never checked his phone because he would never hide from me whenever he answered his calls or texts. He would even volunteer information about what happened at the office and discuss his work with me.

Once the call was over, he said to me somewhat apologetically, "The company just told me they need me to go on a last-minute business trip. We just closed a major deal recently, and I need to head over there to keep an eye on things for two weeks."

"Alright. I'll pack your suitcase for you later."

Edgar went to play a puzzle game with Nate, but he looked a little distracted.

Ever since I knew he was cheating on me, it felt as if I'd developed a sixth sense. I could always detect the slight changes in his expression.

I asked, "What ever happened to that new intern you mentioned the last time?"

Edgar, who was holding a puzzle piece, visibly stiffened. He pondered for a while before replying, "Well, like all young people, she got better after a bit of mentoring."

Well, he wasn't wrong. I bet she became a lot better to work with after getting mentored in bed.

I was clutching the shirt in my hands so tightly that it nearly tore apart. Reining in the rage I felt, I remarked, "Edgar, why don't I try to get a job at your company? I can learn on the job just like any other college graduate…"

Edgar was just about to stand up when he heard that and accidentally bumped into the table beside him. Was he panicking?

He picked Nate up to hide his flustered reaction.

"Celia, you should know that my company has high standards. Plus, who will pick Nate up from kindergarten if you start working? I can't bear to see you working so hard either."

There he went again. Throughout the last four years, he kept using Nate as the main excuse to keep me tied to the house.

First, he said Nate was still young and couldn't be separated from me. He also said he would be worried if we relied on his mom to move in and care for Nate on our behalf.

When Nate was old enough to start talking, Edgar said that a child's formative years were critical, and we needed to ensure he was given the proper guidance. He claimed that if I personally taught Nate, Nate would surely be a great student in the future. Hiring a nanny wouldn't be as good as raising him myself.

Once upon a time, I assumed this was his way of taking care of me and expressing his concern for me.

Thinking about it now, I realized that little by little, I, a talented college graduate who'd won scholarships before, had allowed him to slowly eradicate all of my own dreams and goals in life.

I didn't argue with him. I knew that if I did, he would launch into a long tirade of all the reasons why he was right.

Seeing how I remained quiet, Edgar continued, "Why don't we have a second child? That way, you won't feel bored when Nate is off at kindergarten. Nate is such a smart boy. Wouldn't it be great if we gave him a younger sibling to keep him company?"

He was suggesting that we have another child?

Edgar knew full well that I had to be bedridden for five months before I gave birth to Nate. The doctor had said I had a weak constitution. Pregnancy was even riskier for me.

I felt as though I'd been stabbed in the heart. What a selfish and shameless husband I had. The more he didn't want to let me join his company, the more he seemed guilty.

I bet he couldn't remember that when he first started working, he knew nothing about sales profit analysis, product development, or pricing structure. I was the one who got to work and helped him after putting Nate to bed. I helped him search for information online and learn everything there was to know about sales. It was with my help that he slowly got better at his job.

Just because I'd been a housewife for four years didn't mean I lost my innate ability to learn.

In reality, I was better than him at everything he knew to do!