John and I have been married for more than ten years. We have a son in elementary school, well-behaved and polite. I thought that our marriage would be stable, but unexpectedly, John changed. He often made excuses for being busy, coming home late, and his eyes were vague when I asked about it.
One time, by chance, I saw a hotel bill in his vest, along with a strange lipstick. My heart ached, but I did not make a fuss. I understood that the more impatient I was, the more he would have a reason to deny it. I quietly observed, and also quietly made a plan.
The climax was the day I discovered that John had secretly taken the bank card in my name. That was the card I used to save money for my child’s education. I immediately went to the bank and locked it all. I knew that he would need it soon, and then the truth would be revealed.
As I had predicted, at midnight that night, my phone rang repeatedly. The caller was a doctor:
– Are you John’s wife? He and a girl had just been rushed to the emergency room due to exhaustion during… inti:ma:cy. The hospital needed their family to come urgently to do the paperwork.
I was stunned but still kept my voice calm:
– Yes, I will come right away.
When I arrived, the scene before my eyes made me shiver. John was lying on the hospital bed, sweating profusely, his face pale. Next to him, a young girl – clearly the “green tea” he had been secretly seeing – was also in the same condition, breathing heavily, her face pale.
Seeing me enter, both of them immediately trembled. John tried to say:
– You… why are you here?
I did not answer, just crossed my arms and looked straight ahead.
The doctor brought over a piece of paper:
– The initial treatment deposit is 10000$. John gave her your bank card but the system said it was locked. It cannot be swiped. If it is not closed immediately, we can only hold on.
Both John and her turned pale. John turned to me, stammering:
– You… open the card, please…
The girl burst into tears, her voice trembling:
– I don’t have money… John promised to take care of it…
I burst out laughing, a bitter smile:
– Worry? He took care of it with my child’s tuition, right? How pitiful, even at this moment, the two of them only thought about money, not the consequences they caused.
John raised his hand to grab me, but the IV line pulled him down. His eyes were panicked, both scared and regretful. He shouted, his voice hoarse:
– Don’t leave me… save me…
I stood up straight, looked at him, looked at the girl crying miserably beside me, then resolutely:
From now on, I have nothing to do with you and her. I have already prepared the divorce papers. Tomorrow I will take the child and leave. You stay here and pay the price for your betrayal.
After saying that, I turned around and walked away. Behind, John and his mistress screams echoed throughout the hospital corridor. But I did not stop.
Outside, the night wind was cold but I felt my heart brighter than ever. I knew that I had just removed a malignant tumor from my life. I had no more room for meaningless tears.
Tomorrow, my child and I would start over – a new life, though hard but pure, without lies and betrayal.
As for John, he would have to remember that moment forever: when both he and his lover cried out in despair, because the woman he had loved with all her heart had turned her back and left.