I did everything I could for my husband, but he always seemed dissatisfied. One day, I woke up to hear my husband’s voice in the hallway, along with a woman’s voice. “How could he?” I thought. And that was the last straw for me.
I work at a bank as a project manager, and our latest project has been the hardest I’ve ever worked on. I often came home late, sometimes even working on weekends. But work was just a small slice of my busy life. I had a house and a husband to take care of. But my lovely husband wasn’t so lovely anymore. He didn’t help with the house chores, didn’t cook, and barely did any shopping. I was responsible for almost everything.
Aiden didn’t seem to hear me when I talked about my struggles. We discussed my new project and how overwhelmed I was with work. One day, I got home at 9 PM and the first thing I heard was: “Where have you been?”
“I had a lot of work today. I told you I’d be home late…”
“You didn’t tell me!”
“I did, a couple of times. It’s the project I’m working on…”
Aiden interrupted me. “Whatever, Claire. I’m hungry. Are you going to make dinner or not?” he said, not taking his eyes off the TV.
“I don’t think there’s much food left… We need to go shopping.”
“I’ll wait here, you can go to the store,” he said without even glancing away from the screen. So I grabbed my wallet and left.
On my way to the store, I got lost in my thoughts. Aiden used to be kind and gentle; now he was demanding and often dissatisfied. I had to walk on eggshells around him.
“Why did you take so long? I’m starving!” Aiden said when I returned. I rushed to the kitchen to cook dinner. He ate in silence, then went back to watching TV, leaving me to clean up. Can’t he even wash his own plate? I thought. I was too tired to say anything, so I cleaned up and went to bed.
The next morning, I could barely stand. My nose was stuffy, my throat sore, and my head pounding.
“You’re late… where’s breakfast?” was the first thing I heard from Aiden, instead of a “good morning.”
I pushed myself into a hot shower and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Aiden was already ready to leave. “Never mind, you’re too slow. I’ll be late,” he said, slamming the door behind him.
I felt so bad that I had to call in sick. I made some tea with honey and lemon and crawled back into bed. As I sat there, I tried to think about when Aiden started treating me so poorly. He wasn’t always like this…
But then it hit me: I couldn’t remember the last time Aiden helped me in any way or even offered me a kind word. Even when he was wrong, he always found a way to blame me. I cried myself to sleep.
I woke up to voices coming from the hallway. Was Aiden back? Why was he back? Maybe he forgot something?
“Get out, I think she’s home…” I heard Aiden whispering. Then, “It won’t work today.” I got up and quietly opened the door. What I saw shocked me—a beautiful brunette was standing in the hallway.
“Sweetheart,” she said, “when will we meet again?”
“On the weekend. I’ll start a fight with her so we can take a two-day trip together,” Aiden replied.
“That’s great!” she squealed, jumping into his arms.
“Shhh, please be quiet!” Aiden whispered.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. I went back to bed, feeling like I was in a nightmare. They didn’t even try to hide it! They didn’t care at all. I knew then that I had to make a change.
I felt something shifting inside me. What was I doing? Why was I allowing myself to be treated like this? A man who was supposed to love me, cherish me… I had had enough.
I came up with a plan. As soon as Aiden left, I suddenly felt better. I called someone to change the locks on our door since the apartment was mine. Then, I packed up all his belongings—clothes, shoes, personal items—and put them in suitcases and boxes. I didn’t want anything of his left in the apartment. I wanted him out of my life completely.
I spent the entire day packing up his things, and just as I was finishing, I heard the doorbell ring. “What happened to the lock? Why don’t my keys work?” Aiden asked.
“Don’t even greet me?” I replied.
“What’s going on here?” Aiden pointed to his stuff. “What’s happening, Claire?”
“This is where you leave, Aiden. I’m done with you. Take your things and go with your mistress. I’m filing for divorce.”
Aiden stared at me as if he didn’t recognize the woman standing before him. “Who is she? Where’s the quiet wife who always did whatever I wanted?” he must have thought.
“Aiden, I know everything. You don’t love me; you’ve been using me. Go, and don’t come back. I will never forgive you!”
Aiden looked at me in disbelief. “Fine. I’m leaving, but you’ll regret every word you’ve said!” He grabbed his things, took a cab, and left.
The next day, I filed for divorce, and a month later, it was official. Aiden couldn’t believe what had happened. He tried to talk to me several times, but I refused to engage.
Since the day Aiden left, I felt like a new woman. I began to take care of myself, to love myself, and to refuse to let anyone disrespect me. I started therapy, and my therapist helped me heal the wounds left by the toxic relationship.
What can we learn from this story?
- It’s never too late to leave a toxic relationship. It took Claire some time to realize she was in an abusive relationship, but Aiden’s infidelity was the last straw, and she decided to walk away.
- Always put yourself first. Claire prioritized her marriage and her husband’s needs over her own well-being. After the divorce, she decided to love herself and make her happiness the priority in her life.
This story is a testament to the fact that women can find their strength and happiness when they choose to love themselves and stand up for their worth.