My parents urged me to be patient when I confessed I didnt love Emily, begging me to wait. But how did that waiting end?
Marriage to Emily was a waking nightmare. She was demanding, loudyet my father had chosen her for me. Hed spotted his old mates daughter and decided wed be perfect. With no other girl in my life and already thirty, I had no choice but to marry. Emily dictated everythingour marriage ran on her schedule, her whims. First came one child, then another, all according to her plan.
Life trudged on through hardship and disappointment, each day a fresh torment. I grew to despise my wife, my children, even clashed bitterly with my father-in-law. I never thought Id endure it without divorce.
Mum always stood by me, but both she and Dad insisted I wait, stay patient. As if they knew something, having lived their years, certain Id understand in time.
And now? The children are grown and gone. Emily and I remainworn into each other, settled. I cant imagine life without her. The moneys steady, finally. Weve stumbled into quiet happiness, the kind that makes life feel like a fairy tale. Both healthy, wanting for nothing, content. No real worries. Everythings as it should be. Weve had nothing to complain about for years.
It took so long to get here. But I wonderdo people truly feel happiness when theyre buried in work, children, all the chaos? Or does it creep up in old age, like mine, when theres nowhere left to run and no reason to?
