He left me, three kids and my aging parents, to run off with his lover.
He abandoned me and my three children, plus my elderly parents, and fled to Italy with his mistress.
I couldnt stop him.
It all began on my birthday.
At that time I lived in a modest village, barely making ends meet, and the shop windows in town displayed countless beautiful thingsmy eyes didnt know where to focus.
Id fallen for a pair of sandals.
I stood there staring at them, already picturing myself wearing them, strolling down the main street while everyone turned to look
Then someone nudged me gently with their elbow.
When I turned I saw a man in front of me, smiling.
Nice, arent they? he said, nodding toward the sandals.
Yes I whispered, still fixed on the display.
Lets have a coffee. If I buy you those sandals, will you go out with me?
I knew I would look naïve and foolish to him, but at that moment I didnt care.
Alright, I replied.
I wanted that gift. I wanted to feel special, even if only for an evening.
We sat in a café, he ordered a cake, and I started telling him my story.
I said my parents were dead.
It was partly true. I had really buried my father, but my mother
I had buried my mother in my mind since childhood because she had left me as a baby.
I told him all this to stir his sympathy.
And it worked.
Thats how everything began.
I started coming to town more often, and we kept seeing each other.
His name was Laurent. He welcomed me into his home and showered me with attention.
First it was the sandals, then dresses, jewelry, fine perfumes.
But I didnt become his mistress for the gifts.
I loved him.
I thought he loved me too.
I was naïve.
I made a mistakeI got pregnant.
I expected to hear anything but:
We have to split up.
Figure it out yourself.
Get an abortion.
Instead he said:
Youll move in with me. Well raise this child together.
I could not believe my happiness.
My mother had ruined my life.
We got married.
I thought fate had finally smiled on me.
Then one day someone knocked on the door.
I opened it and nearly fainted.
On the doorstep stood my mother, carrying a sack of sauerkraut, as if wed just met the day before.
A neighbor had revealed where I now lived. She wanted reconciliation.
Laurent discovered the truth.
He learned that I had lied.
Immediately his love vanished. He shouted, called me a provincial impostor, asked whether my father would rise from his grave since I seemed to make people disappear from my life with ease. He threw us out.
Me, my mother, and her sauerkrauton the street.
I still believed in himand once again I was wrong.
I returned to my grandparents house, sent my mother away, and found myself alone with my child.
But Laurent came back.
Lets go back together, he said. We have a son.
And I believed him.
Foolishly, I thought love could conquer everything.
He no longer let me into his apartment. We moved into his parents old houseelderly people who needed care.
I agreed. I did everything for him, for his parents, for our son.
Then I became pregnant again.
One day we fought, and in anger he reminded me:
Dont forget youre only a guest here!
Those words cut like a knife.
Still, I stayed, convinced love would endure the trials.
When the second child was born, he complained that money was a problem, that his business had collapsed. We were now equal: I had nothing, he had nothing.
Then the third arrived.
I thought nothing would change now; we would stay together no matter what.
He started working more and more, leaving early and returning late. I assumed he was making sacrifices for the family.
I didnt see everything falling apart.
Italy a ticket to a new life but not for me.
One day he announced:
I cant live like this any longer. Theres no future here. Im going abroad.
I believed him. He was exhausted, defeated, worn out. I even agreedlet him leave, try to succeed elsewhere.
Later, by chance, I learned the truth.
At the airport there were two tickets for a flight to Italy: one in his name, the other under the name of a woman he had been involved with for years.
I understood.
I couldnt stop him. He left.
And I stayed.
With three children, with his parents who were no longer strangers, in an empty house and a soul full of pain.
I dont know how to live now. I just hope that someday the hurt will be less.
He Left Me with Three Children and Elderly Parents to Run Away with His Mistress.
