He left me, our three children and my aging parents, to run off with his lover.
I couldnt stop him. It all began on my birthday.
At the time I lived in a tiny village, barely making ends meet, and the shop windows were filled with beautiful things that stole my gaze. I was especially drawn to a pair of sandals. I stood there, imagining myself wearing them, strolling down the main street while everyone turned to look.
Someone nudged me with an elbow. When I turned, a smiling man stood in front of me.
Nice, arent they? he said, nodding toward the sandals.
Yes I whispered, still staring at the display.
Lets have a coffee. If I buy you those sandals, will you agree to a date?
I knew I would look naive and foolish to him, but I didnt care at that moment.
Alright, I answered.
I wanted that gift. I wanted to feel special, even if just for one night.
We sat in a café, he ordered a cake, and I began to tell him my story. I said my parents were dead. Part of it was trueI had buried my father, but my mother I had buried her in my mind ever since she abandoned me as a baby. I told him all this to elicit his sympathy, and it worked.
That was the start. I started visiting the town more often, and we kept meeting. His name was Laurent. He welcomed me into his home, surrounding me with attention. First came the sandals, then dresses, jewelry, fine perfumes. Yet I didnt become his mistress for the presents; I loved him, and I believed he loved me too.
I was naïve. I made a mistakeI became pregnant. I expected every possible reaction except:
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 was overjoyed. My mother had ruined my life, but now it seemed destiny finally smiled on me. We married.
One day there was a knock at the door. I opened it and almost fainted. Standing on my doorstep was my mother, holding a sack of sauerkraut as if we had just seen each other yesterday. A neighbor had revealed where I lived, and she wanted reconciliation.
Laurent then discovered the truththat I had lied. In an instant his love vanished. He shouted, called me a provincial impostor, asked if my father would rise from his grave, claiming I discarded people as easily as I removed them from my life. He threw us outme, my mother, and her sauerkraut.
I still believed in him, and once more I was wrong. I returned to my grandparents, sent my mother away, and was left alone with my child. Then Laurent came back.
Lets go back together, he said. We have a son. I trusted him again.
Stubbornly naïve, I thought love could overcome anything. He no longer let me into his apartment; we moved into his elderly parents former house, caring for them. I accepted, doing everything for him, for his parents, for our son. I became pregnant again.
One argument, he snapped in anger, Dont forget youre only a guest here! Those words cut like a knife, yet I stayed, convinced love would see us through. When the second child arrived, he complained money was tight, his business had failed. We were equal nowboth had nothing. Then the third came. I thought nothing could change, that we would stay together no matter what.
He began working longer hours, leaving early and returning late. I assumed he was sacrificing for the family, not seeing the house crumble.
One day he announced, I cant live like this anymore. Theres no future here. Im leaving abroad. I believed him; he seemed exhausted, defeated, worn out. I even agreed to let him go, hoping he might succeed elsewhere.
Later, by chance, I discovered the truth at the airport: two tickets to Italyone in his name, the other under the name of a woman he had been seeing for years. I understood, but I couldnt stop him. He left, and I was left behind with three children, his aging parents who were no longer strangers, an empty house, and a heart full of pain.
I dont know how to live now; I only hope that someday the hurt will ease.
He Left Me with Three Children and Elderly Parents to Run Off with His Mistress.
