ManyWriters

Just three days before our silver wedding anniversary.
I discovered his secret, a tiny underground room.
From wall to ceiling, it was plastered with countless photos of another woman.
Apparently, from his thirties to his sixties, someone else had occupied his heart.
Those crucial business trips, those exotic decorative pieces.
Everything now made sense, as I gazed at their beaming faces in the photos.
I looked down at my own hands, marked with wrinkles and age spots.
Suddenly, I felt utterly exhausted.

He Adorned the Basement With Photos Of His First Love

Knowing this, my heart was filled with indescribable complexity.


But I still didn't want to interfere too much in this family's affairs.


Dashiell chased after me, his eyes full of confusion as he looked at me.


"Mom, Dad's sick now. If you come and take good care of him, coax him a bit, after some time when he's discharged, won't you be able to come back home?"


Hearing Dashiell's words, I laughed. Even now, they still thought I was throwing a tantrum, believing that I'd seize any chance to find a way back into this family.


But really, was there anything in this family worth going back to?


"Dashiell, your dad and I are already divorced. You stayed with your father. We're not family anymore, do you understand? There's no need to contact me in the future."


"Mom, why are you still so stubborn? If you miss this chance, who knows when the next one will come."


Chapter 9