I started life from the top: a good job, beautiful women, a great car. I had it all, and I was only twenty-five. I even had a side business within the company I was working for. I exploited a loophole in the company’s policy to make more money than even the highest-paid person in the organization.

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP CHANNEL TO RECEIVE ALL STORIES IN YOUR INBOX

When you’re young and have everything at your disposal, you tend to mismanage it and, in the end, lose it all. I was scared by the speed at which I was living, so I decided to settle down with one of the women I was seeing: Francisca. I loved her most because she was intelligent. She wasn’t about parties and the wild life. She would go with me and still tell me, “You don’t have to live your life this way. Make it better and meaningful.”

So I surrendered my life to her and asked her to make us better. We didn’t go where we didn’t need to go. I didn’t spend money I didn’t need to spend. She showed me a piece of land, and I bought it. She created a great plan for how I could build my first house. I told her, “This will be our first house because you’ll be my wife someday.”

The only things she couldn’t make me stop were my drinking and my dream of going abroad. Before she came into the picture, I’d tried twice and had been rejected. I’d wasted money on agencies that couldn’t make my dream a reality. I wanted to travel to the USA and nowhere else. Francisca told me, “You have a great life here; why travel?” I responded, “I can make life greater once I get there.”

We got married and moved in together while we planned how to build our own house. Marriage was great at first, but as time went on, I grew frustrated with life and the fact that I couldn’t get a visa to travel. When our first child arrived, I slowed down. Fatherhood turns a boy into a man. I became that man who wanted to watch his kids grow. The first was a girl, the second a boy. We stopped having children, but we couldn’t stop birthing problems into our marriage.

We fought often. When we fought, I found solace in alcohol, something she hated about me. I told her, “Then stop giving me reasons to drink.”

In early 2020, I made a huge financial investment toward traveling. I didn’t tell her. She would have stopped me. I was so sure it was going to work. I wanted to show her my visa instead of telling her how much I paid for it. We were very close to securing the visa, and then COVID happened.

I had nothing left in my account, and that left me desperate. I exploited my company to get a huge sum of money, but this time it backfired. I could have been forgiven, but COVID made things harder. The world was at a standstill. We didn’t make sales and couldn’t pay employees. We were on lockdown when I received my dismissal letter via email. I didn’t tell my wife. Everything was heavy; I didn’t need to add more weight.

I was cashless and didn’t have a job or a place to exploit for more money. I had kids to take care of and a wife to love. I needed money to do all that, and yet I had none. I saw my life like letters written on the surface of water. Some had been washed away. What was left could spell only one word: ‘Grief.’

After the lockdown, my wife wondered why I didn’t go to work. I confessed. “At least you have some money saved,” she said. “We can rely on that until you get another job.” I confessed that it was gone, too.

She went crazy. We fought. She called me useless. I ran to alcohol again. It was the only thing that could give me a sense of usefulness. I fought back. Our home was no longer a home but a battlefield. I wasn’t loving my wife anymore, so I put all the love I had into my kids.

My wife would go to work and come home very late. I took care of the kids, helped with their homework, and tucked them in at night. She would come when the kids were sleeping. If I asked why, she would tell me, “Someone has to work to keep this house running.”

Even on weekends, she disappeared and came home very late. I was no longer the man. I heard rumors. My wife was being brought home in different cars. I didn’t have the will to believe the rumors. Believing it would start a fight, and after the fight, I would starve. So I kept quiet.

When the kids went to school, I stepped out to look for a job. I contacted people who owed me favors. They turned their backs on me. I heard more “nos” in a day than I had in my entire life. Home was toxic, but the outside also had no place for me.

One weekend, I took the kids to my mom’s so I could be alone with my wife and resolve our problems. I told her, “It’s too toxic here. Let’s work things out before the kids notice.”

She said I was using the kids to blackmail her. She said a lot of hurtful things, but I remained calm. “Let’s start from why you don’t come home early,” I said. “Is there something I need to change around here so you come home early and happy?”

She looked deep into my eyes and responded, “I come late because there’s someone else I’m seeing. Yes, there’s another man in the picture.”

It hit me like thunder, but I was content that she was confessing. It only meant she was ready for us to resolve our issues. I said, “I heard the rumors, but it’s all my fault.” I paused. It was hard to say, but I had to, for the sake of peace. “I forgive you. You’re still my wife…”

She retorted, “No, you can’t forgive me. It’s not yours to forgive, and I’m not telling you this as a confession. I’m saying this so you’ll know we have come to the end of what we had. Keep your forgiveness. I don’t need it.”

Her mind had been made up long ago. She had left me alone in the marriage, but I didn’t know. And to make it worse, she moved out with the kids when our rent was almost expired. I didn’t have the money to renew it, so I also packed out and went back home to my parents.

We were towns apart while going through the divorce. I saw my kids when I could. I went to see them and assured them everything would be alright. Our divorce wasn’t over when she relocated with the kids. She lives in the USA now. She stole my dream and lived it right before my eyes.

But being a man is about getting up on your feet when you fall. I sold the land she helped me buy and started something with the money. It was a small start, but seeds grow. There are phases to the growth. I had just sprouted. Slowly, my leaves are getting bigger. I started with one motorbike. I did the riding myself, making tens of deliveries every day.

She Would Introduce Me To Rich Men Who’ll Give Me Money

I have ten bikes now working for me. I’m also back in an office, doing genuine work and not exploiting loopholes. I talk to the kids sometimes. They are happy to hear from me. I talk to my ex-wife, too, sometimes. She’s doing well with the kids, giving them a good education while working three jobs. She wishes me well when we talk. Surprisingly, I don’t hate her. I’m happy she could build a new life in a happy environment with another man who gives her peace of mind.

—Barima

This story you just read was sent to us by someone just like you. We know you have a story too. Email it to us at [email protected]. You can also drop your number and we will call you so you tell us your story.

******