Belittled Wife Strikes Out

Synopsis

By the third year of our marriage, I was twenty-one, and my husband, Lionel Hoffman, was thirty-five. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city lights shimmered. I'd reheated our candlelight dinner three times before he finally came home. When I tiptoed up to kiss him, he turned away toward the shower. "Busy day. I'm tired," he said. Late that night, I saw a message on his phone: [Anne's only asset is her youth. I regret marrying her. Keeping a mistress would've been cheaper. Divorce costs too much now.] My heart sank to the bottom. Then I found out I was pregnant. "Are you sure it's mine?" His words cut deeper than any blade. We fought. I fell hard. The baby didn't make it. Watching the panic in his eyes, I laughed through my tears. "Lionel, let's divorce." Years later, I became a well-known illustrator. At my solo exhibition, he appeared, eyes full of regret. "Anne," he said softly, "I was wrong. Give me another chance."