He flinched when he saw them. “You came. What’s he doing here?” He shot a hostile glance at Victor.
“I came for my things,” Susan said calmly. “My father is here to help me,” she added, seeing her dad clench his fists.
“Your things?” Mike slowly stood up. “Are you serious? You’re leaving? Over one stupid argument?”
“It wasn’t a stupid argument, Mike,” Susan shook her head. “It was the last straw. I’m tired. Tired of being nothing more than a wallet and a free maid for you and your mother.”
“Don’t say that.” He took a step toward her. He smelled strongly of brandy. “I love you, Susan. I just… I wasn’t myself yesterday. Mom… she was so upset!”
“Your mother was upset because her plan to bleed me dry failed,” she retorted. “And you were upset because you couldn’t please her. There’s just no room for me in that equation.”
“Listen,” Victor intervened, stepping between them. “My daughter came to get what belongs to her. Don’t get in her way.”
Mike glared at his father-in-law.
“Stay out of this! We can handle our own problems.”
“I’m already in it,” her father replied calmly. “Since the day my daughter married you. So here’s how it’s going to be: you sit here and stay out of the way, and we’ll pack up quickly and leave.”
Susan went into the bedroom, her father following. She opened the closet and started taking out her clothes, purses, and shoes. Her father silently packed everything into large boxes they had brought with them. Half an hour later, Mike appeared in the doorway. He was no longer aggressive, just lost and pathetic.
“Susan, maybe you should reconsider?” he asked. “Where will you go? This is our home.”
“I’ll stay with my parents for a while,” she answered, not looking at him. “And then… I’ll file for divorce. And we’ll divide this ‘our home’.”
“Divorce?” He turned pale. “You want a divorce? But why?”
Susan stopped and looked him straight in the eye.
“Because I don’t love you anymore, Mike. I don’t know when it happened. Maybe yesterday. Or maybe years ago. The love is gone. All that’s left is habit and pity. And I don’t want to live like that.”
Just then, her phone rang. The screen displayed “Eleanor.” Susan declined the call. But her mother-in-law immediately called back.
“Don’t answer it,” her father said.
But Susan answered and put it on speakerphone.
“You witch!” her mother-in-law’s shrill voice screeched through the phone. “So you came crawling back? Decided to clean my son out? Not a chance! I won’t let you! This condo is mine! I gave it to my Mikey!”
“Good afternoon, Eleanor,” Susan said in an icy tone. “First of all, your son’s name is Mike. And second, you didn’t give him the condo, you only gave a small portion of the down payment. I paid for the rest. So don’t worry, I won’t leave your ‘Mikey’ destitute. But I won’t give up what’s mine, either.”
“You’ll regret this!” her mother-in-law screamed. “I’ll take you to court! I’ll prove you’re a fraud!”
“Good luck with that,” Susan scoffed and hung up.
She looked at Mike. He stood with his head bowed.
“You see?” she said quietly. “Nothing ever changes. You’ll spend your whole life torn between me and her. And I can’t do it anymore.”
They finished packing. As her father carried the last box out, Susan took one final look around the room. Their photos on the wall, her favorite armchair by the window, the books on the shelves. A part of her life was staying here. But she felt no regret. At the door, she turned back. Mike was still sitting on the couch, staring into space.
“Goodbye, Mike,” she said. He didn’t answer.
When she and her father got downstairs and were loading the boxes into the car, a taxi pulled up. An enraged Eleanor stormed out.
“Stop!” she yelled, rushing toward them. “Where are you taking those stolen goods?!”
Victor silently stood in front of her, shielding Susan and the car.
“Step aside, ma’am,” he said calmly but firmly. “And don’t interfere.”
“Who are you to tell me what to do?” she shrieked. “I’m his mother!”
“And I’m her father,” his voice grew harder. “And I won’t let you abuse my daughter anymore. Go home, Eleanor. And advise your son to get a job. He’ll need it when he starts paying alimony.”
With that, he got into the car, started the engine, and stepped on the gas, leaving Eleanor standing in the middle of the parking lot with her mouth hanging open in outrage.
The drive to her parents’ house felt endless. Susan sat in the passenger seat, watching the streets go by, feeling empty, as if something important had been removed from her, leaving a hollow void inside. Seven years of marriage, seven years of hopes, compromises, and disappointments had ended like this—packing things into boxes and bickering with her mother-in-law in a parking lot.
Her father drove in silence, occasionally glancing at her with sympathy. He understood that words were unnecessary right now. She needed time to process, to accept. When they arrived, her mother met them at the door. She silently hugged Susan, looked into her eyes, and understood everything without a word. The three of them carried the boxes to her old room. The mountain of cardboard in the middle of the large space looked depressing: it was her entire past life, packed up and ready for the scrap heap of history.
“Leave it, honey,” her mother said, seeing Susan about to unpack. “Get some rest, we’ll do it all tomorrow.”
Susan nodded obediently. She had no energy left. She went to the bathroom and stood under a hot shower for a long time, washing away not just the dirt and fatigue, but all the negativity of the past day. The water carried away the hurt, the anger, the disappointment.
When she emerged, wrapped in her mother’s old robe, dinner and her parents were waiting for her in the kitchen. They ate in silence. The only sounds were the clinking of silverware and the ticking of the old wall clock. The silence was healing. There were no reproaches, no judgment, no unsolicited advice. Only the quiet support of the people who loved her most.
“I’ll call a lawyer tomorrow,” her father said after they finished their tea. “I know a good one, specializes in family law. We need to handle this properly.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Susan replied quietly.
“And don’t worry about the condo,” he added, as if reading her mind. “Whatever the court decides, you won’t be without a roof over your head. We’ll get through this.”
That night, Susan couldn’t sleep. She lay in her childhood bed, staring at the ceiling where the glow-in-the-dark stars she’d stuck up as a child still remained, replaying the events of the last few years in her mind. She remembered her wedding to Mike. Modest, but happy. His shining eyes, his vows of eternal love. Where had it all gone? Was it ever real? Or was it all just an illusion she had created for herself because she so desperately wanted to be loved?
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