My Husband Left Me for My Younger Self

I left home and went to the small apartment I’d bought before we got married.Mina was waiting outside.With her long hair and white dress, she looked radiant in the sunlight, her eyes bright and clear.Her eyes lit up when she saw me, but quickly dimmed when she noticed my suitcase."You really got divorced? If he loves me, doesn’t that mean he loves you too? Doesn’t he love us for who we are?"One question after another brought tears to Mina’s eyes.I wiped them away and led her inside.After setting down my suitcase, I got straight to the point. "Hugh doesn’t see us as the same person.""Emotional cheating is still cheating. Why would either of us want a man like that?"Mina’s expression faltered.She was radiant and proud, with all the brightness of a young woman.Even though we looked exactly alike, I couldn’t hide the weariness in my face, no matter how well I took care of myself.Tears slipped down Mina’s cheeks. "He loved me so much back then that he would’ve died for me. How c

Hugh hurried away.I knew he was going on a date with Mina.Every night, Mina told me all about their time together.Hugh was nearly forty, yet he acted like a lovestruck teenager, giving Mina every nice thing he could.He took her to expensive restaurants, bought her the season’s most exclusive designer fashions, and rented out an entire amusement park just for her…But whenever Mina came home, she’d sigh wearily."Dating Hugh is the most boring thing ever. Do all older men love mansplaining people? Maya, how did you put up with him?"Now that Mina no longer saw Hugh through rose-colored glasses, she’d become his biggest hater.Meanwhile, I quietly got on with my life.I went for checkups, exercised, and even brushed up on my professional skills so I could return to work.I hadn’t spent all those years as a housewife simply asking Hugh for money. Through introductions from former classmates, I’d also quietly taken on part-time work.Then I got a job offer from a company I’d always wan

After that day, Hugh seemed to find his way back into my life.He started messaging me nonstop, as he had when we first fell in love.[Maya, Joey didn’t win the gold medal at his competition this time. His scores have dropped.][My mom came to look after Joey, but he’s stubborn and never gets along with her. It’s exhausting.][The food at the office cafeteria was so bland today. I miss your homemade chicken soup.][Life’s been a mess without you.][Maya, I miss you so much.]For thirteen years, words like those had kept me bound to him.I’d finally escaped that bleak, stifling life and found the sunlight. I had no desire to go back.I landed the job I wanted.I secured my first contract with a marketing proposal. As former classmates praised me, I suddenly felt that all those years trapped at home had gone to waste.It was already nine by the time I left work that evening.I never expected to run into Hugh downstairs.He wore the charcoal-gray shirt I liked, the gold watch I’d picked o

Hugh took me to a place I knew well.It was Harmony Bay, the first house we’d bought after we started making money.It was surprisingly clean inside, and someone had polished the furniture until it gleamed.Hugh looked nervous, like he had when he first showed the house to a client. "Maya, do you remember this place?""We spent all our savings on this house. We cried when we moved in.""I held you and promised I’d buy you more houses and give you a better life…"I didn’t react.Hugh didn’t seem to mind. He led me to a corner of the living room.It was filled with baby things: the little ball Joey used to play with, the playpen he used to crawl around in, and the portrait we’d painted of him together…One memory after another came rushing back.Just then, the door opened.My mother-in-law came in with Joey.As soon as she entered, she gave me a scrutinizing look.Then she said sarcastically, "You’re sure enjoying life after the divorce! You don’t have to take care of the kid anymore, an