The End of Staying
After five years in a marriage without intimacy, I finally called my wife, Suzanna Jones, the youngest commander in the military, and asked her to spend the night with me.
Five hundred and twenty times.
That was how many times we had been interrupted over the years. Every time we came close to being together, an urgent call from her widowed brother‑in‑law, Eric Gibson, pulled her away before anything could happen.
Then, on our wedding anniversary, Suzanna promised she would finally give me the perfect wedding night we never had.
I held her by the waist and was about to cross the final line between us when Eric’s ringtone shattered the moment.
“Suzanna… I was injured in an explosion down there. What if I am crippled for life…?”
Panic filled her face. She pushed me aside and rushed for the door.
I grabbed her wrist and tried to stop her. “Send him to the military hospital first.”
She turned on me with anger and slapped me across the face.
“Shane! Eric is seriously hurt! How can you be this heartless?”
She pulled on her dress and ran out.
When I caught up with her, the sight in front of me stopped me cold.
The woman who once promised to give me her first night was wrapped around Eric in a position far more intimate than anything she had ever shared with me.
When I asked for an explanation, she looked calm and unbothered.
“Eric is in critical condition. Was I supposed to stand there and do nothing? It is not that important. If it bothers you that much, I can fix it later.”
Something inside me went numb.
For five years, I had been the only one trying to hold our marriage together.
At that moment, I realized I was exhausted from fighting for something that had ended long ago.