When Leonor got home from work on a Friday night, she had no idea that the evening would alter her life forever. She swung the door open and called out, as she always did:
My love, I’m home!
Only silence answered. The house seemed oddly still.
Thats weird He should be here by now she thought, heading toward the bedroom.
She pushed the door open and stopped dead in her tracks. Vasco, her husband, stood beside the bed, hurriedly stuffing clothes into a suitcase.
Vasco what are you doing? she whispered, unable to believe what she saw.
Im leaving he said flatly, not even looking at her.
Leaving? Why? What happened?
Its because of your father he snapped, irritated.
My father? What does he have to do with this?
Leonor could not grasp the words, the meaning, or the situation. In that instant, the marriage she had poured love, patience, and warmth into began to collapse before her eyes.
They had met when Leonor was twentyeight. Vasco was eight years olderconfident, charming, experienced. At the time she thought she had found the right man. Family and friends kept urging her to marry. Time doesnt stop, they said. Youre not a girl anymore. Leonor started viewing every suitor as a potential husband, which intimidated the men.
With Vasco, however, things were different. They were introduced at a café by a mutual friend and the conversation flowed. He was polite and attentive. When he learned that Leonor owned her own flat, drove a new car, held a good position at the city council, and had a businessman father, he suddenly became even more affectionate.
A year later they held a lavish wedding, everything paid for by her father. Vasco never complained. On the contrary, he gladly accepted a job as a salesman in one of his fatherinlaws stores.
At first, married life seemed like a fairytale: trips abroad, fancy dinners, gifts. One problem ruined the picture: Vasco never contributed financially. It was always Leonor. At first she didnt mind, then she began to ask, and eventually she pleaded.
Why do I have to support everything? she told a friend. I want to feel like a woman, fragile and cared for.
Vasco laughed:
Darling, dont be foolish. Its fine. Dont think about that.
At work he barely did anything, spent hours on his phone, and kept the money he earned in his own account. Leonor had no clue.
Then she fell seriously ill. She spent a month in hospital. Her parents visited daily; Vasco rarely showed up. When she finally returned home, she was shocked by the mess: dirty dishes, trash piled on the floor.
You didnt clean anything?! she exclaimed.
Why? Thats a womans job he replied, indifferent.
But I was in the hospital, Vasco! And you expect me to clean?
Youre home now, arent you? Then do it.
Weak and trembling, Leonor hired a cleaning crew. The doctor warned that recovery would take at least a year, and pregnancy was out of the question.
A year later, when doctors finally gave the green light, she told her husband, excited.
Can you imagine? We can finally start planning!
Im busy. This isnt the right time he grumbled, absorbed in his console. The present she had bought for him was his only concern.
Weeks passed and he kept ignoring her. One day he finally confessed:
You know what, Leonor Im leaving. I dont want a child with you.
What are you saying?!
I dont love you. I never did. I stayed because it was convenientyour flat, the money, the car. Im done. I dont need you anymore.
Vasco, you cant do this Look how I fought, how I waited!
Those are your problems. Im free.
He closed his suitcase, stuffed the console inside, and walked out.
Leonor stopped eating, stopped sleeping. She sat at home staring at emptiness. Three days later her worried parents showed up. Her father, seeing her condition, barely restrained his anger.
They took her to a countryside house. That same night Vasco was fired. Shortly after, Leonors father, Manuel António, made the necessary calls to freeze his soninlaws accounts. All of Vascos savings vanished.
Left with nothingno job, no homeVasco could barely afford a room to rent. He didnt know what to do next.
Months later Leonor found a new job. There she met a man named Tiago. He wasnt young, but he was honest, calm, and from the first glance showed her respect and kindness.
Six months on, a miracle occurred: two lines appeared on a test. Tears, laughter, a phone call to her parentsand an immense gratitude for finally having had the courage to say enough.
