After ten years of marriage, she left me for someone else. A year later she appeared at my doorstep, pregnant and shattered
I met my wife, Aurélie, almost twelve years ago. At that time I was still a student at the engineering school in Lyon, living in a university residence. Aurélie had just arrived from a tiny village in Brittany, lost, alone, a stranger in that noisy world. We didnt click right away. At first I barely noticed hershe was very quiet, always tucked away with her books, hardly speaking.
Time, however, changed things. After a few months we started to talk, shyly at first, then every evening without stopping. She confided her doubts to me; I shared my dreams for the future. Soon the residence director assigned us a couples room, trusting that we were serious. That was the start of our life together.
I always knew what I wanted to be: a solid man, a pillar, someone who could not only raise walls but also fill them with the warmth of a home. I told her plainly, You wont work. A womans place is to look after the house and the children. If a man cant provide for his family, he isnt a man. She didnt argue. She cooked, cleaned, waited for me each evening. We were a real family.
Years passed and I climbed the career ladder. I joined a construction firm, became a site manager, then launched my own company. We bought a suburban house, two carsone for me, one for her. We lived the dream we had imagined. The only thing missing was children. Years went by and the house stayed quiet. We saw dozens of doctors, spent thousands of euros, underwent endless tests nothing helped. I hid my pain; she kept silent, her eyes empty. One day we gave up. If fate denied us that, it was simply not our time.
Then everything collapsed, without warning, without any chance to understand why.
I came home early that day to avoid traffic. In the driveway there was no car, the gate stood wide open. It felt odd. I waited. The evening stretched on endlessly. Then a text from an unknown number arrived:
Forgive me. I cant keep living a lie. Theres someone else. Hes going home and Im leaving with him. I betrayed you, but maybe one day youll understand.
The world fell away beneath me. I was sitting on the floor of the house I had built for two, but now I was alone. Only Théo, my best friend and business partner, pulled me out of that abyss. He stopped me from drowning in alcohol or giving up everything.
Time passed. I learned to breathe again. I saw Aurélie’s pictures onlinestanding before mountains. She was living somewhere in the Alps. I couldnt erase her from my thoughts. Everything around me seemed to speak of her. I prayed for her return, and the universe heard.
Exactly a year later, to the day, there was a knock at the door. I opened it and nearly collapsed. It was herthin, devastated, clothes torn and dirty. And that huge bellyshe was at the end of her pregnancy.
Aurélie fell to her knees, sobbing, begging for forgiveness. Her lover had thrown her out. She had cheated on him, and he had kicked her out. She had nothing left: no money, no roof, no hope. Only me.
You may judge me, call me weak, say I should have slammed the door in her face. But you know what? I couldnt. Because, despite everything, I still loved her. Even through the pain, I wanted her back by my side. I knew one thing: we all deserve a chance to make mistakes. If I didnt forgive her, I would have lost myself.
Years have gone by. We now have a sonthe one I thought I would never have. I love him as if he were my blood, because he is, by choice and by love. And I love Aurélie, even though the scar in my heart will never disappear.
I never blamed her. I never brought up the past. Because true love means choosing to stay, despite everything.
