She left because she was tired of being the “inconvenient” wife.
“Katie, can I have a word?” sighed Edward as his wife darted between the kitchen, the breakfast bar, and the dining table for the hundredth time that evening, conjuring salads and snacks for his arriving guests.
“Of course, Edward. Is something wrong?” She turned, wiping her hands on her apron.
“There you go again—’Edward’… I’ve asked you not to butcher the language. It sounds dreadful. And your vowels—so flat, so harsh. It might be how they speak out in the countryside, but not here. Not in London.”
“I’ve never hidden where I grew up. That’s just how we talk. Some say ‘water,’ some say ‘wa’er,’ and you lot drawl like posh aristocrats. What’s wrong with ‘Eddie’ if ‘Katie’s’ fine?”
“You don’t get it. I don’t want you sitting with us tonight. It’s a business meeting—my mates are serious people. And, sorry love, but you’re just… not on their level.”
Katie froze. Everything inside her turned to ice.
“And how, exactly, am I ‘not on their level’? Wrong nail polish? Too simple for your chit-chat about hedge funds and startups? Because your precious Olivia and Victoria—even Melissa and Annabelle—aren’t corporate analysts either. We sit at the side table laughing at memes and sharing baby photos. What’s the issue?”
“You wouldn’t understand. They come from proper families. And you… well—” Edward hesitated. “It’s embarrassing in front of the lads.”
“Embarrassing, is it? Was it embarrassing when I ran after you from one hospital to another? When we came back from my parents’ with a boot full of homemade jams? But now, when guests arrive, I’m suddenly ‘not the right sort’?” She tore off her apron and stormed toward the bedroom.
“Katie, wait, don’t be like that—” he began, but the door had already slammed.
He didn’t know she’d heard every word. Once she heard him leave, she sat on the bed, hands pressed to her face. Fury and grief coiled in her throat. How many times had she been warned? ‘Country bumpkin, no match for a city climber…’ But she believed—in their love, in his kindness. And until now, he’d given her no reason to doubt.
They’d met in their final year at uni—Katie studying library sciences, Edward reading economics. He’d been shy, reserved, a bit awkward. The girls called him a bore behind his back and laughed. But Katie pitied him—she hated cruelty for no reason.
Later, in the library, they crossed paths again. He’d stuttered, flustered, and she—calmly, kindly—had told him, “Breathe out, then in, then say it slow.” That was the start. Then came dates, long talks, support. He blossomed beside her. Two years later, they married, even the most sceptical relatives approving.
And now—this?
“So when you were nobody, I was good enough, but now you’re ‘someone,’ I’m just dead weight?” she thought bitterly, pulling out a suitcase.
She called her sister, explaining briefly. “Stay with us,” her sister said at once. Her brother-in-law and the kids would be happy to have her.
“What will you do?” her sister asked.
“Go back to Mum and Dad. There’s a vacancy at the local library. Rent a flat nearby. I’ll sort the rest later. Right now, I just need to leave.”
Her phone rang. Edward.
“Where the hell are you?! The guests arrive in two hours, and there’s no food, no hostess!”
“Darling, if I’m too common to sit with your ‘elite,’ surely someone more refined should cook for them. Sort it yourself. I’m gone.”
“Katie, have you lost your mind?!”
“No. I’m leaving your life. I’ll file for divorce tomorrow.”
She ended the call and, wasting no time, opened social media. A short, honest post—about how, in one evening, you can go from beloved wife to ‘family disgrace.’
His mates’ wives and girlfriends reacted first. All took Katie’s side. Then came the flood. Even his friends wrote, “Blimey. Didn’t expect this from Ed.” Edward sent a furious message: “You’ve turned everyone against me.”
Did he really think his words wouldn’t sting? That those women, many from small towns too, wouldn’t see themselves in his ‘common’ insult?
“Was this your plan? To ruin my life?”
“You ruined it yourself the moment you said I wasn’t good enough to sit beside you. The moment you stopped respecting me. You never really knew me, Edward.”
“Who’d even want you now?”
“Then why did you beg the judge for reconciliation?”
He fell silent.
“It’s just tragic—you wrecked our marriage over nothing.”
“If you think humiliation is ‘nothing,’ you’re either a tyrant or a fool. And I walk with neither.”
Katie strode toward her sister’s house. Her dad had already promised help with a flat. Work would come. And love? Love would come too. The important thing was knowing now—gratitude and respect matter just as much as feeling.
