- It happened one evening. David was sitting in a dimly lit bar in New York, staring at the ice swirling in his glass. Something felt… off. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was a weight pressing on his chest, a suffocating sensation that he had been ignoring for years.
- “What Did You Have When You Got Married?”
- What Really Happened?
It happened one evening. David was sitting in a dimly lit bar in New York, staring at the ice swirling in his glass. Something felt… off. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was a weight pressing on his chest, a suffocating sensation that he had been ignoring for years.
Then, earlier that day, his therapist had said something that shook him to his core:
– David, you have a serious problem with your wife.
He had never thought of it that way. But now, as he sat there, everything started making sense.
His wife, Emily, always called him if he was out longer than expected—sometimes within just half an hour.
She picked the books he should read. The movies they watched were always her choice. The gym? It was her idea. The diet? Well, she didn’t exactly force him, but she cooked nothing but healthy meals.
She made him quit smoking. She didn’t approve of his weekly nights out with friends—especially since most of them liked to drink, something she never tolerated.
And so, for ten years, he had been trapped.
For ten years, he had been a prisoner in his own marriage. And only now did he realize it.
A rage began to boil inside him. He started rebelling, snapping at her, accusing her of suffocating him, of taking away his freedom, of ruining his life. He even made the drastic decision to move out and live on his own, to finally taste freedom.
And his therapist fully supported him.
“What Did You Have When You Got Married?”
– David, what did you have when you got married? – I asked him.
He exhaled, his fingers tightening around his glass.
– Nothing. No apartment, no car. Emily always said she married me for love. But now, I think she just wanted someone weak, someone she could control.
– And what do you have now? – I asked.
David paused.
– A penthouse in Manhattan. A summer house in the Hamptons. My own business. A solid investment portfolio. A son who just started school. A great car. On weekends, we ride our snowmobile in the mountains together, as a family. People respect me. I have money, security, everything I ever wanted…
His voice trailed off.
– Interesting, isn’t it? – I said. – Back then, you had nothing. Then along came this ‘tyrant,’ as you call her, and suddenly you have everything. Strange, isn’t it?
He said nothing.
– You quit smoking. You started working out. You became successful. You built a family. You earned respect. And now you claim she ‘clipped your wings’?
He swallowed hard.
What Really Happened?
She calls because she worries. If something happened to him, she would be the first one to look for him. And she would find him.
Maybe it’s a little suffocating. Maybe it’s too much. Maybe she pushes too hard. But would he really prefer if she didn’t care at all? If she didn’t ask where he was, what he was doing?
David sat in silence, deep in thought.
Then, almost in a whisper, he said:
– I love her. I love my son. And, honestly… most of my old friends are gone. Some drank themselves into oblivion, some ended up in trouble. But my home… my home is warm. And I don’t even crave cigarettes anymore.
A slow smile crept onto his face.
– You know what? I’m lucky. I have a home. I have Emily. Without her… I don’t know where I’d be.
He picked up his phone.
– Hey, Em. Yeah, I’m on my way home.
