Since 2015, I’ve been the provider, the protector, the one holding it all together. I raised her daughter like my own since she was two. I paid every bill, bought every need, and made sure everyone was taken care of even when no one took care of me.
She cheated on me, more than once with the same man. I found the messages, the secrets, the betrayal. I was ready to leave. But then she pulled the ultimate move: took fertility drugs, got pregnant, and suddenly I had another life depending on me. I stayed not for her, but for my kid. Because I believe in family. I believe in doing what’s right.
We moved to the U.S., and I left everything behind my country, my people, my roots to give her and the kids a better life. Now I’m waiting on my green card. She knows I can’t leave easily.
But she treats me like I’m disposable.My voice doesn’t matter.Her daughter rolls her eyes like I’m a joke.
I want to serve, for a higher purpose than myself. To make my daughters and son proud when they see daddy. She’s already dreaming of houses and benefits, not worried about me, not even if I go to war and never come back.
Every time I try to speak up, she plays the victim, gets defensive, turns it all back on me. And I keep swallowing my pain, biting my tongue, holding back the storm, because I know if I explode, they’ll twist it all on me.
She wants me to go to the military.Not out of pride. Not out of love.Because it benefits her. Because of the freedom me leaving represents. Because she sees me as a stepping stone, not a partner.
Thank you for taking your time and reading my short story. I want you to know, if you’re going through something similar, you’re not alone.
Comments
Stop playing victim because you will end up a martyr.
I don’t know your history or background but your personality seems to be that of a pleaser with a ‘hero complex’ who thinks of stoicism as something positive. But no… it’s not.
Please read about ethical egoism and try to bring it into your life. You are a human and a man, not a work horse.