After I Became His Perfect Wife, He Crumbled

While waiting for my husband in the parking garage, I stumbled upon a viral post on a local online forum.
The title was: What do you do when your wife is too clingy?
Amidst a sea of syrupy sweet humblebrags, one comment from a female user caught my eye.
Easy, you play the incompetent card! My childhood sweetheart was forced to marry someone he didnt love. I gave him an idea: for five years, he pretended to be pathologically directionally challenged.
Then, when his wife got pregnant, he secretly mixed lubricant into her shower gel. She slipped and fell. On the way to the hospital, he pretended to get lost again, deliberately driving in circles on the outskirts of town. She miscarried and is now permanently infertile.
Today is his wifes tenure review day. Hes insisting on driving her, but its just another act. Hes going to get lost to make her miss it, so I can get the position instead.
Once she fails her review, hell persuade her to quit her job, turn her into a helpless housewife, and then kick her to the curb.
The chilling familiarity of the story sent a tremor through me. Before I could process it, my husbands voice, thick with guilt, sounded beside me.
Ava, honey, I think Im lost. Were not going to be late for your tenure review, are we?
I turned my head and met Kevins gaze, his eyes a murky, unreadable pool.
The review starts in ten minutes. Im not going to make it.
Kevin squeezed my hand, his face a mask of apology. Honey, Im so sorry. I swear I went over the route a dozen times this morning. The GPS didnt even say I took a wrong turn.
He sighed dramatically. Maybe its a sign from the universe. A sign that the world is just as heartbroken as we are about the baby we lost. Maybe this is its way of telling us to focus on our family.
His words echoed the forum post, each syllable a hammer blow against my heart.
Hed faked it for five years. Hed made me lose our child on purpose. And now, he was trying to manipulate me into quitting my job, to make me dependent and useless, just so he could discard me.
A faint, cold smile touched my lips.
Youre right. In that case, you should quit your job today. We can stay home and work on our relationship.
Kevin choked, speechless.
After a long silence, he let out a soft sigh. Ava, youre still angry with me about the baby, arent you?
He was my child, too. It broke my heart.
Youve always known I get lost easily. When it happened, you should have called 911 yourself instead of waiting for me to drive you!
His complaint was so absurd I almost laughed.
He claimed to be directionally challenged.
Thats why a twenty-minute drive from his office to our home would take him four or five hours. Sometimes, hed just text and say he was sleeping at the office. Yet Chloes apartment, nearly an hour from his work, was a drive he could make in thirty minutes flat.
Dates with me were always prefaced by hours of waiting because hed gotten lost. But a single call from Chloe, and he could cross mountains and rivers to be by her side in an instant.
I cant count the number of times I screamed at him for it. But every single fight ended with me apologizing. Torn between rage and the fear of losing our ten-year history, I was trapped in a cycle of madness and remorse. When I finally got pregnant, the thought of leaving him vanished completely.
I thought if I just loved him a little more, one day he would see my worth. He would change. We could still be a happy family.
Until one month ago, when his getting lost made me miss the critical window for medical intervention.
I had wanted that baby for five years.
And in the end, I couldnt protect him.
In a twisted way, maybe it was for the best. At least now, he could be reborn to parents who would truly love him.
Hearing my hollow agreement, Kevins expression shifted. Before he could say anything else, his phone rangthe custom ringtone I knew belonged to Chloe.
He answered, and her ecstatic voice flooded the car. Kevin! I got the professorship! Come pick me up from the university later. We have to celebrate tonight!
Kevins eyes flickered toward me.
I smiled. Go ahead. Ill get a cab.
I got out of the car without a second thought. I could feel his gaze on my back, but I didn't turn around.
The moment I got home, a text from him arrived.
Ill be home early tonight. Please wait for me. We need to talk.
I didnt know what he wanted to say.
But I knew one thing: he wouldn't be coming home.
As expected, he didn't. I was used to it.
Before Chloe moved back, Kevin and I had been happy. Back then, he hadn't yet developed his pathological directional disorder. He would take me to trendy spots every weekend for photoshoots, and wed explore food stalls, trying everything I wanted. He knew I loved fairytales, so he proposed at Disneyland. In front of a cheering crowd, he got down on one knee.
Ava, hed shouted, his voice thick with emotion, this city is full of lights and noise, but without you, its empty. A place without you isnt a home. Will you give me a home?
Id said yes without hesitation. Hed spun me around, swearing to the world, I, Kevin, will love only Ava for the rest of my life. I will take care of her and only her. I hope Ava will be mine forever.
How could I have known that his forever would only last a few short years?
I knew he had a childhood sweetheart before we got married. He told me Chloe had settled abroad and would probably never come back. He said she was just like a little sister to him. But shortly after our wedding, she suddenly returned. With Kevins help, she became my colleague at the university. And just as suddenly, Kevin forgot the way home.
When I confronted him, he turned it on me. You think I want to be like this? Its because youre always picking fights, keeping me on edge! Its caused this rare neurological condition!
Chloe needed help finding a job. Of course I was going to help her.
Ava, for Gods sake, youre a university lecturer. Cant you be less insecure? Is it so impossible for a man and a woman to have a platonic friendship?
Just because you didnt have a childhood best friend doesnt mean I cant have one!
If I had known you were this jealous, I never would have married you.
If I had just walked away the first time he said those things, maybe none of this would have happened. But there are no do-overs in life.
Its for the best. After being hurt time and time again, letting go doesnt feel like tearing my own heart out anymore. Now, I was just weaning myself off him, waiting for the right moment to cut the cord.
I just didnt expect that moment to arrive so soon.
I was in the middle of a lecture when a swarm of reporters burst into my classroom, cameras flashing in my face.
Are you Professor Ava Ross? one of them shouted.
I frowned. Who are you? Im in the middle of a class. Please leave immediately!
They didnt move. Instead, they shoved their microphones in my face.
Professor Ross, do you have any comment on the allegations of academic fraud and plagiarism?
Did you deliberately skip the tenure review because you had something to hide?
Do your students know their esteemed professor is a fraud?
For a second, I thought I was mishearing them. But the suspicious looks from my students told me it was real.
I stared at the hostile faces of the press. I have never committed academic fraud! I declared, my voice ringing with conviction. And I have never plagiarized anyones work! If you continue to spread these lies, I will sue you for defamation!
As my words faded, a snide laugh came from the crowd. Professor, give it up. Your own husband has already issued a public apology on your behalf!
That paper I had spent six months of my life on it, poring over countless sources. Kevin knew. He knew how much it meant to me.
I called him frantically, desperate for an explanation, but he didnt pick up.
Just like that, I was suspended from my duties.
Kevin finally came home that evening. The second he walked through the door, I slapped him. The sound cracked through the silent apartment.
Kevin, I already gave up the professorship for Chloe. Why would you help her frame me like this? Why are you doing this to me?!
His head snapped to the side. To my surprise, he wasnt angry. He slowly ran his tongue over the inside of his cheek and chuckled.
Ava, I knew it. All that understanding and grace youve been showing lately it was all an act.
See? All it took was a little push, and the real you came out.
I stared at him, my eyes red, my heart pounding with disbelief. So you ruined my career just to prove a point? Kevin, youre insane!
He shook his head. Not just for that.
Chloe just made professor. She needs a high-quality publication to solidify her position. Your paper was perfect.
Dont look at me like that. You should be flattered I found your work worthy. I know this is a little hard on you, but dont worry, Ill make it up to you in time.
Besides, he added with a chillingly casual air, you just had a miscarriage. This is the perfect opportunity for you to take some time off and rest.
I was shaking with a rage so profound it left me speechless. He, on the other hand, started humming a cheerful tune as he walked into the bedroom. A moment later, I heard his voice, soft and gentle.
Chloe, dont worry. Ive handled Ava. She wont cause you any trouble.
You just focus on preparing for the international symposium next week.
I promise, as long as Im here, I wont let anyone hurt you.
Hearing the tenderness in his voice, a cold, hard hatred began to bloom in my chest. Just then, my phone buzzed. A message from Chloe.
[Ava, that paper of yours is really well-written. Thanks!]
[The paper, the professorship, Kevin himself if I want something, youll never be able to compete.]
[So, if you have any self-respect left, youll just disappear. Dont wait until youve lost absolutely everything.]
That was it. The last thread of my sanity snapped.

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