My Paralyzed Husband’s Dirty Little Secret

I couldnt sleep, so I opened my nightstand drawer, looking for a couple of melatonin gummies.

The sleeping aids weren't there. Instead, tucked in the corner, was a box of condoms.

And out of the twelve-pack, only one was left.

Hey, babe, you're back early. Why didn't you tell me?

My husband lay on the bed, forcing a smile. I easily caught the flash of panic in his eyes.

I stared at his lower bodythe legs that couldn't moveand fell into a deep silence.

Ethan had been paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident two years ago. He was completely impotent.

So... who used the rest of the box?

Im a young female long-haul truck driver. Ever since we got married, Ive spent every single day on the road, grinding to support our household.

It was payday again, and the drivers were gathering for a celebratory dinner.

In the world of long-haul trucking, female drivers are rare. Naturally, there are always a few sleazy bastards trying to use alcohol as an excuse to feel me up.

Seeing our logistics manager, Mr. Davis, sliding another glass of whiskey toward me with a suggestive squint, Valerie, an older female driver, kindly stepped in to block him.

"Let me drink that for Chloe, Mr. Davis. She's got a long-haul run tonight."

A woman being the sole breadwinner is still a rare sight in traditional families.

Valerie had asked me more than once why a young, pretty girl like me was doing such backbreaking work.

With a bitter smile, I pulled out my phone and looked at the lock screena photo of Ethan and me.

I knew exactly how brutal this job was. The flipped sleep schedules, the terrible diet, the countless nights sleeping in a freezing truck cab.

The only thing keeping me going was my husband, the man who loved and supported me unconditionally.

Ethan's parents had passed away, and now he was paralyzed in bed. If I didn't work myself to the bone, who would pay his astronomical medical bills?

"Chloe, you should make time to go home more often," Valerie said after downing the shot, her tone heavy with warning as she patted my shoulder.

"Men have wild minds these days. When their wives are away, there's no telling what kind of fun they're having!"

I just smiled and shook my head, silently rejecting Valeries skepticism.

If it were any other man, Id have my doubts too. But Ethan? It was impossible for him to cheat on me.

He was paralyzed. He couldn't even stand up. How could he possibly be fooling around?

Valerie snorted, calling me young and naive.

After her ex-husband cheated, they divorced, leaving her to raise three kids alone. That was why she drove semis, and why she had zero faith in men or romance.

"He's paralyzed, Chloe, not dead down there. You're really that comfortable?"

Speak of the devil, my phone buzzed with a FaceTime call. It was Ethan.

The other female drivers teased me, laughing about how we were still in the honeymoon phase.

Ethan did call me constantly to report on his day-to-day life. The other women always envied me for having such a clingy, loving husband.

"Hey, why the sudden video call?"

"I missed you, babe. Just wanted to see your beautiful face. Show me my wife!"

Ethans voice sounded warm, but he was panting heavily, gasping for air as if he were in the middle of a workout.

When the video connected, I saw Ethan drenched in sweat, his face flushed red.

"Its so hot today. Why didn't you have Lily turn on the AC?"

"Lily is helping me do my physical therapy," Ethan panted, pointing the camera down slightly. "Air-cycling. Want to see?"

Oh. The doctor had mentioned before that moving his legs passively was good for his circulation.

Watching Ethans body shaking from the exertion on screen, my heart ached for him.

He was working so hard to stand up again... If he hadn't jumped to protect me, he wouldn't be in that wheelchair.

"No, it's okay. Get some rest after your workout. I have to get back to loading the truck."

"Alright, baby. Love you. Kisses!"

Seeing his face press up against the camera to blow me a kiss, I laughed. The exhaustion of driving for twenty-four hours straight melted away.

Thinking about his physical therapy brought back a wave of guilt.

I couldn't help but recall the horrible accident during our college years.

We were crossing the street hand-in-hand when a speeding car suddenly hurtled toward us.

Without a second thought, Ethan shoved me out of the way. He couldn't dodge in time and was thrown violently onto the pavement.

After losing the use of his legs, Ethan had cried in his hospital bed, refusing to see me.

"Chloe, you're so young and beautiful. I'm a broken man now. I can't ruin the rest of your life."

He had always been so selfless. I was the one who should have been in that bed. He was enduring agonizing pain, yet his only thought was for my future...

I had broken down, sobbing as I wrapped my arms around him.

My lover had lost his legs to save my life. How could I ever be cruel enough to abandon him?

From that day on, I became Ethans shadow, taking care of his every need.

Once he was discharged, I ignored my parents' fierce objections, pushed his wheelchair into city hall, and signed our marriage certificate.

To care for him, I took a two-year leave of absence from college.

Without my parents' financial support, the weight of rent, utilities, and Ethan's medical bills crashed down on me. I was a student who hadn't even graduated yet.

With no connections and no experience, I searched desperately until I found this high-paying long-haul trucking job.

Driving across the country meant my life was confined to a truck cab.

Since I could no longer take care of Ethan full-time, I hired a middle-aged caretaker who seemed incredibly reliable.

Her name was Lily. She was in her late thirties, married with two kids, and seemed like an honest, hardworking woman.

With everything arranged at home, I threw myself into my work.

Driving day and night under extreme pressure, I could make up to eight thousand dollars a month on good runs, though bad months only brought in about two thousand.

I carried the living expenses of two people plus Lily's salary on my back. I couldn't afford to slack off for even a second.

When things got slow, Valerie and the other drivers would invite me out for dinners, but I always declined.

Ethans quality of life was my top priority.

He had already lost his legs. Being trapped at home all day was lonely enough; I couldn't let him suffer financially too.

As for me, I was young. I could survive on anything.

For two years, I lived on cheap white bread and instant ramen.

When I landed a massive delivery order, Id treat myself to a jar of cheap hot sauce, scraping the corners of the glass clean, and then recycling the jar for a few cents to buy more bread.

After months of this diet, my stomach was ruined. I became severely malnourished and prone to dizzy spells.

I had passed out in the driver's dorms several times, my mind playing weird, feverish tricks on me.

Like today, while driving past a local shopping mall, my stomach cramped so badly that I pulled over to buy some ginger tea from the supermarket.

Near the checkout aisle, I saw a man who looked exactly like Ethan, laughing and flirting with his arm wrapped around a middle-aged woman.

I figured Valeries warnings were getting to me. My brain was literally hallucinating Ethan cheating on me, and the hallucination was terrifyingly vivid...

Even though I knew it was fake, watching those perfectly functional legs walk away made tears stream down my face.

If only it were real. More than anyone, I wanted him to stand up again.

Watching the couple disappear around the corner, a sharp pain shot through my head.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. When I opened them, the pain was gone, and so were the two people.

Day and night of nonstop driving had pushed my body to its absolute limit. My mental state was clearly deteriorating.

If I kept driving like this, I was going to crash and kill someone.

I decided to take a few days off, get a medical checkup, and rest at home.

The moment I stepped through the front door of our apartment, a strong, sweet scent of cheap perfume hit my nose.

Lily, whom I hadn't seen in a while, was dressed in an unusually vibrant outfit, her face glowing.

Seeing me home, her eyes widened in shock before she quickly recovered her warm smile.

Since I was rarely home due to my trucking schedule, her surprise made sense.

"Chloe! You're back! You should've texted me. I would've cooked a nice lunch to welcome you home."

She reached out to help me with my bag. That was when I noticed the dark red marks scattered across her neck.

Sensing my gaze, she blushed and quickly covered her neck with her hand.

"Oh... my husband's been acting like a teenager lately. So embarrassing."

"That's sweet..."

I smiled, exchanged a few polite words with Lily, and walked into the bedroom to see Ethan, who was fast asleep.

Sometimes, I really envied the intimacy of normal couples. If Ethan's legs were fine, we would be just as happy.

Ethan woke up looking as drained as usual, with deep dark circles under his eyes. He probably hadn't slept well.

Ever since the accident, he had suffered from night terrors, often calling me in the middle of the night, gasping and crying about the crash.

On the other end of the line, sitting in my truck cab eating cold bread, I would sob along with him, swearing to work harder to give him a better life.

"Babe, I want to get the latest model of this electric wheelchair. It's about two thousand dollars," Ethan murmured, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind, his voice tender and sweet.

"This old one is so hard to maneuver. Yesterday, Lily was pushing me, and we tumbled right down the porch steps. Look at these bruises."

He unbuttoned his shirt. Sure enough, his chest was covered in red, angry marks.

"Babe, they're on my back too..."

Seeing my hesitation, he turned over with a pout to show me.

Two thousand dollars... It sounded so simple to him, but it meant weeks of sleepless nights on the highway...

"I'll make it happen," I promised, lying down next to him as a dull ache throbbed in my temples.

I pulled open the nightstand drawer, searching for some melatonin.

Long-haul driving had ruined my circadian rhythm. I was always drowsy during the day and wide awake at night. Melatonin and caffeine pills were my daily survival kit.

"Huh? Where is it..."

I rumbled through the drawer. I didn't find the melatonin, but my hand brushed against a small box.

It was a condom box. And only one was left.

Ethans eyes flared with panic, but he forced a smile and pulled me closer.

"Babe, what are you looking for? Oh, look at that, a stray condom. Why is that in here?"

The fog in my brain instantly cleared. I stared at his completely limp lower half, my mind freezing over.

I bought this box on Amazon less than twenty days ago to get free shipping.

My husband had been paralyzed for two years. He was completely impotent.

So, who used the other eleven condoms?