A week before, my daughter pleaded with me with yearning eyes:
– Mom, can Dad also come with me on the first day of school? I want both of you there.
My daughter’s words touched me deeply. Although my ex-husband and I have been divorced for 2 years, I have never prevented him from visiting our daughter or participating in activities with her. There has always been a special bond between them. So, I decided to text him, asking if he could join me in taking our daughter to school on the first day. He immediately replied:
– Of course. For our daughter, I’m always willing.
Yesterday morning, we held our daughter’s hands as we walked her to school. She was beaming, with a constant smile on her face throughout the journey. Perhaps, for her, having both her parents by her side on such a special day was the happiest moment.
My ex-husband and I sat next to each other in the school yard, watching our daughter join the ranks of the new students. At that moment, I suddenly realized… we once had a beautiful family.
Our daughter expressed her wish for her father to attend the opening ceremony. (Illustration)
My ex-husband and I met through a mutual friend who set us up. To be honest, at that time, I wasn’t impressed with him, and I even turned him down. But ironically, during a business trip, I happened to meet him again when he was in a difficult situation with a partner who had ill intentions. He showed up and helped me out of that situation.
After that incident, I started seeing him in a different light. Some time later, we started dating and eventually got married a year later.
After the wedding, I lived with my in-laws. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship was quite peaceful, and my parents-in-law loved me dearly. The early years of our married life were happy. He was a good and responsible husband, except that his work often took him on business trips, sometimes for months at a time.
I gradually became exhausted, especially when I was pregnant and gave birth to our daughter. Even during my maternity leave, he could only stay home for a few days before leaving again. I understood that he was working hard to provide for our family. However, the loneliness and sadness of having to go through that sensitive phase alone created a rift in our relationship without us realizing it.
When our daughter turned one, I started suspecting that he was having an affair. In the past, he never hid his phone calls from me. But during that time, he became secretive, making me wonder. In the end, a woman’s intuition proved to be right. He was having an affair with a female colleague who often accompanied him on business trips.
I didn’t try to hold on to him. After he admitted it, I chose to divorce. He didn’t object and only sent me child support money before leaving. I took our daughter to live with my parents, working and taking care of her at the same time.
In the past two years, I haven’t loved anyone else, partly because I’ve been busy and partly because my heart is still scarred. I once thought that after the divorce, he would quickly marry that woman. But no. For the past two years, he has lived alone, regularly visiting our daughter every week. He has never neglected his role as a father.
My husband had an affair, and we divorced. (Illustration)
Back to the opening ceremony yesterday. Towards the end of the program, he excused himself to use the restroom and left his phone on the seat. A call came in, lighting up the screen. In that moment, I glanced at it, and my heart sank.
The wallpaper on his phone… was still the photo of the three of us taken when our daughter was 100 days old. I thought he had deleted that photo a long time ago.
I was stunned. A flood of old emotions rushed back, and my throat tightened as tears streamed down my face. When he returned and saw me like that, he panicked and asked:
– What’s wrong?
I choked out, pointing to his phone:
– Why… do you still have this picture as your wallpaper?
He looked at me, his eyes also reddened:
– Because… you will always be my wife in my heart. I know I was wrong before, and it was a moment of weakness that hurt you. But for the past two years, every day I’ve regretted it. I can’t forget you, nor can I start over with anyone else.
Then he gently continued:
– Can we remarry? Don’t answer me now. I’m just asking for a chance. For our daughter, and for us.
I didn’t know how to respond. The old wound was still there, but my heart never stopped loving him.
I couldn’t sleep last night. I kept thinking about his eyes, his sincere words… and the joyful face of our daughter as she held both our hands. I haven’t given him an answer yet. But my heart… perhaps… still loves him. My mind is in turmoil. Should I give him and myself another chance?
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