My husband Mark and I have a small house in the countryside. We used to go there almost every weekend—planting flowers, digging in the garden, grilling meat, simply relaxing away from the city and the noise.
But at some point, everything changed. Mark started constantly refusing to go. There was always an excuse: urgent work, he was tired, he had a headache, or “maybe next time.” At first, I didn’t see anything strange about it.
Until one day our neighbor from the village called me.
“Listen,” she said casually, “I saw your husband near the house yesterday.”
At first, I didn’t even understand what she meant.
“You must be mistaken,” I replied. “He was at work all day.”
“No, I’m sure. He came out of the house and was carrying things from his car for quite a while,” she said calmly.
I hung up the phone, and everything inside me tightened. The worst thoughts immediately started running through my mind. Why was he there and didn’t tell me? Why was he hiding his trips? And most importantly—what exactly was he doing there?
The following weekend, Mark again announced that he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Maybe I’ll go alone then, just to get some fresh air,” I suggested cautiously.
He suddenly tensed up.
My husband Mark and I have a small house in the countryside. We used to go there almost every weekend—planting flowers, digging in the garden, grilling meat, simply relaxing away from the city and the noise.
But at some point, everything changed. Mark started constantly refusing to go. There was always an excuse: urgent work, he was tired, he had a headache, or “maybe next time.” At first, I didn’t see anything strange about it.
Until one day our neighbor from the village called me.
“Listen,” she said casually, “I saw your husband near the house yesterday.”
At first, I didn’t even understand what she meant.
“You must be mistaken,” I replied. “He was at work all day.”
“No, I’m sure. He came out of the house and was carrying things from his car for quite a while,” she said calmly.
I hung up the phone, and everything inside me tightened. The worst thoughts immediately started running through my mind. Why was he there and didn’t tell me? Why was he hiding his trips? And most importantly—what exactly was he doing there?
The following weekend, Mark again announced that he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Maybe I’ll go alone then, just to get some fresh air,” I suggested cautiously.
He suddenly tensed up.