Thirty-six-year-old Linda craved love and marriage, falling for divorced Robert. However, reality was tangled with too many complications, and Linda, who longed for marriage, suffered the pain of repeated betrayals.
In May, Chicago’s weather had quietly turned oppressive, with bird calls and cicada songs that made people restless. Linda had made rounds through several counties in Illinois, her body feeling heavy and sluggish from the humidity. She worked for a major pharmaceutical company, and after five years, she’d built quite a reputation. Just as she was looking for a place to rest, her boyfriend Robert’s call came through. Linda answered, and sure enough, it was about another business trip—and he needed to borrow her car for several days.
Robert always used Linda’s car, which annoyed her somewhat. But considering he always conscientiously washed it and filled the tank, she consoled herself that letting him use it made the most of the asset, and every bit saved was something.
Linda was thirty-six and still unmarried. Over the years, she’d had several relationships with less-than-pleasant memories, until she met Robert again. Their relationship had a dramatic quality—they’d dated in college just before graduation, got along well, but back then neither had life plans, thinking both work and partners could always be better. Eventually, that relationship faded without resolution, and they gradually forgot each other.
At thirty-three, Linda impulsively logged into a messaging app she hadn’t used in ages. Robert happened to be online, leading to an all-night conversation. He quickly extended invitations—tea once, dinner twice—and they were surprised to discover mutual attraction still existed. For adults, this was a rare luxury, so everything naturally happened again.
To be fair, Robert performed reasonably well in daily life. He treated her well, usually smiling, emotionally stable, rarely sulking or losing his temper. He cooked deliciously, could fix furniture and change light bulbs, and took her traveling on holidays…
But love at this age inevitably carried the mundane complications of real life. Robert was divorced with a five-year-old son, who stayed with his ex-wife back in his hometown. They say divorced men know how to cherish women. When they first started dating, she didn’t understand how “baggage” affected relationships—she didn’t think deeply or take it to heart.
Now Linda truly wanted to make it work. She hadn’t expected her “desperate to marry” journey was just beginning.
Linda and Robert had been together for almost three years. Though she lacked neither house nor car and lived comfortably, if she was going to complete this life milestone, she hoped to marry with dignity. But numerous signs suggested this man wasn’t ready for another marriage.
Robert’s ex-wife, Michelle, lived with her parents after the divorce, bringing the child. The split involved no financial disputes, but with the child young and Michelle unemployed, Robert naturally had to cover several thousand dollars monthly in living expenses. Emotionally, this was his responsibility, but it inevitably made him penny-pinch when dating Linda.
For instance, when dining out, Linda would spot a barbecue restaurant, they’d sit down, then Robert would pull out his phone, saying the place next door had group discounts, and drag her away. On Valentine’s Day, Robert said flowers were cliché, so they just wandered the streets, bought some clothes, and called it a day…
Moreover, divorced men with children have emotional ties that easily pull them back to ex-wives and kids. Several times, their pre-planned trips were canceled because the child had minor illnesses—a fever or headache—and one phone call from the ex-wife could make Robert abandon Linda to rush over.
Linda initially resisted this, even going with him twice. But seeing the ex-wife’s disdainful looks at the “outsider” and the cozy family-of-three atmosphere in the hospital room, she couldn’t handle the emotional assault. Though she was legitimately his girlfriend, she felt like “the other woman”… So except when it was Robert’s turn to watch the child and she needed to help, she firmly refused to spend time with their “family of three.”
Linda’s other major concern was housing. Robert originally rented an office in a downtown building. When not traveling, he’d either stay at his parents’ house or sleep on a cot in his office, occasionally staying in hotels. Later, to save money, he gave up the office, spending twenty days a month freeloading at Linda’s place. Robert crowded her living space without paying rent.
Over time, Linda grew increasingly uncomfortable, feeling she was investing too much in this relationship. She explicitly demanded Robert buy a house within the city limits, or stop talking about marriage. Simply put, Linda needed him to show commitment to entering marriage again.
Though he’d made the house-buying “military order,” Linda couldn’t bear to pressure him constantly when she saw him at home. Besides, Robert showed maximum sincerity, solemnly depositing his remaining cash—just over ten thousand dollars—into their joint account in front of her, declaring it their wedding fund that he’d never touch frivolously. This calmed Linda’s chaotic heart again. Their peaceful, warm daily memories, like spider threads, wove an increasingly solid web in Linda’s heart.
Reality was like weather—unpredictable. Occasional gusts would shake that web in her heart, making it tremble precariously.
This day, Robert returned from a week-long business trip. Just as Linda was happily preparing to welcome him with dinner, she exploded after barely two bites. Another situation caused by his ex-wife. Michelle needed to take her father to New York for medical treatment, so naturally five-year-old Billy would be left with Robert again.
Robert, holding his wine glass with an apologetic smile, told Linda he had to go to Texas immediately for a new project, hoping Linda could care for the child alone for several days until he returned. This immediately infuriated Linda, and she slammed down her chopsticks.
Her anger had reasons. Previously, when Robert traveled extensively, the child would occasionally be left with Linda for a day or half-day. Billy was well-behaved, and Linda got along fine with him. But recently, something had created huge resentment.
Robert’s sister and brother-in-law lived in a small town outside Chicago, occasionally giving Robert small local construction projects. Linda didn’t much like Robert’s sister, feeling their family lacked boundaries, often calling during her dates with Robert, chatting for hours, sometimes video calling. More awkwardly, several times when she and Robert hadn’t gotten up yet, his sister would video call with questions, and Robert always answered.
Once at karaoke, Linda went to the restroom to touch up makeup. Returning to the private room door, she heard Robert on his phone inside. She overheard his sister saying bluntly, “Linda’s really generous, willing to help you support your ex-wife’s kid. I wouldn’t do it.” Robert replied smugly, “Of course, that’s your brother’s charm—I’ve got her wrapped around my finger.”
This chilled Linda’s heart. She went in and they had a huge fight. Robert knelt and pleaded, saying he was drunk and talking nonsense, finally sending Linda a thousand-dollar transfer to end the argument.
Today, asking Linda to babysit alone again, she naturally felt extremely reluctant, but didn’t want to seem unreasonable. She could only criticize Robert: “You have outstanding project payments and owe workers wages, yet you’re chasing new projects? Give it a rest.” Her subtext was: could he stop messing around and focus on marriage?
Robert sighed and answered, “I understand what you mean. Look, tomorrow I’ll deposit another fifty thousand in our account—that’s my last savings. This year I’ll push harder, and when you add some money, once we save enough for a down payment, we’ll get our marriage license. If I can’t do it, you can do whatever you want with me.”
“Do whatever you want” naturally meant breaking up. This was their understanding—they wouldn’t casually mention breakup unless absolutely necessary. Hearing his earnest tone, Linda’s rising emotions calmed somewhat. Looking at this unremarkable middle-aged man, hope for home and love filled her heart again.
Linda ultimately compromised, deciding to give him one last chance and agreed to help watch Billy. She also deposited sixty thousand dollars into their joint account.
After Robert’s latest “commitment” to Linda, he packed and left for Texas the next day. Three days later, Linda received a call from Robert’s ex-wife Michelle, who arranged to meet at a mall near the train station to hand over Billy before taking her father to New York by train.
Meeting Michelle at the mall, Linda intended to exchange pleasantries and take Billy, but the child kept demanding ice cream. Linda had to suggest taking him to Dairy Queen, so the three went to the fifth-floor food court.
Whether to ease awkwardness or probe, Michelle said to Linda, “I heard he lives with you and does all the cooking—you don’t cook much, right?” Linda nodded noncommittally.
Michelle smiled, saying, “Seems he really cares about you. Though since he’s living at your place, cooking for you is appropriate, don’t you think?” This sounded increasingly irritating. Linda felt there was subtext, responding coolly, “Whoever can cook, cooks. If he’s willing, fine.”
Michelle, feeling her probe was working, became bolder: “I’d say since he’s living in your house, cooking for you is the least he can do. Otherwise, wouldn’t you be supporting him?” The words “supporting him” made Linda explode. Had she really been “supporting” him? She’d asked herself this many times, but hearing it from Robert’s ex-wife was particularly grating.
Linda tried maintaining composure, but when she spoke, she heard her voice trembling with anger: “What do you mean? Say that again!” Michelle, seeing her fury, seemed startled. After coughing lightly, she said: “Don’t be angry. Robert’s a good man, very responsible to family. This time when my father goes to New York for treatment, he helped find specialists and arrange hospital rooms—probably fifty or sixty thousand total, but don’t worry, I’ll pay you back eventually.”
This seemingly sisterly intimate talk shattered Linda’s thoughts completely. Where did Robert get extra money for his ex-wife’s family’s medical bills? That confused account of emotions in her heart seemed suddenly blown by wind, pages flipping chaotically, echoing in her mind.
The next day, Linda checked their bank balance. The card didn’t have online banking, so after checking the balance, she emerged gripping the card tightly, looking extremely grim. That savings card, which carried all her hopes for love and family, now held only a few thousand dollars.
Linda bombarded Robert with messages and calls until she finally reached him. Predictably, Robert said that to develop the new project, he’d transferred the hundred and fifty thousand for project costs and additionally used Linda’s sixty thousand for his ex-wife. He told Linda he’d borrowed that sixty thousand and promised to repay it with bank interest rates. After this project’s payment, he’d never touch their wedding money again.
When discussing this, he showed no particular guilt or panic, speaking as casually as if discussing where to eat dinner. Linda realized belatedly that in this relationship, she’d truly become a fool.
Robert’s sister had said it, his ex-wife had said it—she’d been warned many times by people around Robert. But she’d been immersed in Robert’s appeasement policies, desperate to shed the “leftover woman” label, thinking dating and marriage were better than being single at forty. Now she understood. She’d lost both love and money because she’d placed her happiness in someone else’s hands.
She’d thought Robert, like her, wanted a stable, happy home. In reality, when someone’s heart isn’t settled, no matter how fixed the assets—house or car—nothing can tie them down. She decided that starting with this relationship, she’d stop making things difficult for herself or others.
Linda sent Robert a message telling him to pack and move out immediately when he returned, and they should both cool off for a while. She firmly informed him to repay that money promptly. Since she was already thirty-six and had waited so long for happiness, she needn’t rush anymore.
Ironically, when Robert came to collect his things, he took the robot vacuum, oven, and even the clothes steamer he’d previously bought. Linda laughed coldly at herself. From now on, she was determined to keep happiness firmly in her own hands.
