Disclaimer: fiction
When I met my wife, she came around as the sweet and loving girl every man on earth would want to marry. Often times, the honeymoon stage ends after a couple of months but in this case things had only gotten better.
She always had something cooking by the time I got home from work, she took very good care of our house and she would always go with what I wanted, or at least most of the time. While we could not have children, (her end) she helped me take care of my pets and while I didn't have much of a family, her mother embraced me as one of her own. The going was good.
This all changed 4 years into the marriage. The company I was working at for over a decade had decided to move their facility to a different state, 400 miles away. If it were up to me I would have followed the company. I was clearing 80k a year easily and this was a very specific industry with not a lot of alternatives around. Unfortunately, her mother insisted that we stay around her and I had to give up that great job. The first thing I did was shape up my resume and sent it to several job headhunters. I waited a few days and hoped for the best, but they all came up short. The only high paying jobs available were far away, all I could find were jobs that paid about a third as much as I used to make.
I had to take it in stride and just go with it. The position itself was at least two levels lower and the office was much smaller and the boss unpleasant. On top of that, the hours were very inconvenient, I wasn't off until late at night around 11pm.
That was not the only thing I had to take in stride. My wife. who had been nothing but supportive and loving all these years was starting to act differently too. Since she only worked part time, all of the money we spent came from my end. She had gotten used to all the luxuries she was enjoying like spending hundreds a week on going to the spa and hair salons. Since I worked pretty long hours she would often spend money going to restaurants or going out with her girl-friends. At the end of the day she always made time for me and would have dropped everything if I raised up a concern.
Unfortunately we could no longer afford those things. My worst fear was that my beautiful wife would not hold up to the stresses of life and would seek a divorce. I have read up online that the number one cause of divorce is money issues and it seemed like that data was not far away from the truth.
I also had to consider my wife's mother, whos name was Amy, and who lived just two blocks away from us. She came over to our place almost daily. My wife explained that they were very close growing up in a single-parent household, and that she needs her around to "help" us and give us advice. I thought it was a bit neurotic, but I loved my wife and enjoyed what she was doing for me around the house so I went with it.
Amy was very friendly and helpful. She would greet me every morning with a smile and a hug, and would help cook and clean and even take care of my laundry. I felt like I had it all, and I was quite content with my life
I knew I was in trouble when after a few weeks into the new job, even Amy started to act differently. She stopped saying good morning when she saw me, stopped with the hugs, and anytime she spoke it was only to criticize me and tell me what a lazy husband I am.
A little bit of criticism I can handle, but she got particularly cruel after she had realized that this change in come had become a bit more permanent. Amy grew up in a different country, some would classify it as third-world, and her lack of culture was made up for by her kindness which now quickly evaporated. She started openly criticizing my abilities as a husband and suggesting my wife go look for another man for money.
I had gone through so much personal loss and exhaustion over the past few months that her words left me completely unmoved.
"Fine, maybe she should," I said with tired indifference.
I think it was the lack of personal entertainment and luxuries that put the knife into my marriage. I hadn't realized it at the time, but much of my wife's sense of self-worth came from going out to fancy places and spending money on herself. Without that, she felt she had nothing.
It took a real personal crisis to find out what my wife was really like deep down: A self-serving narcissist. And I am no doctor but I would bet that the apple did not fall far from the tree.
At this point the only thing that was keeping her from leaving me was the fact that prior to moving in with me, she was living with her mother in a cramped 1-bedroom apartment. My house was larger and in a very chic neighborhood. I had inherited it when my grandfather died (my lawyer insisted on a prenup.)
I think that she realized very well that at 35, with average looks and a clingy mother she would not be able to score anything better.
Sadly, that wasn't enough for her. The more nasty judgemental yapping her mother did, the more my wife started to nod and agree until one day she came out straight to me about it.
"My mother is right. You really are lazy. Marie and Stacey next door both are doing a whole lot better than me. their husbands are working hard to give them the life they deserve. You can't even buy me what i need. You don't value my feelings and since you can't man up, i'll have to find a man who can while you work your little go nowhere job. Don't expect me to be around at your beck and call every day," my wife went on.
"Since you can't take care of the family I will have to find other ways to do it," she said with a firm will.
Again, I was feeling so numb that even the fact that she was acting like a total narcissist cunt and was lying through her teeth, that I could have cared less.
She thought she was god's gift to mankind. She thought that hot and rich guys would just line up to do things for her and buy her things. Complete dillusion.
Also what was that deal about "taking care of our family," I thought. The only family I had was her and her now-constantly nagging mother.
Then again, did I really care? Not really. At this point I didn't even enjoy the rare occasional sex with her or even hugging her anymore. I once again took it in stride and just let it go.
