This is an entry to the 750 word project for 2025. Below this line is a story comprised of exactly 750 words.
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No one can hurt me like he can.
I ask to spend time together and he fucks off to play with the boys. Better use of his time, I guess.
I make him dinner and dress up for a night together and he comes home late, grabs his plate from the nicely set table and goes from job to hobby without so much as a thank you to me. Not a kiss, not even a fucking handshake.
My own plate gets pushed aside and I bite the inside of my cheek to stave off the tears that want to flow free. It would be one thing if it was an occasional thing, but it has been the routine for years.
I'm reminded of the times he's told me about his exes and how he was present for them. How he made the effort to meet their needs. I question why I'm not worthy of that same care. Were they prettier? Younger? Simply not me?
Leaving the table is hard. I wanted a life with him. I thought he wanted the same with me. Of course, if I don't make him dinner, he notices and comments.
I should eat, but I've lost my appetite. Wine will do.
I set my plate in the sink. He'll notice I didn't clean it, but not that I didn't eat. The complaints about cleanliness and me not helping will start when he comes to bed, but I'll be a bottle deep at that point, barely even conscious. Maybe then he'll want me.
It's not that I don't care. I do. We've talked about it. I've begged. We've gone to counseling. Each time he says I ask too much of him. An hour of his time just with me is too much. A kiss is too much. Even saying he loves me is too much.
I'm nothing but a maid to him.
My bath is a refuge from isolation; I fill the tub and bubbles create a frothy blanket atop warmth. The wine bottle sits beside the tub, a glass--much fuller than is customary--in my hand as I step in.