Unlikely love story: Lifetime of Love
When she met him, she was 29 years old. Due to a leg condition, she had never truly experienced the taste of love in over twenty years. He was 32, his parents were gone, and he remained unmarried, as he had been supporting his two younger sisters through school.
Her father promised them a luxurious house and a job for his newly graduated sister at his company as part of the marriage arrangement, with the condition that he had to take good care of his daughter, who had limited mobility.
He was a gentle man, not one to talk much, but very attentive. He bathed her, massaged her, carried her down from their sixth-floor apartment, pushed her wheelchair to the seaside, and even made her exercise every day, forcing her to walk a few steps with his support.
While she wrote or played games on the computer, he would be in the kitchen, following recipes to cook her favorite braised fish and make various kinds of porridge. Every evening, he would hold her swollen feet in his lap and meticulously massage them, inch by inch…
Everyone said she was lucky to have met such a kind and considerate man, and that she must have accumulated great fortune in her past lives to deserve him.
When she heard this, she would smile faintly, but deep down, she didn’t feel indebted to him. He wasn’t educated, didn’t understand literature or art, and didn’t understand her heart. There was barely an extra word between them.
In the third year of their marriage, her father’s company went bankrupt due to a failed investment, and all his assets were seized, including the house they lived in. Her father, overwhelmed, suffered a heart attack and passed away.
The man took her to rent a small house in the suburbs, where the lighting was poor and they couldn’t get broadband for the computer. Since she couldn’t go out, she relied on the internet for work. She mentioned several times that he should find someone at the telecom office to help.
Each time, he agreed, but the next day, he would completely forget what he had promised. During that period, he became particularly busy, often not returning home until after she had fallen asleep.
One day, as she was washing her feet, she accidentally tipped over the basin, and the water slowly soaked the sheets and bedding. As she watched the water spread, her heart grew colder. She thought, “A husband and wife are like birds of the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly their separate ways.” Especially since their relationship had always been a matter of exchange, and now, with her chips gone, he naturally wouldn’t care for her anymore and would seek his own way out.
That evening, she drafted a divorce agreement, packed her belongings, and waited until 9 PM, but he still hadn’t come home. She grew angry, lost her patience, and called her cousin to come pick her up.
Her cousin pushed her wheelchair out of the street and was about to hail a cab when she suddenly saw a familiar figure at the corner.
It was him, at a bustling barbecue stand, sweating profusely. He was carrying a plate of fish in one hand and a plate full of lamb skewers in the other, carefully placing them on a customer’s table. Then he quickly turned around, humbly smiled as he saw off another customer, and swiftly cleared the leftovers from the table…
She stared at him, stunned, as tears uncontrollably welled up in her eyes. Her cousin had already called out, “Brother-in-law, what are you doing here?”
The man looked at her, suddenly appearing at a loss, awkwardly rubbing his hands together. After a while, he said, “I went to the telecom office. They said we’d have to pay a year’s fee upfront to get the broadband installed…”
He quickly reached into his pocket, pulling out a handful of small bills. “Look, just fifty more, and we’ll have enough. Just wait two more days. In two days, I promise you’ll be able to get online…” Then he lowered his head and softly added, “Dad is gone. I have to take good care of you. But I can’t even manage something as small as this…”
She was in tears. This love, flowing from the depths of his heart, was like water, every molecule saturated with his deep love—love that would nourish her for a lifetime.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
