A Reddit member shared some life-altering events. But after surviving a life-threatening cancer, he didn’t expect to confront the reality of losing the only constant in his life.
A married man who battled a sickness that radically altered his life expressed gratitude to still have his wife despite losing many of his faculties. However, he was forced to confront one of his worst fears.
The Redditor wrote in the “Off My Chest” sub to express himself and release his emotional baggage, writing, “I’m going to make myself the villain,” after realizing how much his wife cared for him behind his back.
The Original Poster (OP) had spent nearly ten years of his life fighting a severe degenerative disease. His career, home, pride, and everything else that made him happy had been replaced by pain, surgeries, medications, and a wheelchair.
OP stated he could walk no more than 20 feet and couldn’t carry anything above a couple of pounds. For the previous 10 years, he’d missed most of the pleasurable things he remembers doing. Despite his tribulations, OP believed he had never lost love.
The Redditor’s wife would always go over and above to help him. Although OP appreciated her efforts, he frequently instructed her to notify him if anything she did for him was too much. But because she never said anything related, OP believed she had no problems at all.
One day, while trying to put on his shoes in the hallway, OP overheard his wife chatting to a friend. For whatever reason, he said she must have assumed he had already departed to pick up his kid from Airsoft practice.
He overheard his wife remark she was weary of being his babysitter, and then she went on to describe how exhausted she was from assisting him with tasks due to his limitations. OP was startled and continued to listen in astonishment. In an instant, he overheard another honest confession from her, which destroyed his heart.
The wife said, “I’d give anything to be able to have see..x with a real man again.” But she never attempted, since she didn’t want to be accused of abandoning her ailing husband. Her words crushed the OP. “A real man?” “What does that make me?” he asked himself, sadly.
OP stated that he had always been aware of his wife’s frustrations and displeasure with him, but he had no idea she had such low expectations of him. Inconsolably upset, he strolled into the kitchen and purposefully dropped his tumbler to signal his arrival.
At this moment, OP’s wife learned he was at home and went to check on him. He lied to her about returning to get his water bottle and resolved to face his darkest feelings alone.
After much thinking, he decided to make things easier for his wife. To ensure that no one blamed her for leaving him, he portrayed himself as the villain. He intended to inform his wife about a fictitious romance with another lady so that she may get the happiness she desired.
But after reading his story, others cautioned him not to rush because his wife may have simply been venting her anger. “I will also add that the way she was feeling in that moment doesn’t necessarily mean it’s her “real” feelings,” remarked another Reddit user, emphasizing how everyone experiences bad emotions and transient ideas when disturbed or frustrated.
The other individual went on to say, “While hurtful, I don’t think she necessarily has been pining away for you to disappear just because she’s venting to her best friend.”
Another poster concurred, describing how their mother would frequently yell about their terminally sick father, saying things similar to what the OP’s wife stated. “But in the end, she is just venting.” She cares deeply for my father.”We all complain about our loved ones at times, but we still love them,” the individual added.
OP was ultimately resolved to see his wife happy and provide her with everything he couldn’t. He knew his fake affair would harm her, but it would also protect her from criticism from others. “She will be guilt-free…”She will be free…from me,” he cruelly said.