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| Kitchen full of dirty dishes| source: Dreamina capcut |
A man mocks his unemployed wife, only to return home one day and find her missing. In his search, he discovers a note saying she plans to divorce him. Will he manage to stop her and save their marriage?
It was a crisp, cold October morning, and Harry was enthusiastic about presenting his gaming app, a project he had dedicated himself to over the past six months.
At exactly eight o'clock, Harry entered the dining room, engrossed in his phone, barely acknowledging his wife, Sara, or their sons, Cody and Sonny.
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels |
"Morning, honey," Sara greeted him.
"Good morning, Daddy," the boys chimed in together.
Ignoring them, Harry grabbed a piece of toast and hurried back to his room.
"Sara, where's my white shirt?" Harry’s voice thundered from the other room.
"It's in the wash with the other whites," Sara replied.
Harry stormed back into the dining room. "That’s my lucky shirt! I needed it for today!"
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Getty Images |
"I didn’t have enough whites for a full load until now. You have other white shirts!"
"This day is huge for me, and you're making excuses?" Harry snapped.
"You're overreacting, Harry. Your presentation matters, not your shirt. So stop barking, alright?"
"Oh really? I'm barking? You want to do this now?"
"Do what, Harry? You're making a scene over something trivial. No one cares what color shirt you're wearing when everyone will be focused on your presentation."
"A 'goddamn presentation'? Did you seriously say that? Do you even understand how hard I've been working day and night for this?"
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Getty Images |
"Watch your words—the kids...."
"You sit at home all day doing nothing," Harry retorted. "Is it so hard to remember one simple thing? All you do is talk, talk, talk, and do NOTHING."
"Harry, stop. The kids are watching, and you're scaring them."
"Oh really? And no one notices you gossiping on the phone all day with your friends. Nobody watches that, huh, Sara? You’ll never be a good wife if you can't even handle this!"
Harry threw on a random suit and stormed out, grabbing his briefcase.
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels |
After a successful presentation and earning the promotion, Harry expected an apology call from Sara—something she always did after a fight. But this time, no calls came.
Confident he’d win her over, he returned home with white roses only to find the apartment empty. A note from Sara read, "I want a divorce."
Stunned and uneasy, Harry called Sara’s sister, Zara, who revealed that Sara was at the hospital. Panicked, Harry rushed there, only to be met by an angry Zara.
"You told her she wasn’t a good enough wife?!" she shouted.
"Look, we’ll discuss this later, okay?" Harry replied, brushing past her.
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels |
Harry hurried to find the doctor. "Is my wife alright? Can I see her?"
"It was a mild attack. She’s stable now but needs rest. You can see her for ten minutes," the doctor informed him.
Shaking, Harry entered the ward and forced a smile as he approached Sara.
"Honey, I’m sorry. Please, let me explain. I—"
"I don’t want to hear anything. I’m done. Divorce is all I want."
"Wha-What? Why? You're taking this too far!"
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels |
"I had dreams, plans... I chose you over every opportunity, and it ruined my life," Sara replied. "It’s too late for your apologies, Harry."
"Honey, we can work this out together," he begged.
"No, I can't. I can't keep pretending—to you, to myself, to the kids. I’m 32, but I feel ancient. I just hate you, Harry. You disgust me."
"What about the kids, Sara?"
"I’m in no position to support them right now. So they’re staying with you."
Harry said no more and left the hospital, heading to Zara’s house to pick up the kids.
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Getty Images |
At home, he ordered pizza and ice cream for dinner. After tucking the kids into bed, he called his friend Alex, who suggested Sara might come back after cooling off.
The next morning, Harry overslept, and chaos ensued as he rushed to get the kids ready for school. He burnt the French toast and his shirt in the process.
"Daddy, what’s going on?" the kids asked amidst the commotion.
"It’s just the smoke alarm. Don’t worry," Harry reassured them as he juggled tasks.
Running late for an important meeting, he quickly got dressed and promised the kids breakfast on the way to school.
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Getty Images |
After dropping the kids off, Harry arrived late at his meeting. "Sorry! Traffic, you know...."
Returning home that evening, he noticed Sara’s belongings were gone. "Did she really leave me?" he wondered.
"Daddy, where are Mommy’s things and pictures?" the boys asked.
Unsure, Harry called Zara.
"Is this some kind of joke? Sara came here, took her stuff, and left me? With the kids?"
Zara coldly replied, "She told you, didn’t she, Harry? You took her for granted." And then she hung up.
Five months passed. Without Sara, Harry struggled to manage work and parenting, and his job performance plummeted.
One day, his boss, Mr. Adams, invited him for a drink and brought up Harry’s declining work.
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels |
"Harry, you’ve been missing deadlines and arriving late. We’re running a business here, you know," Mr. Adams said.
"Are you letting your best game developer go?" Harry joked.
"I'm afraid so," Mr. Adams replied seriously. "I’ll give you a good recommendation."
"What? You can’t do this! I need this job for my kids!" Harry pleaded.
As he stormed out, his phone rang—it was Sara.
"Sara? What’s going on?" Harry answered.
"Harry, can we meet? Five o’clock, at the café where we first...?" Sara asked.
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Pixabay |
At the café, Sara revealed she wanted custody of the children.
"Custody? After abandoning them?!" Harry yelled.
"I’m their mother. I have rights," Sara argued.
"You left them, and now you want to take them away? They’re used to me now!"
Determined, Sara replied, "I’ll see you in court."
In the days leading to the trial, Harry balanced parenting and a new freelance gig, learning to juggle breakfast prep, school runs, and work.
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels |
"Mr. Wills, can you describe your attention to your family during your marriage?" Sara’s lawyer asked in court.
"I worked long hours to provide for them," Harry answered.
"And your wife’s ambitions? Did she want a career?"
"Before the kids, yes, but she stayed home afterward to care for them."
"And yet you told her she did ‘nothing’ at home?"
"I said that in frustration. I was running late."
"Why were you fired from your job?"
"Objection, Your Honor—irrelevant."
"Overruled," the judge responded.
Harry admitted, "I struggled to balance work and parenting but never gave up on my kids."
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Getty Images |
"I did. Yes, it was an outburst. I was late for office and—"
"Mr. Wills, were you fired from your job? Why were you fired exactly?"
"Objection, Your Honor. This is utterly irrelevant and immaterial to the case," Harry's lawyer rose.
"Objection overruled."
"Thank you, Your Honor!" added Sara's lawyer. "Mr. Wills, why were you fired from your job?"
After a brief yet significant pause, Harry met Sara's tearful gaze and spoke. "Because I couldn't balance my work and parental duties. I tried, but it was too much. But I didn't give up. I would never give up on my kids. I love them."
"Mr. Wills, how are you managing now? How do you plan to support your kids...without a job?"
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels |
"I have a job. I can support them well."
"Be specific, Mr. Wills. What job and what's the salary?"
"It...It's a part-time freelance gig. I'm a video editor."
"Mr. Wills, I admire your confidence despite your downward career trajectory! I'm sure you don’t earn nearly as much as you did in your previous role, right?" the lawyer added sarcastically. "A freelance job. Low salary. And raising two kids in today's recession. Well...That's all, Your Honor."
Sara was then called to the stand, and Harry’s heart began to race.
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Getty Images |
"Ms. Sara, can you please describe your life with your husband...I mean, soon-to-be ex-husband?" Harry's lawyer asked. "Did he ever refuse to give you money or fail to care for you in any way?"
"No...Not at all. He was always generous with our finances. We never had any issues with money."
"Did Mr. Wills ever raise his hands on you or the kids? Has he ever come home drunk and behaved inappropriately?"
"No, he never laid a hand on us. My husband. Sorry. Mr. Wills has never come home drunk."
"Your husband has provided for you, as you just admitted. He has never been violent or negligent. So why did you leave him and the kids?"
"I had a nervous breakdown. He was always busy. He would come home and sit with his laptop, rarely asking me if I was sick...happy...or sad. I tried to cope. But I couldn't do it anymore and left. I didn’t want my kids to struggle with me as I wasn’t emotionally stable at that time."
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Getty Images |
Harry began to crumble inside, and her words hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Ms. Sara, where were you for the past six months? What were you doing, and how will you care for the kids now?"
"I was in Chicago at a friend's place. I wanted to be away from everything and everyone for a while. Then I moved back to Boston...got a job as an interior designer."
"What's the guarantee you won’t have another breakdown and won’t abandon the kids again?" the lawyer pressed.
"Objection, Your Honor. This is baseless and..." Sara's lawyer interjected. "My client, Ms. Sara, has come for the children's custody. Why would she leave them again?"
"Order...Order."
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels |
"I won't do it ever again. My children are my world. I'll be there for them and never let anything like that happen again."
Two hours later, the verdict was announced, granting Sara custody of the children.
"....Mr. Wills, you'll have the right to visit your children and take them with you two days a week. You're required to pay $860 as support to your children every month. This case is now closed."
The day soon arrived when the children were to go with Sara. She came, torn between sadness at separating the kids from their father and joy at having them back. As she was leaving with her two sons, her elder one stopped her.
"You're just tearing us apart," Cody said, letting go of Sara’s hand and running back to Harry.
"We want both Mommy and Daddy!" Sonny added.
That was it. Sara could no longer hold back. She ran toward them and hugged them tightly.
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| For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels |
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