Chapter 6 – Broken Promises

For a few weeks, Eleanor believed things were changing. Victor had spoken to her again. He had walked with her. He had even held her hand. She thought her husband was coming back to her. She thought love was returning after years of silence.

But inside her heart, she was afraid. She prayed every night, “Please God, let this last. Please do not let him fall back.”

Her prayers went unanswered.

It started small. One night Victor said, “I have to go on a short trip. Only two days.” Eleanor’s body stiffened. She whispered, “Do not leave me again. You promised.” He looked at her coldly. “This is work. You have to understand.”

She cried, “I cannot bear it anymore. Do you know what those trips do to me?”
He replied sharply, “Do you want me to sit here like a prisoner? I need freedom.”

Those words tore her hope. Still, she let him go. She wanted to believe him. She thought, Maybe this is really work. Maybe he is telling the truth this time.

Two days became five. Five became ten. When he returned, his face carried the same bright smile she had seen before. Eleanor’s chest ached. She asked, “Where were you?” He said quickly, “Meetings. Too many meetings.” He walked past her.

That night, she smelled perfume on his shirt again. Not hers. Another woman’s. She whispered, “Victor, why? Why do you keep hurting me?”

The next week, she saw bills again. Rent payments sent online. Jewelry she had never received. Dinners she had never eaten. She held the papers in her hands and said, “Victor, this is not change. This is the same lie. You promised me. You promised!”

He pulled the papers away. He shouted, “Stop acting like a detective. You make this house miserable.”
She shouted back through tears, “This house is miserable because of your lies, not my questions!”

Her hands shook. She whispered, “I gave you one last chance. And you broke it.”

Victor looked at her with no shame. “You should be thankful. You live in comfort. You have food. You have money. What else do you want?”

Her heart almost stopped. She cried out, “I do not want your money! I want respect. I want love. I want care. Do you not understand? Do you think food and money are enough for a woman’s heart?”

He turned his back. “Stop complaining.”

Eleanor sank into her chair. She sobbed like a child. She whispered, “You promised me. And you broke it. You promised me peace. You gave me more pain.”

That night, she could not sleep. She heard him laughing softly on his phone. She pressed her ear against the wall. His voice was low but clear. “Yes, Diana. Yes, Carla. I will come. Do not worry. I miss you too.”

Her tears flowed. She said to herself, “So it was never over. It was never going to stop. He fooled me. He fooled me into believing he could change.”

The next morning, she looked at him with red eyes. She said quietly, “You are not my husband anymore. You are a stranger who lives in my house.”

He replied with anger, “If you do not like it, leave.”

Her lips trembled. She whispered, “One day, Victor. One day, I will.”

The hope she had held in Chapter 5 was now gone. Broken promises had killed it. She no longer dreamed of his change. She only thought, How much more pain can I take? How much longer can I live like this?