Chapter 7 – The Breaking Point
Daisy’s sacrifices had no end. She gave her best years, but she received nothing in return. Her patience was gone. Her body was weak. Her spirit was tired. She was still standing, but inside she was falling apart.
One evening George came home angry. Daisy had kept dinner ready. She smiled softly and said, “I made your favorite tonight.” George looked at the plate and frowned. “Too much salt again. You never learn.” He pushed the plate away. Daisy froze. Her hands shook. She whispered in her heart, “I tried so hard. Still, I am not enough.”
Later that night, George shouted at her over a small mistake. His words were sharp. “You are nothing without me. Without me, you cannot live.” Daisy stood still. The room felt heavy. Those words cut her deeper than any wound before.
She went to her room and looked into the mirror. Her reflection was tired, her eyes red. She whispered, “I am not nothing. I am Daisy. I am a woman. I am a mother. I gave my whole life. I deserve peace.” Her tears fell, but her voice grew strong. For the first time in many years, she believed in her own worth.
The next morning Daisy tried again to speak calmly. “George, please listen. I need respect. I need love. I cannot live like this anymore.” George laughed coldly. “Stop your drama. You will never leave. You cannot survive without me.” Daisy’s heart broke. She thought, “He does not see me. He only sees his pride.”
Days later another painful scene came. Relatives visited their home. Daisy served food with care. George said loudly, “She always takes so long. She can’t do anything right.” The relatives looked uncomfortable. Daisy’s face turned red. She whispered to herself, “I cannot live one more year like this. My life is dying every day.”
That night she sat alone after everyone slept. She whispered, “I gave him forty-five years. I gave him my dreams. I gave him my health. I gave him my silence. What more can I give? My soul is already gone.”
Her children’s words echoed in her mind. Anna once said, “Mom, you sound so tired. Please take care of yourself.” Michael had said, “Mom, don’t hide your pain. Tell us.” Daisy now understood that she could not keep lying to them. She could not keep lying to herself.
One afternoon Daisy gathered courage. She told George, “I want a divorce.” George stared at her in shock. “At this age? What will people say? You are a fool.” Daisy’s lips trembled, but her voice did not shake. “People did not live my pain. I lived it. Now I will live my freedom too.”
George laughed. “You will come back. You cannot live without me.” Daisy stood tall. She said softly, “I have already lived without love. I have already lived without respect. Living without you will be easier.”
For the first time, George had no answer.
The days that followed were not easy. Daisy cried in her room many nights. She looked at old photos and felt both love and pain. But every time George shouted, every time he mocked, every time he controlled, her decision grew stronger. She whispered again and again, “I deserve peace. I deserve dignity. I deserve freedom.”
Finally, Daisy signed the papers. Her hands shook, but her heart felt light. She thought, “I am closing one door, but I am opening another. I am not ending my life. I am saving it.”
This was the breaking point. The point where Daisy stopped living for others and chose herself. She was not afraid anymore. She was ready to walk into a new life, even if it meant walking alone.
