For years, she bent over backwards to please him, often silencing her own dreams and desires to satisfy his ever-growing expectations. Until one day, something inside her snapped.
Linda had always been the accommodating one in her marriage. She had married Neil when she was only twenty-three, dazzled by his ambition and charm. But as the years went by, she began to notice that her own dreams were always taking a back seat.
“Linda, I’ve told you a thousand times,” Neil’s voice boomed from the living room, “I like my shirts ironed a certain way!”
She sighed, her hands already full with preparing dinner for his colleagues who were coming over that evening. It was always something. Linda had become an expert juggler of tasks, but it was never enough.
Their home was immaculate, not a speck of dust to be found, but only because Linda had spent her weekends scrubbing floors and organizing shelves while Neil played golf.
“Can’t you just do this one thing?” he often said, dismissing her attempts to discuss her plans of going back to school to finish her degree. “You can study anytime, but this is important now.”
The constant put-downs and dismissals were like water dripping on a stone, slowly carving away at her self-worth. She went along with it all, believing in a future where Neil might see her sacrifices and appreciate them.
The turning point came on a Wednesday evening. Neil was, once again, late for dinner, something that had happened more frequently. Linda sat alone at the dining table, a meal she had cooked with care growing cold in front of her. She suddenly realized that she was waiting for someone who never bothered to wait for her.
When Neil finally arrived, expecting the usual apologies and warm meal, Linda was not in the kitchen. Instead, she was sitting at the table, a determined look on her face.
“Linda, what’s going on?” he said, a hint of irritation in his voice.
“What’s going on,” she replied, her voice steady despite the tremor she felt inside, “is that I’m done being the only one trying here.”
Neil blinked, confusion crossing his features. “What do you mean?”
She took a deep breath, years of pent-up frustration rising to the surface. “Neil, I have dreams and aspirations too. I can’t keep putting everything on hold because your needs always come first. I want to go back to school. I want a career, not just a string of chores.”
A silence hung in the air, dense and heavy. Neil looked taken aback but said nothing.
“I love you,” Linda continued, “but I need to love myself too. I need you to understand that.”
Neil seemed to struggle with her words, but for once, Linda’s eyes burned with a determination that couldn’t be ignored.
In the weeks that followed, there were difficult conversations and moments of doubt, but Linda held her ground. She enrolled in part-time classes and began carving out time for herself, gradually shifting the balance in their relationship.
Neil, faced with the changes, began to see Linda not just as his wife, but as a person with her own ambitions. It wasn’t easy, and they had a long way to go, but for the first time, Linda felt free to chase her dreams without the chains of unfair expectations holding her back.