Hopeless Life"

Part I

A young woman, like every evening, was waiting for her husband to return from work. Karolina (the wife) always cooked him delicious dinners, this time it was Chinese food. She had barely managed to arrange the plates on the burgundy tablecloth when Paweł knocked on the door. "As usual, he forgot the key," she thought and went to open the door. There he was, right in front of her, she loved him so much. She snuggled up and felt safe in his arms. She loved cuddling up to him and feeling his body and the warmth radiating from beneath her sweatshirt. She adored that scent. Yes, she loved him so much. As a teenager, she even thought she loved him more than her own parents. Maybe she still does.

"I love you," Paweł said, and she returned his words with a gentle kiss and a warm look.

"Come to the kitchen, I made your favorite dish especially for you.

" "You're irreplaceable, my dear."

After dinner, the young couple spent the evening watching TV. They loved spending time together. They could never get enough of each other. They seemed like the perfect couple.

Part II

One day, Paweł invited Karolina to a café. He had to tell her something that would change her life forever.

"What can I get you?" asked a short, petite waitress with a note in her hand.

"We'll have two vanilla-banana ice creams, please," Karolina said.

"Here, they'll be here in 10 minutes."

After the employee left, the young woman said to her husband,

"So, what exactly did you invite me here for?"

"I have to tell you something. Something that will really hurt you, honey. I don't know what you'll do, but I'm prepared for the worst. He deserved it. But first, I'll tell you that I was drunk at the time and unaware of what I was doing. Listen, no matter what you do, I will always love you... (pause in conversation)... I cheated on you... I slept with another woman, but that will never happen again..." He stopped talking as Karolina, pale as a sheet, slumped limply to the floor.

Part III

Karolina opened her eyes. She was lying in the hospital. She remembered what had happened. He said to himself, "What did my husband say? Did he cheat on me? No...it couldn't have been him, maybe Kaśka's or Ewa's husband, my cousin's, but not Paweł, why would he do that?! That's impossible. Wait a minute. Was another woman touching him? And he let her? What's more! He touched her too and surely took considerable pleasure from it..." These were her first thoughts. She couldn't let them get to her. "Am I not enough for him anymore?" she kept asking herself. However, her thoughts were interrupted by the doctor entering the room with Paweł.

"Honey, I'm sorry," he said.

But she couldn't get a single word out. She just stared at him with wide eyes.

"The lady is in shock. She can't leave the hospital until tomorrow at the latest. Until then, she needs to rest and recover. She probably shouldn't be seeing you during this time, if you'll excuse me. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Karolina had a lot of time to think. She didn't know what to do with her life now, but one thing was certain—she would never leave her husband; she loved him too much. She had lost her self-respect because she felt inferior, inadequate. But she loved him so much. Above all, despite what he had done to her.

The next day, she was packed and sitting on the bed in the ward. Her hair was greasy and unkempt, and her makeup was smudged. She had put on a flannel shirt and jeans that reached her waist. And that's how Paweł found her. With a stony expression on her face, she didn't even look at him.

"Hello, honey! So, we're finally going home!"

She, still silent, left the hospital and got into the car.

Part IV

Karolina had changed drastically. She practically performed all her daily activities, but she didn't speak at all. She responded to her husband's words, ate meals with him, greeted him after work (except now he was the one kissing her emaciated cheek), and they still kissed, but without love, without passion. She didn't say a word and had clearly lost weight and wasted away. Paweł was terribly worried, but he couldn't blame her; he just wanted to have her by his side at all times. He still loved her very much and deeply regretted what he had done. He went to psychological therapy with her, but, oh well, it usually didn't help. Karolina couldn't be replaced. She would never be that cheerful girl again. All she could think about was Paweł's infidelity. Her life became emotionless, expressionless, and hopeless forever.