Hearing that his mother-in-law had terminal cancer, the son-in-law rushed home to Mumbai, gathering all his savings from years of buying a car, claiming it was due to year-end sales, but in reality, he was afraid of being “borrowed” to pay for his mother’s treatment. His wife knew but just smiled faintly and said, “Let me give you some more money, buy a really nice car so you can drive comfortably.” True to his word, the next day the couple went to the dealership to choose a car, put down a deposit, and two days later received their new vehicle. Driving the brand-new car home, he proudly showed it to his mother and siblings, but his mother was sitting in the middle of the house crying, delivering news that left him utterly devastated. How could karma come so soon?

Upon hearing that his mother-in-law in Pune had terminal cancer, Raj, the husband, rushed home to Mumbai, gathering all his savings from years of buying a car, claiming it was due to year-end sales. In reality, he feared his wife, Priya, would borrow money to pay for his mother’s medical treatment. Priya knew her husband’s true motives, but she just smiled faintly and said, “Let me give you some more money, buy a much nicer car so you can drive more comfortably.” True to her word, the next day the couple went to a car dealership in Bandra, put down a deposit, and two days later received their new car. Driving the brand-new car home, Raj proudly showed it to his mother and siblings. But his mother, Devi, sat in the living room weeping, delivering news that left him utterly devastated. Why did karma come so soon?

HOPE AND PATIENCE

When first in love, feelings are always beautiful. Men often see marriage as the destination of love, while women see it as the beginning of a new journey to happiness. However, many fail to realize this when life after marriage becomes a series of heavy days, arguments, and disappointments.

Many Indian women are unhappy in their marriages, enduring hardship like diligent oxen, working tirelessly as housekeepers without rest. But it is the indifference and neglect of their husbands and the daily pressures that suffocate them. The reason they continue is often for the sake of their children and family.

Maintaining a Marriage for the Sake of Children

Priyanka “Priya” Sharma is one such woman. In the eyes of her friends and neighbors in their Mumbai neighborhood, she is intelligent, capable, manages all household affairs, and is filial to her parents-in-law – a model wife. But… only Priya knows that in this marriage, her husband Raj’s indifference truly disgusts and exhausts her.

Raj treats her like a maid, expecting her to serve his every need. He often comes home after midnight, reeking of whiskey, and only gives her a meager monthly allowance. Many people advised Priya to divorce, but she always thought of her son, Arjun, who was in third grade – a crucial stage in his life. She didn’t want to upset him, so she decided to endure it for his sake. Priya’s mother-in-law, Devi, was a calculating and stingy woman. Every time she visited her son’s family in Mumbai from Pune, she would remind them how hard Raj worked to earn money, complaining about Priya’s excessive collection of saris and accessories, and her lack of frugality. The truth was, Priya hadn’t bought anything new for herself in two or three years.

Not long after the marriage, Priya understood where her husband’s personality stemmed from – from her mother-in-law’s meticulous, intolerant, and materialistic upbringing, which had created a selfish man. Before marriage, she thought it was saving money; after marriage, she realized it was utter indifference, selfishness, and extreme stinginess.

Disaster Arrived

Then one day, a family tragedy struck. Devi’s mother-in-law complained of feeling unwell, so Priya got up early and took her to Apollo Hospital in Mumbai for a check-up. The results shocked them both: Devi had terminal lung cancer. Treatment at this stage was both expensive and offered little hope.

That afternoon, Raj came home early because there wasn’t much work at the company. He overheard Priya talking on the phone, vaguely saying, “My mother… cancer… needs money…”

Raj quickly jumped to conclusions, and when Priya hung up, he immediately said, “You know how hard I work to earn money. I’ve been saving for years and still haven’t been able to buy a new car. Now that your mother is sick, I can’t let you use up all my savings. I’ll buy a car tomorrow.”

The Harsh Truth and the Final Choice

Those words froze Priya’s heart. She was anxiously trying to borrow money from friends to pay for her mother-in-law’s treatment, yet her husband immediately thought about protecting his own money, assuming it was his mother-in-law. Thinking of her own mother in Pune who had always treated her son-in-law well, Priya felt incredibly ashamed. In Raj’s eyes, the lives of his wife’s relatives meant nothing. Priya said nothing, only giving a faint smile: “Then go ahead and buy it. I’ll go with you tomorrow.”

The next day, Raj happily went to the car dealership, signed the contract for the new sedan, and paid the deposit. When he got home, he found his mother, Devi, sitting on a chair, crying and scolding: “Heartless son! I worked so hard to raise you, and now that I know I have cancer and the treatment is expensive, you’re buying a car. All my efforts in raising you were wasted!” Raj was stunned: “Isn’t Priya’s mother sick? I really didn’t know that you…”

Hearing those words, Priya finally saw the true nature of her husband and their marriage. She no longer wanted to cling to the excuse of her son, Arjun, to maintain this broken marriage. She immediately proposed a divorce.

We often think of patience as a virtue and hope for a turning point. But if, time and time again, our desires for happiness and hope for change are brutally crushed, what will you do?

Some say, “Humans are so fragile before desires, so kindness and responsibility are all the more valuable because they help us resist those destructive desires.” But in reality, only those with a conscience and true responsibility can do that. The same is true in marriage; only when both partners understand what they should do, know how to care for and share, can the marriage be sustainable.

Marriage is not an inevitability of life. When those involved become selfish and no longer think of each other, the marriage becomes nothing more than an empty shell in name only. Whether it’s a lover, spouse, or family member, the most important thing for living in harmony is to recognize and appreciate the sacrifices and contributions of the other person, rather than taking them for granted.