You wouldn’t understand. But Elena did understand. She understood that she was losing him. She understood that the success they had worked for together was pulling them apart instead of bringing them closer.
Then one day, everything fell apart completely. Jonathan came home with divorce papers in his hand.
He didn’t even sit down. He just placed the papers on the kitchen table where Elena was sitting drinking tea and waiting for him like she did every evening.
“What is this?” Elena asked, her hands shaking as she picked up the papers. “It’s a divorce,” Jonathan said flatly, like he was talking about the weather.
“I want out of this marriage, Elena. You’re holding me back. I need someone who fits my lifestyle now.
Someone who understands the world I live in.” Elena felt like the ground had disappeared beneath her feet.
Holding you back. Jonathan, I supported you through everything. I believed in you when nobody else did.
That was then, Jonathan said coldly. This is now. I’ve moved on, Elena. You should, too.
But I love you, Elena whispered, tears streaming down her face. Love doesn’t pay the bills, Jonathan replied.
Love doesn’t build empires. I’m going places, Elena, and I can’t take you with me.
The divorce was brutal. Jonathan had expensive lawyers who made sure he kept almost everything.
The house, the money, the business. Elena, who had given up her own career to support his dreams, was left with almost nothing.
The judge gave her a small amount of money, but it wasn’t enough to live on for long.
Within months, Elena lost everything. Without money for rent, she lost her apartment. Without a place to live, she couldn’t get a job because she had no address to put on applications.
She tried staying with friends, but she couldn’t burden them forever. Eventually, Elena ended up on the streets.
It happened so fast it felt like a nightmare. One day, she was a married woman with a home and a life.
The next day, she was homeless, sleeping on cardboard boxes and doorways, trying to stay warm with thin blankets, standing in line at shelters, hoping for a meal.
But even living on the streets, Elena never lost her kindness. She would share her food with other homeless people who looked hungrier than her.
She would comfort scared children she met. She would smile at people passing by. Even when they looked away from her like she was invisible.
Three years passed this way. Three long hard years. And Jonathan, he got richer and richer.
His company grew into an empire. He bought a mansion on the hill overlooking the city.
He drove cars that cost more than most people’s houses. He wore suits that cost thousands of dollars.
Everyone wanted to be his friend. Everyone wanted to do business with him. But success had made Jonathan even colder, even meaner.
And he never forgot about Elena. In fact, seeing her fall so far gave him a twisted sense of satisfaction.
It made him feel powerful to know that he had risen so high while she had fallen so low.
Sometimes when Jonathan drove through the city in his expensive car, he would see Elena on the street corner.
And instead of feeling ashamed or sorry for what he had done to her, he would slow down his car and call out to her, making sure other people could hear.
Elena, is that you? He would shout, his voice dripping with fake concern. Oh my goodness, you’re still living out here.
That’s so sad. You really should try harder to get your life together, but you won’t.
Continued on next page:
