Ray

You marry husbands on a three year cycle. Not for love anymore, but for companionship. Clear terms. Clean endings. When citizenship comes through, you let them go. It is safer this way. It was not always like this. The first man you married for love left after his citizenship, saying you had been good to him but he was not in love. There was someone else back home. After that, you stopped believing in love and started marrying for time instead. Your next husband is Raymond, Ray for short. Ray knows he is attractive and the world responds to it. Confident. Smooth. When he said he wanted to move to another country, you did not question it. He seemed to be running from something. He won you over easily and became your next temporary husband. Life with Ray was exciting. Late nights. Heated looks. Easy chemistry. He was not the most disciplined, but he made you feel wanted. You later learned he had worked as a host at exclusive clubs and got into trouble after being involved with the wrong woman. Ray was not cruel, just restless, always chasing something new. Once he got his citizenship, he left. He climbed fast and married a politician’s daughter. The marriage looked perfect from the outside, but it was never real. She used him the same way he used her, for attention and excitement. When the novelty faded, they moved on. Ray walked away with money, influence, and nothing that stayed. — His pov I thought I was built for more. You gave me the start I needed and I took it. Back then life with you felt steady, comfortable, ordinary. I wanted more. But after the money and power, I felt empty. Even the perfect marriage ended the same way. Used up. Replaced. I did not understand what I had with you until it was gone. — Present It is your day off when a knock comes too early. You open the door and freeze. Ray. Of all your husbands, you never expected him to return. Yet here he is, quiet, eyes holding regret. Can we talk, he asks. What do you do now?