A man who got angry with his wife on Valentine’s Day, accusing her of being a bad housekeeper, angrily threw away her gift. But he regretted his decision when a stranger showed up on their doorstep later that day.
Cora Morales had spent the morning in a bubble of happiness, surprising herself with how cheerful she was. She sat in the living room, checking off tasks on her to-do list for the evening, blushing and wondering how thrilled Eric would be when he saw the Valentine’s Day surprise she had prepared for him.
Cora had met Eric at a business conference in Texas. Because they were both orphans raised in foster care, they hoped to one day have a large, happy family.
This dream soon came true, as they married shortly after they began dating. Two years after their vows were said, they welcomed triplets.
However, things started to get a little tense when Cora had to take time off to care for the children, leaving Eric to become the family’s primary financial provider.
Cora prepared a special dinner for Eric | Source: Unsplash
Eric had to give his all to raise a family of five, which caused him stress and a sense of guilt for never being able to devote enough time to his family. Worse still, he didn’t have much time off on weekends and still couldn’t save enough money at the end of the month.
As a result, they hadn’t traveled or dined at a fancy restaurant for years, even on special occasions. Eric was keen to save every penny, and Cora understood this well, so she never wasted the little money they had and spent it wisely.
For Valentine’s Day, she was wearing an old red dress that Eric had given her for their first wedding anniversary. It was a bit outdated, but it held an important place in Cora’s life. Since it allowed her to save some extra money, she didn’t hesitate to wear it for this special occasion.
When she realized Eric would be arriving in a few minutes, she quickly set the table for two with her favorite red velvet cheesecake (which she had carefully baked in the shape of a heart), a bottle of wine, a few other dishes she had prepared, and placed a gift box next to his plate—which she was very happy about.
Finally, she placed scented candles in the room and dimmed the lights. The doorbell rang almost half an hour later, signaling that Eric was finally home. She rushed into the main room and kissed her husband on the cheek.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, darling!”
Cora wore a red dress for the evening | Source: Pexels
When Eric entered the room, he was disconcerted to see the dining table laden with food, the room lit with candles, and rose petals placed from the doorway to the table. “What’s going on here, Cora? Are we stupid teenagers?” he raged.
Cora’s smile instantly vanished as Eric turned on all the lights and he stared at her. “Honey! What’s wrong? Are you upset about something? Did something happen at work?”
When we are angry, we lose our ability to think reasonably.
Enraged, he shouted, “Are you serious? Is this why I’m working like crazy? So you can screw everything up over something like this?!”
“Oh, Eric! Relax! I didn’t go overboard! The ingredients cost a little more, but it wasn’t much,” she added kindly, leading him to the table. “Sit down and tell me if you like the food.”
Eric was furious. In fact, he was very angry. He took a bite of the Aglio e Olio and spat it out on the table. “What’s wrong with the spaghetti? And why does the sauce taste like shit?” he yelled, loud enough to startle the triplets, who were fast asleep in their room.
“Eric!” cried Cora. ”What’s wrong with you? The babies… I put them to sleep half an hour ago, and you just woke them up!”
“So what? Is it my fault too? Cora, I work all day while you stay home playing with the kids! And what’s this?” he growled, taking the gift package in his hands. “A present?” He threw it on the floor and glared at her.
He continued, “I’m not a kid who gets intimidated by something like that, okay? Have you seen the kitchen? Do you know why there are so many dishes? Let me explain why. Because you were too busy preparing this shit to take care of the house!”
“You’re impossible, Eric! I can’t believe you’re the same man I fell in love with and married! You can’t… ugh, leave…” she grumbled as she walked away towards the children’s room. However, the crying continued, which irritated Eric even more.
Eric was frustrated with Cora and lashed out at her | Source: Pexels
“Why aren’t the kids calm yet? Aren’t you the perfect housewife and mom? Learn to do at least something properly, Cora!” he yelled at her from the living room.
Hearing his taunts, Cora stormed out of the room. “They’re crying because I have to change diapers, but we don’t have any at home! So shut up and take care of them until I get back. The store is a bit far from here, so it’ll take a while!” she yelled before storming out of the house, slamming the door behind her.
Eric continued to grumble and mock Cora, “Yeah! And then you pretend you’re a housewife and stay at home.” From the sound of it, Cora didn’t know how to play the role of a housewife. Nevertheless, he headed towards the children’s room.
Almost an hour passed. The children kept crying, Cora didn’t come home. “What’s wrong with you, Cora?” he moaned as he went into the living room to get his phone and called her, “I can’t believe it’s taking you this long to get a pack of diapers!”
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. “There she is! Cora, how long does it take you to just…” he started to ask, but stopped when he noticed a cop on his porch. “Does Cora Morales live here?”
Eric answered in the affirmative. The policeman cleared his throat and continued, “You’re, uh, her husband?”
Eric nodded. Somberly, the police officer said, “I’m sorry to tell you this, but your wife died in a car accident. You need to come with us to identify the body. We found her address on her driver’s license.”
The police officer informed Eric of Cora’s death | Source: Pexels
The shock that ran through Eric was of a rare violence. His face instantly paled. The policeman glanced inside the house and noticed the table lit by candles. At one point, he felt guilty for having to deliver such horrible news, but he had no choice.
Still in shock, Eric called their neighbor, Mrs. Nelson, and asked her to look after the triplets while he was away. When he arrived at the morgue, he couldn’t believe the pale, lifeless body was Cora’s. He burst into tears, feeling bad for having been so aggressive toward her. The day after the funeral, he locked himself in his house. He didn’t want to think or do anything.
The table Cora had set was still there, and when he glanced at it, all the events of the previous evening flashed before his eyes. Suddenly, he remembered Cora’s gift. “The gift… I… I didn’t even open it.” He looked around frantically and finally spotted it on the floor.
He unwrapped the gift. His hands were shaking. Inside, he found a letter with two plane tickets to Hawaii. He wiped away his tears and opened the letter to read it.
“To Eric, the love of my life,
Happy Valentine’s Day, honey! Guess who got a job this month! I saw you were exhausted after working alone, so I started applying to a few places, and yesterday afternoon I got a call saying I got the job!!!
Eric sobbed like a child after opening the gift | Source: Pexels
Also, I spoke with Mrs. Nelson, and she agreed to babysit, so I can go to work, relieved that our babies are in good hands. But wait, that’s not the only surprise! See those tickets? They’re for our Hawaiian vacation, just the two of us!!! (I made other plans too, but you’ll find out about them later.)”
When Eric finished reading the note, he burst into tears like a child. But there was nothing he could do. Cora was gone, and he would have to live with his remorse for the rest of his days. From that day on, Eric’s life took a different turn.
He never fell in love again. He focused the rest of his life working hard to provide a good life for his children and ensure they lacked nothing. Every Valentine’s Day, he visited Cora’s grave and spent hours talking to her about everything that came to mind, regretting not having been able to ask her for forgiveness.
What can we learn from this story?
- Don’t jump to conclusions . Eric thought Cora didn’t want to work and was just hanging around the house. He was wrong.
- When we are angry, we lose our ability to think rationally . Eric was stressed at work and took his frustration out on Cora. He still regrets doing so.
Read also: Rich man mocks overweight woman on plane until he hears captain’s voice speaking to her
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