Second Life, Second Thoughts: Leaving Behind a Once-Cherished Love

In our Antarctic research team, there was this running joke – the 'Perpetually Single' hall of fame. My name was etched onto it year after year.

That was because for eight years of marriage, my wife never once shared a bed with me, and yet, I stubbornly refused to divorce her.

She hated me, called me a coward and a monster, claiming I’d selfishly ruined her beloved childhood sweetheart’s life.

I hated her blindness, her utter inability to see. I swore I’d entangle myself with her for life, ensuring that even in death, her tombstone would only bear my name.