Elizabeth and her husband, Simon, were happily married for many years. After his sudden death, Elizabeth learned at the funeral that perhaps they weren’t as happy as she thought.
Elizabeth and Simon were married for several years and raised two beautiful children together. They had gotten married in their early 20s after having been madly in love as high school sweethearts.
Simon was a businessman, and Elizabeth was a housewife. She used to work as a real estate agent in the earlier years of their marriage, but after they had their first child, Elizabeth decided she would focus on raising their children full-time.
“Love, is that a new ring on your finger?”
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However, when the children got older, Elizabeth grew tired of being at home and decided to get back into real estate. Simon was happy to see Elizabeth back doing what she loved, but he worried about who would keep the house in order.
They decided to hire a maid, Rose, who lived in their house. Simon was fond of Rose, and they got along pretty well. They would often have long talks once Elizabeth returned from work, and she considered Rose to be a friend.
One day, Elizabeth noticed that her husband was wearing a new ring on his finger. Besides his wedding ring and a simple watch collection, Simon wasn’t really into accessories, so this struck Elizabeth as odd.
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He had also lost his wedding ring a while back and expressed no desire to restore it. He constantly complained about it annoying him and would often take it off from time to time; that’s essentially what led to him losing it.
“Love, is that a new ring on your finger?” Elizabeth asked.
“Oh, yeah, this little old thing,” Simon said nonchalantly.
“It’s nice. You’ve never been one for jewelry, though. When did you get it?” Elizabeth inquired.
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“About a week ago. I saw it at the jewelry store in town and thought I’d treat myself,” Simon responded, slightly nervous this time.
While Elizabeth found the whole situation peculiar, she figured this was just one of the many facets of marriage.
People’s tastes and habits change, especially if they’ve been together as long as we have, Elizabeth thought.
So, she quickly forgot about it.
A year later, Simon passed away suddenly from a heart attack. Elizabeth’s world came crumbling down, and she tried her hardest to be strong for her children, but the pain was unbearable.
Rose was also surprisingly torn by Simon’s death. Elizabeth figured it must’ve been because she had basically become part of their family over the years.
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Days later, at Simon’s funeral, Elizabeth was an inconsolable wreck. She tried her best to put on a poker face, but she’d barely slept all week and simply didn’t have the strength.
As Elizabeth was crying at Simon’s coffin, Rose joined her, holding her in an attempt to console her. As they embraced in an emotional hug, Elizabeth noticed that Rose was wearing the same ring Simon had been wearing back then.
“Where did you get that ring? Huh?” Elizabeth yelled, pulling away from Rose.
“Please, calm down, Elizabeth,” said Rose softly, trying to avoid causing a scene.
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“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down! Now, I said, where did you get that ring?” Elizabeth barked, violently grabbing her hand. The mourners murmured amongst themselves as they watched the spectacle unfolding before their eyes.
“From Simon! We were lovers!”
“Listen, I promise I’ll explain everything to you. This is not the time or place. Please, Elizabeth,” Rose said.
“Don’t tell me about a time or place. Where did you get that ring, Rose? That was my husband’s ring! Did you steal it?” Elizabeth continued.
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“Steal it? No, Elizabeth, I’m not a thief. I promise I’ll explain everything to you. Just not now. Please calm down,” Rose pleaded. But Elizabeth was having none of it; she instantly attacked Rose, grabbing her hair.
“I said where did you get that ring?” Elizabeth snapped.
“From Simon! We were lovers!” Rose yelled, pulling away from Elizabeth’s grip. The whole chapel fell silent.
“What did you say?” an awestruck Elizabeth asked.
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“We were having an affair, Elizabeth. Simon was planning on leaving you. We were going to get married,” Rose explained.
“But… I—I—I thought we were friends, Rose,” Elizabeth said dejectedly, in complete disbelief.
“I’m sorry, Elizabeth. My intention was never to hurt you. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, we were in love. I’m sorry,” Rose said before exiting the chapel and leaving a weeping, brokenhearted Elizabeth by the coffin.
A few weeks passed, and it was finally time to read Simon’s will. Elizabeth was utterly shocked to see Rose pitch at Simon’s lawyer, Brad’s, office that day. The last time she saw her was at the funeral, and she was the last person she wanted to see.
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“What are you doing here?” Elizabeth barked.
“I called her Elizabeth. This was Simone’s wish,” Simon’s lawyer explained.
“Please, Elizabeth. Let’s be civil about this,” Rose added.
“You don’t get to speak to me. Brad, let’s get this over and done with. I have places to be,” Elizabeth snapped.
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Elizabeth was heartbroken to learn that Simon had bequeathed most of his assets to Rose, leaving only their house to their children. Elizabeth got a little money, but nothing compared to what Simon left Rose.
She thought she was right when she decided to take the job, even though it almost ruined her marriage. While it pained her dearly that he didn’t think to leave her anything after all those years, she was at least content that she could provide for herself and the kids and didn’t need his money.
What can we learn from this story?
- Always retain a sense of independance. If Elizabeth had not retained a sense of independence and gotten her own job, she may have been left stranded after Simon’s death.
- Be honest. If Simon had been honest with Elizabeth about how he was feeling, they may have been able to salvage their marriage.
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