Looking at the bill at the end of the month, the wife was shocked to know why her husband took an hour to shower

Ramon and I have been married for 9 years. Indeed, marriage is much harder than when we were in love. However, I still try to stay optimistic. Ramon doesn’t often help with housework, rarely pays attention to his wife’s feelings, but he is good at making money. Sometimes he hangs out drinking with friends, or is glued to his phone when he is at home.

My husband and I have argued many times because he is too fun-loving and neglects his wife and children. But Ramon always makes excuses that he only goes to play soccer with friends or plays games, “hindi naman gastos ng malaki.” He still gives me his full monthly salary to manage, and I can spend it however I want. As for housework, he says: “Galing na nga ako sa trabaho, huwag mo na akong pahirapan thêm.”

At first I felt uncomfortable, but then I thought about it. Anyway, having a husband like Ramon is still luckier than many other women. To make things easier, I decided to hire a kasambahay to help.

Since I had a maid, I have been more relaxed and have more time for myself and my two children. But then I started to notice something strange about my husband. Before, Ramon only took 15–20 minutes to shower, but recently he spent an hour in the bathroom. I asked him, and he snapped:
“Bakit ka ba napaka-usisera? Talo mo pa ang pulis!”

I became suspicious. At the end of the month, when I received the Maynilad water bill, I was shocked: the amount had increased by one and a half times. That meant Ramon had left the water running for an hour. I thought something was wrong.

One night, I sent my two children to my parents’ house in Bulacan, while I stayed to keep an eye on them. Ramon came home from work, ate dinner, and went into the bathroom. I put my ear close to the door, listening to the sound of rushing water and music from the phone. Straining my ears a little more, I heard clearly… his whispering conversation with someone.

When Ramon went out, I went in to check everywhere. Seeing nothing unusual, I went to the toilet. Opening the lid of the water tank, I was stunned: inside was a box wrapped in a black plastic bag. Inside the box was… another phone.

I brought out the phone to question him. Ramon turned pale. Knowing that he couldn’t deny it, he confessed that he had been seeing a young girl online recently. He hid the phone in the toilet so I wouldn’t find out.

“Hindi pa kami nagkikita, swear! Just texting, calling. Dahil… boring na raw tayo sa kama,” Ramon stammered.

My heart ached. Even though he swore he had never met her or crossed the line, the fact that my husband was “fantasizing” about another woman was enough to make me feel betrayed. Looking at the picture of the young girl who was much more beautiful than me, my heart was bitter and self-conscious.

A few days later, I calmed down. The couple sat down and had a serious talk, sharing frankly. I also realized that for a long time I had only focused on the children, paying little attention to warming up our relationship. Ramon admitted his mistakes and asked for a chance to change.

We decided to try to start over, to find a way to renew our marriage. But, although we were more compatible, there was still a scar in my heart: the obsession that my husband once wanted to find happiness with someone else. A thorn that was hard to remove from my heart.

WHEN THE “THIRD PERSON” KNOCKED ON THE DOOR

After discovering the phone hidden in the toilet, Ramon and I sat down and had a frank talk. He cried, apologized, and promised to cut off all contact. I felt sorry for my child, so I softened. We promised to try to rebuild our relationship, to find a way to rekindle the cold feelings.

At first, things seemed better. Ramon cared more about me and came home early. I thought, maybe he had really changed. But I was still uneasy, because once trust is broken, it is difficult to mend.

A strange figure at the door

One weekend afternoon, while I was cleaning, I heard a knock on the door. When I opened it, I was stunned: in front of me was a young girl, stylishly dressed, with a carefully made-up face.

“Magandang hapon po. Ate is Ramon’s wife, right?” – she smiled faintly.

I was startled, my heart pounding. That girl was the one Ramon had texted.

“I’m Clarisse,” she introduced herself, and without invitation, walked straight into the house. “You probably know me, right?”

I stood there, stunned, unable to believe it. Clarisse told me that she and Ramon had met many times in real life while he was pretending to play soccer with his friends. She even showed me dating messages and photos of the two of them in a cafe.

“He told me that you were just an obligation, and I was his love,” Clarisse curled her lips.

I was trembling, almost about to collapse. All the promises Ramon had made before… turned out to be lies.

A night of heated confrontation

When Ramon came home, I threw the stack of photos Clarisse had given him straight in his face.

“What is this?!”

Ramon turned pale and stammered, “Isa, hindi mo naiintindihan… Clarisse is just a temporary thing. I don’t love her.”

Clarisse sneered, standing beside him: “You lied, Ramon. You said you would divorce your wife to marry me. Have you forgotten?”

The atmosphere in the house exploded. I shouted:
“You swore all sorts of things, but in the end you still betrayed me. What do you think of me?!”

The two children ran out of the room, hugging me tightly in fear. I choked up, my heart broken.

The shock piled up

In the following days, Clarisse kept texting, calling, and even appeared at my workplace, hinting to shame me. The neighbors began to whisper:
“They have a third person…”

I was both humiliated and in pain. Ramon kept kneeling down to apologize and swearing to stop, but I no longer believed him. Because clearly, he had reoffended.

One night, when the children were asleep, I coldly said to my husband:

“Ramon, last time I forgave you because I thought you were repentant. But this time… I’m not sure I have the strength anymore.”

He collapsed, hugged my legs, and sobbed. But in my heart, a cold void was growing.

The turning point

I began to think about separation. Because I knew that if we continued, both me and the children would live in a lie. But my heart was still torn, because of 9 years of marriage, because of the home we had built.

While I had not yet made a decision, Clarisse suddenly posted a picture of her and Ramon on social media, with the caption:

“Kung hindi mo kayang alagaan, ako na lang.” (If you don’t know how to keep your husband, let me keep him for you).

The post went viral, and all my friends and relatives saw it. I became a laughing stock.

I looked in the mirror and saw my own haggard face. I asked myself:
“Should I still save this marriage? Or is it time to let go?”

Outside, Manila was pouring rain. In my heart, the storm was even more fierce.