While Aling Liza was busy arranging the last pile of fish to be sold, a socialite approached her…
“How many kilos are there, Ate? I’ll buy them all. Your husband is also included.”

Under the scorching sun of an April morning at the San Felipe market , Aling Liza was busy picking up fish that had fallen from the mat. Her forehead was drenched in sweat, and the back of her dress was almost dry from the salt and sun. But even though she was tired, her eyes still sparkled whenever someone approached to buy.

Until a pair of red stiletto heels stopped in front of her place.

Then came a voice — as cold as ice thrown into hot water.
And from that moment on, the course of Liza’s life changed.

The Woman in Heels

San Felipe Market — a small market in the town near the coast, where Aling Liza has been selling fish for almost ten years. The surroundings are full of life: the shouts of vendors offering vegetables, the noise of tricycles, and the laughter of children playing in the middle of the stalls.

Liza, aged 35, with palms rough from the salt of the sea and the cold of the ice , lives with her husband Rogelio and their son Nico , who is in fourth grade.

Early in the morning, around three o’clock, Liza woke up to get the last fresh fish from the dock. That was her routine: morning at the market, lunch at home, and evening at the table with her father — that was enough for her.

But that day, as he began to gather the remaining merchandise, a woman stopped in front of his place.

Wearing a cream-colored bodycon dress, wearing expensive perfume, and carrying a city presence as if she had gotten lost on a market street. Clean, elegant, and full of confidence.

“How many kilos do you have left, Ate? I’ll buy it all.”

The tone of voice was sharp, crisp, and tinged with sarcasm.

Liza looked up — slightly surprised.
The woman appeared to be in her late twenties, with curly hair, heavy makeup — not a typical shopper in this area.

“Everything? There’s still a lot of it. It’s a shame if you can’t finish it.”

“Don’t worry, that’s my problem. Please wrap everything up. Oh, and by the way… even your wife — she’s mine too. ”

The world stopped.

The Poison in the Line Released

Liza didn’t react immediately.
Her hands stopped, and she stared at the woman in front of her. She didn’t know if it was a joke, or a deliberate insult.

But the woman was calm, as if she hadn’t said anything. She even picked up her cellphone, looked at the camera to fix her lipstick.

“Rogelio and I have been seeing each other for a long time. You just don’t know — you’re too busy with your fish. Do you think he’s loyal while you’re selling here?”

The fish Liza was holding — a milkfish that was still wet on the ice — fell.
The silence was broken.

“What did you say?” he asked, his voice trembling.

“Don’t you understand? I said, I’m your wife. We meet at the coffee shop, at the motel, and at my condo in Manila. I don’t want to compete — but I won’t compromise either.”

As the market continued to operate, Liza’s world slowly crumbled .
Every word the woman uttered was like salt in a wound,
like the sea suddenly turning cold in the middle of the day.

Rogelio — quiet, simple husband, former bricklayer turned truck driver.
He always comes home.
They were eating together.
He always hugged Nico to sleep.

But it’s also true that lately he’s always coming home late.
There are many reasons: the truck broke down, there’s an emergency delivery, the boss called him to the province.

He had doubted it — but he chose to believe.

And today, a stranger said:
everything she feared was right.

“Stay tuned.”

When he got home, he didn’t show his tears.
He waited for the night.

After their son ate the tinola fish, she put Nico to sleep.
And when Rogelio arrived, haggard, smelling of yoshi, wearing a perfume he didn’t wear …

Liza asked quietly:

“Have you eaten yet?”

“Yes, just from the trip. I’m tired,” the man replied.

Before he could grab the remote, Liza came forward.

“Someone approached me at the market. A woman with a car. She said she bought my husband one too.”

Quiet.
The ceiling fan just spun.
Rogelio — swallowed. It seemed powerless.

“I would have said it… but I don’t know how.”

“You don’t need to explain. I just have one question: who would you choose? ”

Liza is not angry.
She is not crying either.

The only thing visible in his eyes was fatigue.

Finally Quiet

Rogelio didn’t answer.
He just nodded, cried, and finally — admitted it.

Liza took out an envelope.

“Those are the annulment papers. If you don’t know what to choose, I’ll decide. I don’t have to fight for something that’s no longer mine.”

And he left.

A New Beginning on a New Shore

A month later, Aling Liza disappeared from the market.
There were rumors:
“She left her husband,”
“Moved to Manila,”
“Got to another man…”

But the truth is, he moved to a coastal city in Batangas , worked in a seafood processing plant .

The work is still the same — cold and salty.
But it’s for him.

Nico, his son, changed schools.

“Mom, isn’t Dad coming home?”

“Son, your Papa will always be your Papa. But sometimes, adults have to do something so as not to hurt their child’s heart.”

Last Line

One afternoon, while Liza was on break, a familiar number called.
It was a woman.

“I don’t understand… how could you leave her like that? You’re the wife!”

“I didn’t leave because I lost,” Liza replied.
“I left because I didn’t have to touch something that hasn’t been mine for a long time. I hope you’re happy with what you bought.”

And he hung up.

On the way back

When he returned to San Felipe, he went to his old place.

A new person sits down.
An old shopkeeper greets him:

“Hey, Liza! You look so good! Where are you now?”

Liza smiled.

“To a place where the sea is saltier, but my heart is no longer salty. ”

They laughed.

The woman behind the market… is now a woman who chose herself, not out of anger, but out of true self-love.