Life in Order: A Guide to Balance, Harmony, and Getting Things Sorted

**Diary Entry A Life Put Right**

Lydia, I forbid you to see your sister and her family! They have their life, and we have ours. Were you calling Natalie again? Complaining about me? I warned you. Dont blame me if something happens. Bogdan gripped my shoulder painfully, his fingers digging in.

As usual, I retreated to the kitchen in silence, tears welling up. No, I never complained to my sister about my life. We just talkedour elderly parents needed care, and there was always something to discuss. But Bogdan couldnt stand it. He despised Natalie. Her home was peaceful and comfortable, something ours had never been.

When I married Bogdan, I thought myself the happiest woman alive. He swept me up in a whirlwind of passion. His height never bothered mehe was a head shorter than menor did his mothers drunken stumble at our wedding. Later, I learned she was a hardened alcoholic.

Blinded by love, I ignored the warning signs. But after a year of marriage, doubts crept in. Bogdan drank heavily, staggering home late. Then came the affairs. I worked as a nurse at the hospital, earning barely enough. Bogdan preferred drinking with his mates to providing for me. Any dreams of children fadedI refused to bring a child into this mess. Still, I clung to my love for him, settling for the company of a pedigree cat instead.

“Youre a fool, Lydia!” My colleagueand only friendhissed at me one day. “Men eye you everywhere, yet youre stuck on that drunkard! Look at the bruises under that foundation. Leave before he kills you in a rage!”

She wasnt wrong. Bogdans temper was vicious. Once, he locked me in our flat after a beating, taking the key with him. After that, fear took root. My heart pounded every time I heard his key in the lock. I convinced myself he hated mefor not giving him a child, for failing as a wife. So I endured the blows, the insults, the cruelty. Why did I still love him?

His mother, gaunt as a witch, once hissed, “Obey your husband, Lydia. Love him with all your soul. Forget your family and friendstheyll only lead you astray.” And so I did, cutting myself off, surrendering completely to Bogdans control.

I craved his apologiesthe way hed kneel, kiss my feet, scatter rose petals on our bed. Those moments felt like heaven, even though I knew the roses were stolen from a neighbours garden. His drinking mates swiped them for pennies to appease their own wives.

I might have stayed forever, trapped in that cycle, if not for the woman who showed up at my door. “Leave Bogdan. Hes the father of my son. Youre barrenlet him go.”

I didnt believe her at first, but Bogdans silence confirmed it.

“Lydia, Ive never seen you happy. Trouble?” The hospitals head physician, Dr. Howard, caught me off guard. Id always thought him oblivious to me.

“Everythings fine,” I mumbled.

“Good. When lifes in order, its a beautiful thing,” he replied cryptically.

Dr. Howard was divorced, raising a daughter alone. At forty-two, he wasnt much to look atshort, balding, glasses perched on his nose. But his presence stirred something in me. The scent of his cologne, the quiet confidenceI had to force myself to walk away.

His words haunted me. *Life in order.* Mine was chaos.

I left Bogdan and moved back with my parents. His mother screeched curses over the phone, but I didnt care. I could breathe again.

Bogdan stalked me, raged, threateneduntil I finally faced him. “Go be a father to your son. Were done.” My voice didnt shake.

Reuniting with Natalie and my parents, I felt like myself again. My friend noticed immediately. “Lydia, youre glowing! Like a bride!”

Then Dr. Howard proposed. “Marry me. You wont regret it. Just call me Richard, not Doctor.”

“Do you even love me?” I asked.

“Ahforgot women need the words. Suppose I do. But actions matter more.” He kissed my hand.

I said yes.

Ten years passed. Richard proved his love dailyno grand gestures, just steady care. We never had children; perhaps I *was* barren. But he never resented me. “We have each other,” hed say when I grieved motherhood.

His daughter gave us a granddaughter, Sophie, who became the light of our lives.

As for Bogdan? He drank himself to death before fifty. His mother still glares at me in the market, but her hatred doesnt touch me.

Richard and I? Lifes in order. And its beautiful.

**Lesson learned:** A mans worth isnt in his words, but in his deeds. And sometimes, walking away is the bravest thing youll ever do.

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Life in Order: A Guide to Balance, Harmony, and Getting Things Sorted
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