At seventeen, I fell in love with Mark, my high school sweetheart. A week before Christmas, he was paralyzed in an accident. My wealthy parents cut me off when I refused to leave him. I moved in with his parents, cared for him, worked part-time, and we built a life together, married, had a son, and survived fifteen years of sacrifice and hardship.
Then one day, my mother arrived with old documents revealing the truth: Mark had been cheating with my best friend the night of the accident and had let me believe he was an innocent victim. Fifteen years of devotion had been built on lies.
I left him, taking our son, and began rebuilding my life. Love without truth is captivity; I learned that choosing honesty is the only way to protect your future.