05/02/2025
MY HUSBAND KEPT A CHRISTMAS GIFT FROM HIS FIRST LOVE UNOPENED FOR 30 YEARS – LAST CHRISTMAS, I COULDN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE AND OPENED IT. We met when I was 32, and he was 35. By our first Christmas, I thought I'd hit the jackpot. Then I noticed a small box he put under the tree. He told me it was from his first love, someone he'd dated before things fell apart. She gave it to him before they broke up, and he never opened it. Instead, he placed it under the tree every year. At the time, it felt odd — a red flag, honestly — but he was so great otherwise that I let it slide. Fast forward 20 years, and that same box still appeared every December. By then, we had two grown kids and a solid marriage… but I hated Christmas. I didn't realize why for a while, but eventually, I knew — it was the box. It symbolized everything unspoken in our relationship. He wasn't holding onto just a box; he was holding onto her. I tried to let it go. I really did. But one night, I'd had enough. James had left dirty dishes in the sink again and ignored the trash I'd asked him to take out. I was exhausted, feeling like a maid instead of a partner. I went to the living room to sit down, and there it was. That damn box. I snapped. I walked over, grabbed it, and ripped it open. ⬇️