I once thought that loving someone was enough just to be there with them. But later I realized that true love allows her not to have to be strong; it means she can feel completely at ease by your side.
She is very understanding, never complaining about the difficulties of life, never resenting me for being broke. But the more she refrains from speaking, the heavier the burden feels in my heart. She clearly deserves to be cherished, yet because of me, she has to compromise with reality.
The restaurant she likes, I say next time; the jewelry she has her eye on, I say later; the bag she occasionally gazes at for a few extra seconds, I smile and lead her away. She has never blamed me; instead, she always comforts me by saying, 'I don't need these.'
But deep down I know it's not that she doesn't need it, it's that she can't bear to see me struggle.
At that moment I understood: love is not just saying 'I will support you,' it is truly having the ability to say 'Whatever you want, I will do my best to give it to you,' even if in the end she wants nothing at all.
So I work hard to earn money, not out of vanity, not to prove myself better than anyone else, but for her. I don't want every decision in her future to be limited by the budget of life. I want her to have choices, and not be forced by reality.
This world is not gentle to women; every day she faces countless invisible pressures: appearance, age, safety, and the balance between career and family. And what I can do is to be her most reliable support, to give her a place in this cold world where she can always be herself and feel safe.
I am not someone with exceptional talent, nor do I have any background. But I know that there is a woman worth me doing everything I can to become stronger.
I want to become strong enough, not to show off, but so that when she needs me, I can stand in front of her. No matter how strong the wind is, I will shield her; no matter how difficult the road is, I will walk ahead for her; no matter how much suffering there is, it shouldn't fall on her.
One day, when she looks at the jewelry in that display window again, it’s not hesitation or apology, but I hold her hand and say, 'If you like it, just buy it.'
At that moment, I finally felt worthy of this deep love.
