- 8 hours ago
New After the sunset
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:02I watched her back, pressing herself closer to him.
00:05The man captured one of her nipples between his teeth, sucking at the sensitive bud.
00:10The wet sounds of their coupling fill the air, punctuated by their cries of pleasure.
00:15Tears stung my eyes, but I couldn't look away, forced to witness every intimate detail of
00:21her infidelity.
00:22My wife cheated on me with her first love, even gave all my money to him.
00:27I finally divorced her.
00:28Now she begged me to come back.
00:31The day our son lay on the narrow hospital bed, his skin pale and lips dry, I begged everyone
00:37I knew, still short $200 for surgery.
00:40No matter how I pleaded, my wife only said she had no money, because she gave all the
00:45money to her first love, Sebastian.
00:47I have no money.
00:48To save my son, my mother secretly sold the life support medicine meant to keep her alive.
00:53She died soon after, untreated.
00:56I buried her alone.
00:57Then I picked Jason up from the hospital.
01:00That's when I found my wife's receipts.
01:02Haute couture suits.
01:03Luxury watches worth millions.
01:05A private jet.
01:07My hands shook as I held them.
01:09I went home with everything in my grip.
01:11Before I could speak, Jason stepped in front of me.
01:14Dad, mom just needs money to help Uncle Sebastian.
01:17Do you have to make such a big fuss?
01:19I looked at my son, the one my mother died for.
01:22My chest felt like it was collapsing.
01:24Evelyn didn't even deny it.
01:26Sebastian has culture.
01:27He needs nice things.
01:29Unlike you, a house husband who cries over $200.
01:35I laughed and threw the receipts onto the floor.
01:38After that, I walked out of the house alone.
01:41The evening air was cold against my skin.
01:44Behind me, I heard the front door open.
01:46Footsteps followed.
01:48Evelyn caught up to me and pushed a reusable grocery bag into my hands.
01:52Jason is getting better.
01:53Pick up some steak on your back.
01:55Then, as if nothing unusual had happened, she added,
01:59I've transferred your weekly grocery money.
02:01Don't ask me for any extra.
02:03Her face still carried that same gentle smile,
02:06as if the argument we just had meant nothing.
02:09When we were young, we had almost nothing.
02:11Back then, Evelyn used to hand me a small envelope every Friday.
02:15Not much, but enough to get us through the week.
02:18Sometimes she'd smile shyly,
02:20like we were partners building a life together.
02:22Now?
02:23Evelyn earned more in a single month than I used to make in half a year.
02:27But the amount of money she gave me to run the household hardly changed at all.
02:31Still the same tight weekly budget.
02:33She always had reasons.
02:35Jason's tuition is expensive.
02:38We need to be disciplined with our spending.
02:40She never told me she had so much money.
02:43Money she was secretly sending to Sebastian.
02:47I'm not cooking tonight.
02:48You and Jason can figure something out yourselves.
02:51The moment the words left my mouth, something shifted.
02:55Evelyn's expression darkened.
02:58Daniel, are you still sulking about that $200?
03:05I really don't know what you're getting so bent out of shape about.
03:08She had always been like this, giving orders without even realizing it.
03:13A good life, she called it.
03:15A life where she decided what mattered.
03:17So she drained every dollar I had.
03:20Textbooks.
03:21Expensive supplements.
03:22Things I never questioned.
03:24So I stood on a chair, in the middle of the night,
03:27catching rainwater, just so she could sleep through a leaking roof.
03:31I wasn't even 30 when the joint pain started.
03:34Whenever the weather turned, it came crawling back, sharp, relentless, impossible to ignore.
03:41The first time I asked her for money, to see a doctor, she didn't even look up.
03:46When you get older, take some painkillers, you'll be fine.
03:50Back then, I believed her.
03:52Now, I know the truth.
03:54While I was swallowing cheap painkillers, pretending not to hurt,
03:58she was buying Sebastian medication that cost a fortune.
04:0130 years of sacrifice, of compromise.
04:05And I was the only fool who believed we were building a life together.
04:09I slowly lifted my head and let out a bitter laugh.
04:13Evelyn laughed like I'd said something ridiculous.
04:16Divorce?
04:17Daniel, don't be dramatic.
04:19You're still angry over money.
04:21She pulled out two crumpled $10 bills and shoved them into my hand.
04:26Buy yourself that pastry you like and grab bread for Jason.
04:30Then she turned and walked back inside.
04:33The door shut without another word.
04:35I stayed outside, staring at the money in my palm.
04:38Jason's voice came through the wall.
04:40Mom, why did you even give dad money?
04:44He's acting up because you keep letting him.
04:47Just stop giving him anything.
04:49Let him live off his pension.
04:51There was a pause inside.
04:53Then Evelyn spoke, calm and certain.
04:56Your father already sends his entire pension to Uncle Sebastian.
05:01Sebastian is a respectable man.
05:03After the factory let him go, he had nothing.
05:06I tightened my grip on the worn grocery basket.
05:09My mind flashed back.
05:11Years ago, Evelyn had just given birth to our daughter.
05:14I received the notice from the factory.
05:17Termination.
05:18I couldn't believe it.
05:19I told myself I had to go to the factory and ask the manager why.
05:23Evelyn holding my hand, crying, begging me not to go back.
05:27She said she would work and support me and the children.
05:29So I believed her.
05:31I left the factory and never went back.
05:34Only later did I learn the truth.
05:36The man fired from the factory was not me.
05:39It was Sebastian.
05:41Evelyn replaced my identity with his and let him take my position.
05:45But the factory refused to keep him on the benefits plan.
05:48No pension.
05:49No security.
05:50So Evelyn took my pension and sent it to him every month.
05:54For 25 years.
05:56I lived as a house husband with no income.
05:59I never understood why I had been fired.
06:01Now I finally did.
06:03It was all done by the woman I loved.
06:05My hand trembled.
06:06The grocery bag slipped and hit the ground.
06:09I pulled out my phone.
06:10Lawyer.
06:11I want a divorce filed.
06:13Today.
06:13I came back from Leo.
06:15The neighbor lawyer.
06:16And pushed open the door.
06:19Evelyn was in the living room.
06:20Watching TV.
06:21Face cold under the bright lights.
06:24Gray hair.
06:25Wrinkles.
06:26But still composed.
06:27Still elegant.
06:29A month ago I had seen Sebastian's post on social media.
06:32He was in France.
06:34Smiling under the sun.
06:36He looked nothing like a man approaching 60.
06:39At the time I even felt a trace of envy.
06:42I told Evelyn.
06:44Why do others get to travel the world when we're stuck here?
06:47She smiled.
06:51Once Jason settles down.
06:53We'll go too.
06:55I actually believed her.
06:57I worked harder.
06:58Took more odd jobs.
07:00Saved for Jason's future.
07:02Then I saw the cropped photo.
07:05Sebastian wasn't alone.
07:07Evelyn was there too.
07:08Same color outfit.
07:10Standing beside him like a couple.
07:12I was the only one left behind in this aging apartment.
07:16Surrounded by smoke and silence.
07:19Evelyn turned off the TV when I walked in.
07:22Arms crossed.
07:23Waiting.
07:25I ignored her.
07:26Changed my shoes.
07:28Walked toward the bedroom.
07:29The remote hit the table hard behind me.
07:32Daniel!
07:34If you're a...
07:37You're really doing this over money?
07:40You think you can survive on your own?
07:45I finally looked at her.
07:47All these things in this house.
07:49How many did I pay for with my own labor?
07:55And where did my money go, Evelyn?
07:58The door burst open.
08:00Jason rushed out.
08:01Headphones still hanging around his neck.
08:05What now?
08:06You accusing mom of cheating again?
08:09Sebastian and mom are innocent.
08:10You're just disgusting for thinking that.
08:15Your grandmother died
08:17because your mother refused to give me $200.
08:22She sold her medicine
08:24to save you.
08:29Jason froze.
08:30Just for a second.
08:34You're insane.
08:36You're making up stories just to attack mom.
08:40Evelyn sighed
08:41like she was tired of all this.
08:43She reached into her bag
08:45and pulled out $200
08:47and placed it on the table.
08:50Here.
08:52Take it.
08:53Stop this.
08:55And she turned
08:56comforting Jason
08:57like nothing had happened.
09:00I looked at the money
09:01then
09:02shook my head.
09:06This can't be ended.
09:07It's already too late.
09:09That night
09:11I didn't go home.
09:13I checked into a cheap hotel
09:15with the $200
09:16Evelyn had thrown at me.
09:17That was all the money
09:19I had left.
09:20Everything else
09:20had already been spent.
09:21On Jason's hospital bills.
09:23On treatments.
09:25On survival.
09:26When we were short
09:27just $200
09:28even the hospital staff
09:30didn't believe it.
09:32How can someone be so poor
09:34they don't even have that?
09:36But I was.
09:37I cleaned apartments
09:39for $50 an hour.
09:40I collected scrap and trash
09:42in the northern district
09:43for $80 a trip.
09:44And still
09:45Jason's school fees
09:47were $300,000 a year.
09:49His monthly allowance alone
09:50was $8,000.
09:52I never stopped working.
09:55Never stopped saving.
09:56Never stopped cutting myself
09:57down to nothing.
09:59In the end
10:00I scraped together
10:01just over $50,000
10:02and I gave it all
10:04to save my son.
10:06I truly had nothing left.
10:08I thought Evelyn
10:09was struggling too.
10:11I thought she was drowning
10:12in research expenses.
10:13Supporting students.
10:15Funding projects.
10:16Burdened by family.
10:21I was wrong.
10:23She had already become
10:24a renowned academic.
10:26One project alone
10:27could bring in millions.
10:31And all of it
10:32went to Sebastian.
10:38I know it sounds pathetic
10:39at my age
10:40to still care about
10:41something like this.
10:42But after 30 years
10:44of scraping and sacrificing
10:46shouldn't there be
10:47an answer?
10:48That night
10:49away from them
10:50I slept better
10:52than I had in years.
10:53In my dream
10:54I was back in the village
10:56where it all began.
10:58Evelyn was the only
10:59educated girl there.
11:00Every family wanted her
11:02for their son
11:02but she chose me.
11:04She said we were promised
11:06since childhood.
11:08She bought a bicycle
11:09with all her savings
11:10and called it her dowry
11:11for me.
11:12I brought her out
11:13of the village
11:14into the town school
11:15I worked double shifts
11:17triple shifts
11:18at the factory
11:19harder than anyone else.
11:21Evelyn built a small
11:22flashlight for me
11:23so I could walk home
11:25safely at night.
11:26Whenever she could
11:27she waited for me
11:28after shifts
11:29no matter how late
11:31and before her
11:32morning classes
11:32she still prepared
11:34food for me.
11:35Back then
11:36I thought I had
11:37married the best
11:38woman in the world.
11:39So when
11:41did it change?
11:45Maybe...
11:45It started when
11:46she was transferred
11:47to the city's elite school.
11:49She was 28
11:50young
11:50admired
11:51full of future.
11:53I was 30
11:54already worn down
11:56like a man
11:56twice my age.
11:58I was assigned
11:59to a factory
12:00near her school.
12:01That's where she met
12:02Sebastian
12:02the supervisor.
12:04He was educated
12:05like her
12:05polished
12:06confident
12:07effortless in speech.
12:09and I
12:10I was just
12:11working
12:12surviving
12:13unaware of
12:14what was
12:14forming behind
12:15my back
12:16for 25
12:17years.
12:19So what was I
12:20in all of this?
12:22Her husband?
12:23The father
12:23of her children?
12:25Or just a tool
12:26she never stopped
12:27using?
12:29The next morning
12:30I went to the bank.
12:31I checked my
12:32pension account
12:33with my ID.
12:34I withdrew
12:34what was left
12:35just a few
12:36thousand dollars.
12:37Then I walked
12:38into a shopping
12:39mall
12:39and bought
12:40something I
12:40had wanted
12:41for years.
12:42A massage
12:42device
12:43for my back.
12:44My spine
12:45had been damaged
12:46for a long time.
12:47Even the doctor
12:48said it couldn't
12:49be fully fixed.
12:50Every time I
12:51mentioned the pain
12:52Evelyn would sigh.
12:54Everyone has
12:55back pain.
12:56Don't be dramatic.
12:57I wasn't being
12:58dramatic.
12:59I just realized
13:00this family
13:01is no longer
13:02worth my devotion.
13:03I came back
13:04from the mall
13:05with takeout
13:05in my hands.
13:06No cooking
13:07no chores
13:08no noise.
13:10For the first time
13:10in years
13:11I felt strangely
13:12light.
13:13I even hummed
13:14as I unlocked
13:14the door.
13:15Then I heard
13:16screaming.
13:17I dropped
13:17everything and
13:18rushed inside.
13:19Jason was on
13:19the floor
13:20just out of
13:20surgery
13:21unable to
13:21move.
13:22I lifted him
13:23onto the sofa
13:24in panic.
13:25Before I could
13:26speak he snapped
13:26at me.
13:27Where were you
13:28last night?
13:28Do you even
13:29care about this
13:30family anymore?
13:31Because of you
13:32upsetting mom
13:32this is happening
13:33to me!
13:35Then he ordered
13:36me to watch
13:36fruit for him
13:37like nothing
13:37had happened.
13:38I stopped.
13:39I understood
13:40immediately.
13:41Evelyn knew
13:42I was pulling
13:42away.
13:43So she used
13:44Jason's pressure.
13:45She always knew
13:46where to strike me.
13:47I looked at my
13:48son differently
13:49now.
13:49He was like her.
13:51Sharp.
13:51Proud.
13:52Used to being
13:53obeyed.
13:54His entire future
13:55depended on her
13:56side of the family
13:57and I was just
13:58the inconvenient
13:58one.
13:59When he was
14:00small he clung
14:01to my neck
14:01and said
14:02Dad I'll
14:03love you
14:04forever.
14:05Back then
14:05I was the
14:06only one
14:07raising him
14:07so he loved
14:09me the most.
14:10Now that he
14:10was grown
14:11I had become
14:12replaceable.
14:14I looked at him
14:15then at him
14:16lying there
14:17ordering me
14:17around.
14:18Do it
14:19yourself.
14:20I said
14:20calmly.
14:21He stared
14:22at me like
14:22I had
14:22changed into
14:23someone else.
14:24Then he
14:25called Evelyn.
14:26Her voice
14:26came through
14:27the speaker.
14:27Call him
14:28as always.
14:29Don't worry.
14:30I'll deal
14:31with it when
14:31I finish
14:31things with
14:32Sebastian.
14:33Just coax
14:33your father.
14:34He'll calm
14:34down.
14:35As if I was
14:36predictable.
14:37As if I could
14:37never leave.
14:38I almost
14:39laughed.
14:40Then my phone
14:40rang again.
14:41It's Leo,
14:42the lawyer.
14:43Sir,
14:44we found
14:44something serious.
14:45Your wife
14:46and Sebastian
14:46registered a
14:47marriage abroad
14:4820 years ago.
14:49They also
14:49have a child
14:50together.
15:19She's
15:20a child.
15:27She's
15:27a child.
15:28She's
15:28a child.
19:42i almost laughed so i asked myself what about me who helped me raise the children alone
19:49who helped me survive all those years no one i closed my suitcase keep your reasons
19:56go be his family then and don't forget to register your marriage properly this time
20:00i walked out before she could stop me
20:07i went into the mountains and checked into a small countryside inn
20:11for the first time in decades i lived only for myself
20:15i sat on a wooden rocking chair outside looking at the green mountains it felt like i had been reborn
20:24on the 15th day at the countryside inn i received a call from my daughter emily when i first left
20:31she had already called once i told her i just needed some air and to not worry she didn't ask
20:36much only told me to rest and call her if anything happened unlike jason who never cared how i was
20:43doing emily had always been different she didn't interfere much in the family but she never stopped
20:48caring about me 15 days passed before she called again this time her voice was more serious
20:54she asked me what i planned to do next and whether i had somewhere to stay
21:00dad i should tell you something i'm divorced too don't misunderstand i'm not asking you to take care
21:08of me i just don't want you to be alone i worry about you living by yourself
21:13i understood immediately emily had always been the responsible child while i was drowning in
21:19housework and survival she would quietly help me whenever she could unlike jason who only watched
21:25from the side but in evelyn's eyes everything emily did was expected a daughter was supposed to endure
21:33supposed to sacrifice so when emily grew up i encouraged her to leave to build her own life
21:39i never expected she had already gone through a divorce i left the countryside in that day and
21:44went straight to her home it was warm like a real home emily's daughter my granddaughter was already
21:50grown a top student preparing for exams to welcome me emily picked her up from school early we went to
21:57a nice restaurant for dinner i rarely ate outside even my 60th birthday had been a simple home-cooked meal
22:03made by me dad emily said softly you'll stay with us from now on my granddaughter ava handed
22:09me a gift a watch expensive looking i hesitated immediately worried about the cost but emily just
22:15smiled i can afford it now i'm a senior manager at an international company we'll be fine after ava's
22:21exams i'll take you both traveling you've worked your whole life now it's your turn to rest for the
22:28first time i felt my life hadn't been completely wasted back home emily had already prepared a room for
22:34me i noticed how few clothes i had brought she said she would take me shopping on the weekend
22:39then she asked quietly why didn't you tell me about the divorce that was the question i had avoided too
22:46i was afraid she wasn't doing well afraid my decision years ago had hurt her life but she just held
22:52my
22:52keeping the family together i stayed silent she was right a truth i only learned at the end of my
22:58life but she had learned it much earlier and maybe that was the only comfort left for me now dad
23:04this
23:05time can you really stay firm
23:09can you really stop caring about mom and jason i talked with emily for a long time that day
23:2135 years had i not cared enough already what did i get in return evelyn took everything i did as
23:30something she deserved jason treated my existence like an inconvenience if i still couldn't let go now
23:36then my entire life would truly be wasted they don't matter to me anymore i only care about myself
23:42now and you and ava that's enough
23:51after that my life became simple i signed up for a few hobby classes i met new people
23:58sometimes i helped emily with housework or cooked meals when i felt like it
24:03she always told me not to overdo it she even gave me money sometimes telling me to buy things for
24:10myself i stayed at her home for two months and i could already imagine what life looked like on the
24:16other side without me the house must have fallen apart jason had moved out after recovering living
24:26with classmates no one was cleaning no one was maintaining anything laundry piled up dirty dishes
24:33filled the sink the smell of decay filled the kitchen evelyn was no longer the composed woman she used to
24:39be
24:40she had become someone who could barely take care of herself her hair had turned whiter her clothes were
24:46unwashed for days one night the power went out because the bill wasn't paid she walked through the dark house
24:52hitting furniture she couldn't see and only then did she realize something a home doesn't stay in order
24:58by itself it is maintained by someone who never stopped working now that person was gone her life collapsed
25:05into chaos she started calling jason jason the electricity bill hasn't been paid jason come home for dinner
25:13jason how do i use the washing machine at first he answered then he stopped picking up even jason who
25:21had once depended on her grew tired of her voice evelyn spent her life traveling with sebastian eating in luxury
25:29restaurants living as if she were finally free she thought that was happiness but she forgot the man
25:36who stayed behind the man who raised the children who maintained the house who gave up everything
25:42she had forgotten her husband me now alone in the dark she finally understood i was wrong but regret
25:51doesn't fix anything she sat in the darkness for an entire night a few days later her lawyer came again
25:57mrs chin the divorce case is approaching trial
26:03i came to add more documents evelyn had already turned him away twice before
26:08but this time she stood up slowly and let him in leo she said hoarsely i can agree to the
26:13divorce i can
26:14return everything just let me see daniel once more evelyn knew i had already made my decision there was
26:23no turning back but she still wanted to see me one last time at least to say a proper apology
26:28for 35
26:30years of my life for everything i had done for that family for the lies she built around me she
26:36wanted to
26:37say it to my face so her lawyer called me again i didn't even hesitate i refused there was nothing
26:44left
26:44to meet for i had waited for an apology for 30 years now i was old i didn't need it
26:50anymore no need to
26:52meet let's keep whatever dignity is left if she doesn't want court we can settle through agreement
26:59because i didn't even want to see her in court anymore evelyn gave a bitter smile when she heard it
27:04i was wrong i was wrong she whispered i really was wrong then she asked her lawyer leo one last
27:12thing can you give him my apology she took out a bank card and a document this is everything i
27:18have
27:18left and this is the divorce certificate from abroad i'm not asking him to forgive me i just think
27:25he deserves closure her hands shook as she signed the divorce papers daniel i trapped you for your
27:34whole life i'm sorry i respect your decision i set you free tears ran down her face as she signed
27:42her name the agreement was complete two signatures the marriage was over my lawyer called me again
27:52it's done she signed everything at that moment my life finally broke away from hers a few seconds
27:59later my phone rang again a transfer notification evelyn had sent everything she owned to my account
28:0530 years of guilt paid in full i didn't refuse it because it was never a gift it was what
28:12i had
28:12already earned to celebrate my freedom i went to the market i bought food my daughter and granddaughter
28:18like my granddaughter ava had just finished her entrance exams when they came home i told them
28:24everything your mother and i are officially divorced she transferred me a sum of money i want to use it
28:30to
28:30take both of you on a trip emily agreed immediately but she didn't let me spend that money she booked
28:36everything herself dad keep it for yourself you'll need it later so i kept part of it aside the rest
28:46i used
28:47for the trip that whole summer we traveled together one autumn afternoon my phone rang dad jason called
29:02me mom is in the hospital i see it's emily her voice was serious then jason himself called me dad
29:10dad i know you and mom are divorced but she wants to see you please can you come no i
29:17didn't even wait
29:18for him to finish because i knew what it really meant just another request for me to return and take
29:26care of everything again to become the caretaker again i had escaped once i would not go back
29:34they had lived freely by pushing everything onto me now it was my turn to live as if none of
29:41it belonged
29:41to me anymore jason i've already told you your mother and i are divorced her matters have nothing
29:51to do with me anymore i hung up the phone i thought that was the end of it but jason
29:56still came he stood in
29:58front of me and called out dad mom doesn't want anything she just wants to see you
30:08we're not asking you to take care of her
30:12if it wasn't for you i wouldn't have grown up like this mom wouldn't have lived so well either
30:20his voice was steady honest i'm sorry for a moment i almost believed it maybe they really had realized
30:28my value after i left but understanding comes too late sometimes once a person's heart goes cold
30:36nothing can warm it again i won't go back if your mother needs care hire a caregiver i can pay
30:41half
30:45emily stood beside me if there's a cost i'll cover half the rest is your responsibility jason frowned
30:54the stars know that here but you need even i'm looking in the never half do you even know how
30:58expensive caregivers are right now i have a family loans everything i can't afford this mom gave all
31:06years people pay for what they do i won't take anything out if you still see me as your father
31:12then leave silence then he spoke again softer this time dad can you really bear to see her alone like
31:21this before i came she said even if she dies she just wants to see you once i remembered something
31:28i
31:28had heard recently sebastian was dead fell down a staircase abroad the man she had spent her entire
31:34life protecting was gone first funny how life works people chase illusions for decades and end up
31:40abandoned by them in the end i looked at jason then said coldly then let her go she spent her
31:46whole life
31:46with him anyway let her continue i turned and left without another word the sun was setting golden
31:52lights spilled across the trees quiet and distant i sat down on a bench and watched it fall do not
31:58think
31:59the sunset means the end the old saying goes even at dusk the sky is still full of light my
32:05life had not
32:06ended it had simply turned and for whatever years remained i would finally live for myself
32:11you
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