Mrs Martin and Mr Blohm Episode 23: In life, it’s not about knowing how to do things, but knowing why you do them.

By the time Regina arrives in Munich, it’s already late afternoon — around three or four o’clock.

She has hardly noticed the almost seven-hour drive from Hamburg to Munich, as she spent nearly the entire journey on the phone with her best friend, Stephan.
That conversation gave her strength.

It reminded her why she now has to take the final, absolute step: to move out of Paul’s apartment — and finally close the door on an on-and-off relationship that has been dragging on for almost four years.

It’s the last Friday of March, and you can already feel spring in the air — much more so here in Munich than in Hamburg.

Just a hint, but it’s there.

Regina drives to the Viktualienmarkt, where Paul’s condo is located.

It has always been one of her favorite places in Munich.

She parks her car in the underground garage, just like in the past.

She walks up the beautiful  stairway — stucco walls, wooden steps — slowly, almost ceremonially. She unlocks the door from Paul, Silence and then she sees Paul sitting in the living room on the sofa. The shock hits her like a wave.

Paul stands up and moves toward her, opening his arms.

But Regina steps back.
She refuses the embrace.

And in that very moment, the tears come.

The Moment Everything Breaks

“Paul,” Regina says, her voice trembling but controlled,
“who decided that you would be here today? We both agreed that you wouldn’t be here while I move out of your condo.
Why are you making this so difficult for both of us?”

Paul looks at her, confused, almost offended and says.

“Regina, why do we even want to separate?” he asks.
“We had a great life together I honestly don’t understand you at all.
I love you more than anything.”

He steps closer.

“Didn’t you see the roses I sent you, I tried to call you so many times you never picked up. 

“Yes, Paul,” Regina replies quietly.
“All of that is true. But we have different views on what a relationship should be, and that’s why ours was never built on a solid foundation — one where we could have a future together. ”

Regina takes a breath.

“I wanted you to pick me up from the airport that Friday — after I had already been alone in Hamburg for three weeks.
And again, something else was more important.”

She looks straight at him now.

“With you, Paul, something else is always more important than me. 

Paul opens his mouth, but she continues.

“And there’s more. There is another affair.
The cleaning lady called me — Alma found an earring in your bed.
And it is definitely not mine, because I don’t even have ear piercings. I don’t like earrings.”

Paul waves it off.

“Oh come on, Regina. That must be from way back. It has nothing to do with us now.”

Then he pauses, his tone changing.

“But since we’re talking about that,” he adds,
“I heard you supposedly have someone new too.
Gerhard told me the neighbor in your building is very interested in you.”

“Paul, stop it,” Regina snaps.
“I’m not interested in my neighbor at all. He has nothing to do with us.” 

“The truth is, Paul, we have completely different life goals.
I don’t want to stay in Germany — I want to live in Miami, and you don’t. You want to stay in Munich.
I want to build my own company. You love your job and don’t want to start your own business.
I want to have one child. You already have a child and don’t want to have another.”

She shakes her head.

“This doesn’t fit. And all we’re doing now is hurting each other.”

Paul steps forward again, opening his arms, trying to pull her in.

And just then—

The doorbell rings.

No Way Back

Paul walks over to the door and lets the movers in — then immediately stops them with a raised hand.

“You can stay where you are for now,” Paul says curtly. “There may be no moving at all.”

Regina tries to steady herself, to slow her breathing, to calm the storm inside her chest.

Paul looks at her, his voice suddenly sharp, almost desperate.

“If you do this now,” he says,
“then this is forever.
You know that, Regina.
There will be no way back.”

She looks at him.

“Yes,” Regina answers quietly.
“I know.”

There is a long pause.

“Paul,” she says softly,
“I love you.”

She swallows, then continues:

“Love also requires action, Paul.
And that… that is something entirely different from what you have shown me over the past four years.”

The words hang in the air.

The movers glance at each other.
They immediately sense the tension, the heaviness of the moment, and feel helpless in its presence.

One of them clears his throat.

“So… should we take the furniture now or not?”

Regina nods.

“Yes,” she says. “Please.”

They don’t ask again.

They begin to pack.

Boxes.
Furniture.
Pieces of a shared life.

And all the while, tears continue to stream down Regina’s face — silently, uncontrollably.

But she doesn’t stop them.

Because some endings hurt exactly as much as they must —
no more, no less.

What Love Is Not

“Paul,” Regina says, her voice breaking but steady at the same time,
“do you really think that this is love?”

She wipes her tears, looks at him directly.

“You think buying big bouquets of flowers — flowers you didn’t even buy yourself, but Gerhard did — and making a phone call is enough?
And then you say: that’s love?”

She shakes her head slowly.

“No, Paul. That is not love.”

Her voice grows clearer now, stronger.

“Love is something else.
Love means showing up — even when it’s not convenient.
Love means taking responsibility.
Love means actions — not excuses.”

Paul tries to interrupt, but she continues.

“And you always blame others.
There’s always a reason, always an explanation, always an excuse.”

Paul suddenly says, almost defensively,
“It’s like in Pretty Woman.”

Regina looks at him, stunned.

“Pretty Woman?” she repeats quietly.

Then she answers, calmly but unmistakably firm:

“In Pretty Woman, you know that at some point you actually have to show up.
You have to come.
You have to stand in front of someone and talk to them.
Not just call.
Not just send flowers.”

She takes a deep breath.

“Calling is easy.
Sending flowers is convenient.
Those are the most comfortable ways — but they’re not the brave ones.”

She steps back, creating distance between them.

“Paul, let me end this now.
Here.
Today.”

Her voice softens, not unkind.

“It will be better for you too. You’ll see that one day.”

She looks at him one last time.

“You are a wonderful man.
But we simply don’t belong together.”

And with that, Regina knows:
this Paul chapter is truly closed.

Paul looks at her and says quietly:

“Do you remember when I wanted to buy you a ring as we wanted to get married?
At that jewelry store in Munich? Getrauemte Taten
I had already imagined everything.
I wanted to marry you.”

Regina exhales slowly.

“Yes, Paul. You wanted many things,” she replies.
“But wanting is not doing.”

She looks at him steadily.

“You didn’t buy the ring.
Instead, you gave me a snow globe Paul

Her voice doesn’t shake anymore.

“I wanted to be married five years ago.
We’ve known each other for four years now — and all I’ve done here is lose more time.”

“It simply wasn’t meant to be.”

The White Box

The movers continue packing.

The couch disappears into protective wrapping.
So do many of her clothes.
Small tables.
A few chairs.
Books.

Piece by piece, the apartment empties.

“There’s another white box here Mrs Martin one of the mover , holding it up.
“Should we take this as well?”

Regina freezes.

She knows that white box, shaped like an oversized cake box.

She hasn’t seen it in a very long time.

For five years, it has been sealed — tightly wrapped, airtight — so nothing could damage what was inside.

Her beautiful wedding dress.

In that moment, the tears break free completely.

Regina steps forward, pulls the box out of the mover’s hands, almost fiercely.

“No,” she says, her voice shaking.
“I’ll take this box one myself.”

The movers exchange a quick glance but say nothing.

A few minutes later, they are done.

“That’s everything,” one of them says gently.
“We’ll see you tomorrow in Hamburg at latest 7 am in the morning.

He hands her a business card.

“In case you have any questions.”

The movers walk out.
The door closes behind them.

And suddenly, the apartment is quiet.

Leaving Without Looking Back

Paul sinks down into the sofa.

Regina walks down the hallway of the condo to the main door and gently places the key to Paul’s condo into the key bowl next to the door.
She closes the door.
She does not look back.

And in that very moment, something inside her closes too.

She walks down the beautiful wooden staircase from the fourth floor to the ground level — steps she has walked so many times, and will never see again.

On her way, she runs into one of the neighbors.

“Oh, Mrs. Martin,” he says politely,
“I haven’t seen you in such a long time.”

He hesitates for a moment, then adds,
“Weren’t you together with Mr. Sahne?
Did you two separate?”

Regina looks at him calmly and replies,
“You can’t separate from someone
if you were never truly together.”

The neighbor looks slightly irritated — confused —
but those words describe exactly what Regina feels in her heart.

She continues walking.

She gets into her car, down into the underground garage, and carefully places the white box with her wedding dress onto the passenger seat.

Then she drives straight back to Hamburg.
She doesn’t even want to stay one more night in Munich.

Everything was organized in a way that made one thing clear:
the best thing now is to leave Munich.
The movers will be in Hamburg the next morning anyway.

That same day, she begins the long drive north.
She doesn’t care about the distance — the farther she gets from Paul and Munich, the better it feels.

The tears keep coming.
They don’t stop until she reaches Hildesheim, nearly five hours from Munich.

Her phone keeps ringing.
Elena.
Stephan.
Barbara.
All her friends.

But she doesn’t feel able to answer.
She doesn’t want to talk.
Not yet.

There is only one moment when she feels ready to pick up the phone — when she sees Mr. Blohm’s number on the display.

She has saved it by now.
And she wonders why he is calling her so late — it’s almost midnight.

For reasons she can’t quite explain, Regina feels the need to talk to Mr. Blohm.
Her tears stop.

Do you want to find out why Mr. Blohm is calling Mrs. Martin just before midnight?

Then stay with us for Episode 24, continuing next Sunday.