She checked her sleeping husbands phone to see the timeand the notification she found shattered her world.
*No, Mrs. Hawthorne, its impossible! I cant take leave right now! Weve got the quarterly audit, and the tax inspection is breathing down our necks!* Emma shuffled the papers on her desk, avoiding her bosss piercing glare. *Please, send someone elseanyone!*
*Who else?* The stout woman in her sharp suit loomed over the desk. *Marys on maternity leave, Sarahs off with her sick child, and Olivias hopelessshed mix up the entire filing system! Youre the only one who can handle the branch inspections!*
*But my sons still recovering, my mother cant help, and my husbands always away,* Emma swallowed hard, her throat tight. *I cant possibly go to Manchester for a week!*
*I dont care about your personal problems!* Mrs. Hawthorne snapped. *Either you go on this business trip, or you hand in your resignation. Choose now.*
Emma left the office feeling hollow. In the hallway, her colleague Rebecca caught up with her.
*That bad, huh?* she murmured sympathetically. *I could hear the shouting through the door.*
*Worse than bad,* Emma exhaled. *I dont know what to do. Jamies barely over pneumonia, Richards stuck at the Birmingham site. How am I supposed to manage everything?*
*What about your mother-in-law? Could she watch Jamie?*
Emma gave a bitter laugh.
*Oh, sure. Margaret thinks raising her grandson is *my* jobhers is just criticising how I do it. No thanks.*
Back at her desk, Emma mechanically flipped through documents, her mind miles away. Thirty-eight years old, and still torn between work, her child, and a husband who was never there when she needed him.
That evening, after putting Jamie to bed, she collapsed onto the sofa, her head pounding. She dialled Richards numberno answer. Probably another late meeting. Fifteen years of marriage had taught her to expect his absences, but tonight, the loneliness cut deeper than usual.
Finally, her phone buzzed. Richard.
*Hi, love.* His voice was weary. *Sorry I missed your call. Been slammed here.*
*Richard, Ive been ordered to Manchester for a week,* she said bluntly. *Jamies still weak, and nursery isnt an option. Can you come back?*
A pause.
*Emma, you know I cant. Weve got deadlinesthe projects due in two weeks. I wish I could*
*But you cant,* she finished flatly. *As usual.*
*Dont start,* he snapped. *Im not off gallivantingIm working to provide for us!*
*So am I,* she shot back. *Except Im also raising our son, keeping the house running, cooking your meals*
*Not now, Emma,* he interrupted. *Im dead on my feet. Cant your mum help? Or ask Claire next door to watch Jamie after school?*
*Easy for you to say,* she whispered, tears burning. *Fine. Ill figure it out. Like I always do.*
After the call, she stared blankly at the TV, the emptiness inside her swelling. When had they stopped being partners? When had they become just two exhausted strangers sharing a life?
Three foggy days later, Emma convinced her boss to delay the trip, begged her mother to come from Surrey to watch Jamie. Richard was due back Saturdayjust before she left for Manchester.
But Friday night, another call shattered that plan.
*Emma Im stuck here another two days,* Richard said, guilt lacing his voice. *Unforeseen issues with the project.*
*What?* Her stomach dropped. *Richard, I leave Sunday! We agreed!*
*I know!* he pleaded. *But if I dont stay, we lose the bonus. Thats thousands, Emma.*
*And me taking a sick child on a business trip doesnt matter?* she hissed, mindful of Jamie and her mother sleeping nearby.
*Your mums already therejust ask her to stay longer. Ill be back Tuesday.*
*Mums seventy-one, Richard! She can barely walk with her arthritis!* Her knuckles whitened around the phone. *Shes waited two months for her hospital appointment!*
*Then hire a sitter or ask Claire!* His patience frayed. *I dont know, Emmafigure it out! I cant be in two places at once!*
*But I can?* she whispered fiercely. *Im always the one scrambling, fixing things! When was the last time you took care of Jamie? Of the house? Of me?*
*Im killing myself to give you both a good life!* he exploded. *What more do you want?*
*For you to be here,* she said softly, tears falling. *Just here. But I guess thats too much.*
She ended the call, pressing her palms to her eyes. Refuse the trip and risk her job? Leave Jamie with her frail mother? Hire a stranger?
Exhausted, she dozed off at the tableonly to jerk awake at 2:30 a.m., her neck stiff. She stumbled to bed, then realised shed left her phone in the living room. Richards phone lay on the nightstandhed forgotten it in his rush to the *bloody Birmingham site*.
*Just need to check the time and set an alarm,* she thought, picking it up. The screen lit up2:37. Then a notification flashed.
*Last night was perfect. Cant wait to see you tomorrowsame time. Love, L.*
Emma froze. Her fingers turned to ice. This couldnt be real. Not Richard. Not her Richardthe man shed built a life with, raised a child with.
Hands shaking, she unlocked the phoneJamies birthday was the passcode. Scrolling through messages, she found the thread with *L.*
Six months.
Six months of *meetings*, of *late nights at the office*. Six months of lies.
A photoa woman in her thirties, auburn hair, bright smile. Beautiful. Younger. Nothing like Emma, with her tired eyes and greying roots.
Another message popped up: *You asleep? Sweet dreams, my love.*
Rage surged. Her first instinct was to call himscream, destroy him the way hed destroyed her.
No. She needed to see his face when she confronted him.
Instead, she dialled her best friend.
*Claire? I need you to watch Jamie tomorrow. Family emergency.*
Morning came. Leaving Jamie with her mother, Emma took a taxi to the address in the messagesa sleek city-center flat Richard had *rented for client meetings*.
The woman*L.*, Louiseanswered the door in a silk robe, her hair tousled.
*Im Emma. Richards wife.*
Shock flickered across Louises face before she stepped aside.
Inside, Emma took in the detailswine glasses, Richards shirt (the one *shed* bought him), photos of them together.
*He told me your marriage was over,* Louise said quietly. *That you stayed for Jamie.*
Emma laughed bitterly. *Classic.*
Then the door opened.
Richard froze, flowers in hand.
*Emmawhat are you*
*Meeting your new family,* she said coldly. *Funny how youve got time for romantic dinners here but never at home.*
*Its not what you think,* he stammered.
*I saw the texts. I know everything.*
Louise slipped out, leaving them in suffocating silence.
*Weve been living like strangers,* Richard finally said. *Youre always at work or with Jamie. We dont talk, dont touch*
*And instead of fixing it, you ran to her?* Her voice broke. *You didnt even try!*
*I did!* he shouted. *The anniversary dinner you cancelled? The holiday you refused? Every time I tried, you pushed me away!*
The words hit like a punch. Had she? Had she let their marriage rot without realising?
Louise hovered awkwardly. *I should go*
*Stay,* Emma said, heading for the door. *This is your home now.*
Richard grabbed her arm. *Emma, wait. Think about Jamie.*
*You should have thought about Jamie before you betrayed us.* She wrenched free.
Outside, the cold air stung her face. What now? Go back, pack her things, take Jamie and leave? Fight for a marriage already dead?
She didnt know.
But she dialled her boss.
*Mrs. Hawthorne? About the trip. Ill go. Today, if necessary.*
Sometimes running forward was easier than looking backespecially when all that remained behind you was wreckage.
