A broken heart: a tale of betrayal and salvation
Tom, Im pregnant! she announced the moment she crossed the threshold, leaving her husband no time for speculation. He froze, glanced aside and sighed, Well then if thats how it turned out, before planting a quick kiss on her cheek, as if trying to flee from his own feelings.
Emma had first fallen for James while she was still a university student. He worked at the firm where she was completing her placementyoung, handsome, already deputy department managerseeming to belong to a world beyond her modest village upbringing. She had never imagined a man of his standing would notice her. Yet on the final day of her placement, he approached her, handed her a box of chocolates and invited her to an evening drink. Thus began their story.
On their first date he confessed that he had grown up without parents. His mother had remarried and left, leaving him in his grandmothers care. Emma did not reveal that her own parents had never shown any interest in her; her childhood had been a stretch of cold indifference, lacking even a whisper of warmth. Both knew the sting of solitude, and perhaps that is why they clung to each other so swiftly.
A month later Emma moved into Jamess rented flat. Soon after came a modest weddingquiet, unpretentious, yet full of hope. They dreamed of a future together, of a house of their own, of a tranquil life. The sole point of contention was children. Emma had longed for a baby, while James kept postponing, Were fine as we are; why rush?
When the pregnancy test showed two lines, Emma hesitated to speak. She feared judgment and reproach, but at last gathered the courage.
Will you be a parent? Does that make you happy? she asked.
I thought it would be later he replied, unable to hide his disappointment.
James did not attend the first ultrasound; he waited in the car while Emma returned, eyes brimming with tears and joytwins, she whispered, two tiny hearts beating within her.
Twins?! James blanched. That wasnt part of the plan. You must have an abortion!
What are you saying? I saw our children I cant Emma sobbed.
She hoped he would come to understand, but each day he drifted further away, critiquing her weight, telling her she had lost her shape. She tried to ignore it. After the babies were born, things only grew worse.
Olivia and Emilyher twin daughters became the centre of her world. James, however, lingered at work, withdrew, and refused to help. Emma endured it allfor the sake of the children, for love, for family.
When the girls turned one and a half, Emma mentioned returning to work. James sat across from her, eyes fixed on the floor, and said, Youll see Ive found someone else. Im leaving. I wont abandon the children, but I want to live with her.
Emma was struck speechless. You swore youd never become like your parents! she choked out through tears.
He departed. At first he still turned up occasionally, then vanished for good. Emma was left alone, penniless and unsupported. Returning to the countryside seemed impossiblethere was no work there. Here, there was work, but nowhere to live.
Her boss stepped in, arranging a room in a dormitory. A tiny, repaired space for two children and herself; she managed as best she could. One afternoon, as she tried to push the pram onto the pavement, a voice called, May I give you a hand? Im John, I live next door.
John helped without asking questions, later offering assistance with the repairs and collecting the children from nursery. Emma was wary at first, frightened, but day by day John became a part of their lives.
He was ordinary and reliable. He, too, had known betrayalhis wife had left him for a friend when she learned they could not have children. Now he had two little ones who loved him with all their hearts.
When he proposed to Emma, she initially refused. I have children. Youll find a woman without such ties.
I want to be with you. The children are no obstacle; theyre as my own, he replied.
They married, and a week later James reappeared.
Emma, Im sorry. I understand everything now. Lets start again
Its too late. Im married. My children now have a proper father.
From the doorway John stepped forward. Meet him, thats my husband.
James turned, gave a halfwave and walked away forever.
A year passed. Emma and John bought a modest house of their own. Where James was now, she never knew, nor did she wish to learn. For happiness turned out not to be the promise of a former lover, but the life that finally stayed.
