Im going to tell you a story that broke my heart, a tale of betrayal and redemption.
Mark, Im pregnant! Emily announced the moment she stepped into the doorway, leaving her husband no time to guess what she meant. He froze, looked away and sighed, Well if thats how it turned out, before planting a quick kiss on her cheek, as if trying to run from his own feelings.
Emily had fallen for David while she was still at university. He worked at the firm where she was doing her placement young, goodlooking, already deputy manager, a man who seemed to belong to another world. A modest girl from a small town in Yorkshire never imagined anyone would notice her. Yet on the last day of her placement, David walked over, handed her a box of chocolates and asked her out for an evening drink. Thats how their story began.
On their first date he confessed hed grown up without parents. His mother remarried and moved away, leaving him in his grandmothers care. Emily never mentioned that her own parents had never taken an interest in her. Her childhood was a cold, indifferent stretch with not a whisper of warmth. Both of them knew what loneliness felt like, and perhaps thats why they clung to each other so quickly.
A month later Emily moved into Davids rented flat. Not long after that came the wedding simple, modest, but full of hope. They dreamed of a future, a house of their own, a peaceful life. The only thing that set them apart was the question of children. Emily had wanted a baby for years, while David kept putting it off: Were fine as two, why rush?
When the pregnancy test showed two pink lines, Emily hesitated to speak. She feared judgment, the blame that might follow. At last she gathered the courage.
Are you happy well be parents? she asked.
I thought that would be later, David replied, his disappointment plain on his face.
He didnt go to the first ultrasound. He waited in the car while Emily returned, eyes brimming with tears and joy twins. Two tiny hearts beating inside her.
Twins?! Davids face went pale. That wasnt the plan. Get an abortion!
What are you saying? Ive seen our children I cant Emily sobbed.
She hoped his shock would lead him to understand, but each day he drifted further away. He started criticizing her weight, telling her shed lost her shape. She tried to ignore it. After the babies were born, things only got worse.
Poppy and Daisy the twins became the centre of her world. David stayed late at work, grew more distant, and never helped. Emily endured it all for the children, for love, for family.
When the girls turned one and a half, Emily mentioned returning to work. David sat opposite her, staring at the floor.
Im done. Ive found someone else. Im leaving. I wont abandon the kids, but I want to live with her.
Emily was stunned. You promised youd never end up like your parents! she choked out through tears.
He left. At first he still turned up sometimes, then vanished for good. Emily was left alone, penniless, without support. Return to the countryside? There were no jobs there. Stay in the city? No place to live.
Her boss stepped in, securing a spot for her in a councilrun hostel. A tiny room, a bit of renovation, two children she managed to scrape by. One afternoon, while trying to push the stroller down the street, a voice called out:
May I give you a hand? Im John, I live next door.
He helped without asking questions, then offered to assist with the repairs. He started picking the twins up from nursery. At first Emily pushed him away fear, pride but day by day John became part of their lives.
John was an ordinary, reliable bloke. His own marriage had fallen apart when his wife left him for a friend after discovering they couldnt have children. Now, with two little ones who loved him fiercely, he found a new purpose.
When John proposed to Emily, she first refused. I have kids. Youll find someone else.
I want to be with you. The children arent a problem; theyre as my own.
They married, and a week later David resurfaced.
Emily, Im sorry. Ive realized everything. Lets start over
Too late. Im married now. My children have a real father now.
John stepped out from the doorway. Meet my husband, David.
David turned, gave a halfhearted wave and walked away forever.
A year passed. Emily and John bought a small house of their own. As for David, Emily never saw him again, and she didnt want to. Happiness isnt the one that promises forever; its the one that actually stays.
