Waking up that morning felt like an uphill battle. Emily had spent a sleepless night in her cosy warm bedroom. The previous days row with her husbandharsh and unfairhad left her utterly demoralised. It had erupted over his demands to sell their flat and invest in some shady business venture.
Emily got up, downed a strong cup of coffee, and started packing her husbands belongings into a large suitcase. Only then did she notice his passport was missing.
«Right. So hes left on his own. Good riddance,» she muttered, hot tears spilling down her cheeks.
James had threatened to walk out before after every argument, but things always settled eventually, and they carried on. Only now, she was a senior sales assistant at a department store, while James scraped by with questionable schemes, chasing his big break.
Then came his latest ideainvesting in brandy supposedly shipped in bulk from France, bottled at a local distillery, then sold to independent off-licences. He swore the arrangements were solid, the distillery was on board, and thered be full inspections. But Emily saw right through it. The whole thing stank of desperation.
Worse, the bulk purchase required an enormous summoney they didnt havehence his push to sell the flat. Thats when the fight exploded.
The flat had been left to Emily by her parents. No way was she selling it and risking homelessness. James called her a penny-pinching miser, they rowed viciously, and he stormed out. She knew exactly whereto his ex-wife, Charlotte.
Charlotte had divorced James years ago, then reappeared out of nowhere after leaving her wealthy new husband, taking their two kids and the house. Shed been calling James lately, luring him over. Hed drop by, claiming it was just nostalgia. Emily always suspected that if not for the kids, hed have moved in permanently.
Now, though, she felt nothingno jealousy, no anger. Just hollow indifference. James had failed as a husband, as a man. He strutted about like he was breaking his back, but really, he was just hunting for a quick payday, as he put it. Good riddance. Let Charlotte bankroll his nonsense.
Emily wiped her tears, took a deep breath, and decided it was time to take control. No more wasting energy on James and his mad schemes. The flat was staying hers, and her future was in her own hands. She grabbed her phone and called her old friend Rebecca, who worked at a top law firm.
«Bec, I need help,» Emily said firmly. «James is gone, and I want a divorce. Plus, I need to check if hes dragged me into any debts or scams.»
Rebecca got to work immediately. Within days, she uncovered Jamess brandy schemehed already signed dodgy paperwork with French partners, trying to mortgage the flat. Luckily, without Emilys signature, it meant nothing. Worse, hed pawned his fathers car for an advance on the deal. How hed sweet-talked his stern, unyielding dad, Emily couldnt fathom.
Meanwhile, James, convinced of his «brilliant plan,» moved in with Charlotte. Flattered by his attention, she agreed to back him, even dipping into the savings shed squeezed from her ex. She shipped the kids off to her parentsthey adored the little ones anywayand James promised her the world, spinning tales of quick riches.
But the brandy shipment never came. The French partners vanished with the cash, the distillery denied any deal, and James was left drowning in debt, his fathers car gone, and lawsuits from furious «investors,» Charlotte included.
Furious, she kicked him out. He tried crawling back to Emily, but shed already changed the locks and filed for divorce. Left with nothingno family, no money, a ruined reputationJames was soon arrested for fraud and landed a prison sentence.
Emily, free of the toxic marriage, flourished. She took a small loan against the flatnot for scams, but to open her own organic skincare shop. Her retail experience paid off; within months, she cleared the debt and turned a steady profit. Rebecca handled the legal side, and Emily finally felt secure, independent.
Only one question nagged at her: how had she ever fallen for a man like James? Youth? Naivety? Probably.
Theyd met at her mums workplace. At twenty-five, her university friends had drifted away, and new connections were slow to form. So when her mum took her to the office Christmas party, Emily was ripe for distraction.
Her mum had hoped shed click with one of the bright, cheerful lads there. James, though, was brooding and withdrawn, fresh from his divorce. Yet he captivated Emilytall, sharp, handsome at thirty-three, frustrated with his stagnant career. He wanted to «be his own boss,» he told her, and she, inexperienced, lapped it up.
Her mum pulled her aside later.
«Sweetheart, please dont fall for this man.»
Emily flushed. «Why? Hes serious about me!»
«You might mistake charm for genuine interest. Hes older, divorced»
«And thats bad?»
«Without your father, you might seek older men to fill that void.»
Her mum was sharp, well-read, a department head. She knew what she was talking about. But Emily wouldnt listen. She was already smitten.
Three months later, her mum passed awaylikely hiding her illness till the end, still trying to shield Emily. James stuck by her then, moving into her flat. A year later, they married, though hed already quit his job chasing «something better.» Then came the miscarriagedevastating for Emily, coldly dismissed by James.
«Maybe that one wasnt meant to be.»
Soon, he started vanishing evenings. Then came the final betrayal.
Now, sitting in her cosy office, Emily gazed out the window and smiled. She thought of all shed endured, her mums warnings. How right shed been.
But her life now was full of promise. James, locked away somewhere, probably regretted his choicesnot that it mattered anymore. She was building her future, and it was bright.
The next day, a warm Sunday, Emily bought a basket of crimson rosesher mums favouriteand visited her grave. Birds chirped in the trees as she stood before the headstone, her mums youthful portrait watching over her.
She smiled. «Its all behind me, Mum. Dont worry.»
The roses swayed in the breeze, and her heart felt lightas if her mum had answered. She remembered her last words:
«My darling, Ill always be with you, right here in your heart. When things get hard, listen to its beat, feel its warmth, and know Im near. Just dont grieve too much, promise me»
Emily pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the steady thud, the warmth, tears on her cheeks. She knew shed never betray her mums memory or make another bitter mistakenot when it would hurt her, even in heaven.
