Ive got to tell you the whole mess, so grab a cuppa and listen.
James, Im sorry, I swear I wont ever talk to her again, I begged, my voice shaking. If you want, Ill quit my job, we can go somewhere elsejust dont leave me.
September greeted Emma with a crisp, gentle sun. The golden leaves swirled around her feet, the air smelled of damp earth and the promise of autumn. She was hurrying to pack her suitcases. Ahead lay a long haul to the Yorkshire Dales, where her mum, suddenly taken ill, was waiting.
At first it seemed like a simple chest infection, but a gnawing worry settled deep in Emmas chest and grew each day. Doctors delivered a scary diagnosis that hit her like an icy shower. James stayed home; he couldnt accompany her. So Emma made the only sensible choice grab her little boy, Tom, and fly straight to her mother. Thats how their brutal, exhausting race against time began.
The first three months were a blur of endless doctor visits, sample collections and frantic searches for a good specialist. Whenever a tiny window opened, Emma would dash back home, only to feel something had shifted. The house was still clean, the garden still tidy, James still tried to keep the routine going, but Emmas thoughts were glued to the Dales.
Just as her mum steadied a bit, Emma had to pack again. Tom, a bit weary from the flights and hospital smells but obedient as ever, rode along. More planes, more doctors, a flickering hope that lit up then dimmed. By March there was a brief lull Mum felt a little better and Emma managed a short break, staying home for a couple of weeks.
During that quiet spell, a nasty weed of truth started to sprout. Tom complained his phone had taken a dive into the bath. Emma remembered a tip from a womens magazine stick the device in a bowl of rice.
She pulled the phone out, flicked it on, and the screen lit up with an incoming message. James was dozing peacefully on the sofa.
Tom, look, your phones working, Emma said, handing him the device. He lazily scrolled through notifications and then froze.
Whats this? Emma leaned in, noticing his stiff posture. Im falling in love with you more and more. What does that even mean?
James jolted upright, coughing to mask his unease, his hands trembling just a touch.
Emma, youve got it all wrong, he blurted. Its just a joke, a coworkers prank. We mess around at the office sometimes
A joke? Emma crossed her arms, feeling a cold chill creep inside despite the warm flat. Messing around?
I swear its nothing. We just work together, nothing personal.
Are you sure? Because messages like that arent usually sent by just colleagues, she retorted, studying his face for any sign of deceit.
Im absolutely sure. Youre just overthinking because of your mums illness. Lets leave it, go for a walk. The suns out, we could use some fresh air.
James was so eager to change the subject that Emma, exhausted after three months of nonstop stress, decided to go along. She chalked it up to nerves and fatigue, and they stepped out. The calm didnt last long.
Barely back inside, another message pinged from the same coworker, even more forward this time. Emma felt a sting of jealousy but chose to confront James first rather than make a scene.
James, look at what she just sent. This isnt a joke.
He took the phone, his face turning pale.
It it was a mistake. Ill tell her to stop.
Youll write to her? Or should I? Emmas voice trembled.
I love only you, Emma. No point making a drama over nonsense.
Then the cycle repeated flights, mum, doctors, test results, hospital wards. Tom remained the one stable thing in the chaos. Mum improved a little, giving Emma a sigh of relief and another short breather.
By March, Mum was a bit better again, and Emma managed another trip home, hoping to find some balance. But the SMS thread shed glanced at earlier kept nagging at her. She couldnt just sweep those words under the rug.
She decided shed had enough waiting, and asked James straight up.
James, I need the truth. I cant keep living with vague explanations.
I told you everything, Emma! It was just a badly timed joke. Why are you bringing it up again?
Because it unsettles me, Emma replied firmly.
James tightened his shoulders.
Emma, why are you making this a big deal? Everythings already messy enough.
I spoke to your coworker, Emma said, her voice turning icecold, and she reached out herself.
James froze.
She wrote she wrote Yes, I love you. Yes, we were together. What do you have to say to that, James?
He stayed silent, his face turning ashen.
Leave, Emmas voice shook with heldback emotions. Take your things and go.
No, he whispered, youre making a huge mistake! I didnt do anything with her. She made it up and you fell for some nonsense!
I dont believe you! Emma snapped, pulling out her phone and flashing him the screenshot where the other woman confessed everything. Look! This is your joke!
James lowered his head. The silence stretched on forever. When he finally looked up, guilt and desperation flickered in his eyes.
Alright. I slipped up. Ive only ever loved you, Emma. Thats the truth.
Slipped up? Emma laughed bitterly. Three years of lies! How do you disrespect someone like that?
Its not a lie, I truly love you! I just wasnt around as much and
Not around? Only cowards do that! Emma shouted, stepping back. Youre a coward!
But I didnt leave you, Emma, I never walked away! he pleaded, reaching for her hand. Were together
Emma pulled her hand away. She didnt care whether hed left or not now; the pain he caused was enough.
You didnt leave because it was convenient, not because you loved me. Im done dissecting your motives. I have to go. Mums getting worse.
Another flight, another round of Yorkshire, doctors, wards. Now Emma carried not only her mothers illness but also the weight of Jamess betrayal.
Mum passed away in August. By New Years, Emma drifted through days like a daze, mechanically doing what she had to. The house that once felt like a fortress now seemed foreign. Tom was her anchor, the only reason she didnt dissolve into the gloom.
When the first months of despair finally ebbed, she started to wake up a bit, but every glance at James still burned. She couldnt face his face, hear his voice, but she held on for Tom, who seemed to sense her turmoil.
James, finally grasping the depth of his mistake, tried to mend things. He stayed close, offered help, begged forgiveness, pleaded for a fresh start.
Emma, please, lets try again. I made a terrible error. I never left when you went to your mum. Isnt that proof of my love?
Emmas mind replayed the messages shed stumbled upon while cleaning her phone, each line now crystal clear:
Youre my everything, hed typed to the other woman.
And Im right, darling? Someone should have pushed her. Any woman wouldve left, but you youre a rag!
She watched Tom building a tower of blocks, his concentration reminding her of herself as a child focused, clever, deserving of a stable home.
James entered the living room with two mugs of tea.
Here, herbal tea. Have a sip.
Emma lifted the mug but didnt drink.
I cant, James
We agreed time heals. Give us time. Ill do anything to win your forgiveness.
Time? she smiled bitterly. Time showed youre a master liar. You stayed because it got inconvenient to leave, not because I was your love. Her messages prove it.
It was stupid of her! I told her it was over!
You didnt stop it, James. You chose the easier story to keep me from falling apart.
Emma inhaled deeply.
I cant forgive you now. Maybe never. But I have to live, and Tom has to live. Well stay apart for a while. Ill put him with my sister for a couple of weeks and stay with a friend. I need to figure out what I want next.
James went pale, realizing this wasnt a pause it was a real chance of losing everything.
Emma, dont do this. Please. Ill see a therapist, quit my job, anything. Just dont go.
Im not leaving you, James. Im leaving the lies. I cant love you while you keep lying, and I wont live in falsehoods any longer. Well talk when Im back. If I ever come back
She never did return. Two months later they were living apart, and Emma finally decided the family wouldnt stay together, not even for Tom. James changed jobs, cut off contact with the other woman, but Emma knew that young girl would forever linger in his and her memory, and she wasnt ready to accept that. Never.
