“Dad, youve completely stopped talking to us,” Oliver said, his voice tinged with worry.
Helen didnt want to go home. She dreaded hearing the words: *Ive fallen in love with someone else.* Could anyone survive that, let alone understand it? And what about the children? They adored their father.
Switching on the lights, Nicholas confirmed the house was empty. The boys schoolbooks were strewn across their bedroom floorthey must have done their homework and, as usual, left everything out. He sank into his favourite armchair, burying his face in his hands, unsure how to begin the conversation with his wife.
“Im exhausted,” Nicholas muttered to himself. He hated coming back to an empty house. Pulling out his phone, he dialled his eldest son.
“Oliver, where are you? Im home, and the place is deserted.”
“Were at Grans with Mumshe wasnt feeling well. Well be back soon.”
Nicholass stomach twisted. How was he supposed to explain this? Vera was twenty-five, with fiery red hair and emerald eyes. She could have had any man, yet shed chosen himover a decade her senior.
Every time he left her, it grew harder, the excuses piling up so smoothly he almost believed them himself. Maybe hed try writing novels after retirementhis lies were already halfway there.
Helen was sharp. A marketing manager, respected for her quick mind and easygoing nature. She was pretty, but not extraordinarynot like Vera, who greeted him in silk robes, all effortless allure.
Hed always thought their marriage solid, their parenting sound. Helen balanced work and motherhood effortlessly. No one couldve predicted this.
The key turned in the lock. His pulse spiked. *Not today.* Hed tell her tomorrow.
The boys barrelled in, chattering about school.
“Nicholas, are you eating dinner?” Helen asked.
“No. Im tired. Ill just sleep.”
Lately, his behaviour had been offdistant, evasive.
At breakfast, Nicholas was sullen and silent.
“Dad, you never talk to us anymore,” Oliver pressed.
“Dont be absurd. Adults have problems they dont burden children with. Hurry up if you want a lift.”
Helen packed snacks and apples, her unease growing.
“Ill talk to him tonight,” she decided, gathering her things for work.
But dinner passed without Nicholas. He slunk in near midnight, drank water, and vanished into the bedroom.
After breakfast, as the boys got ready, she cornered him.
“Care to explain whats going on?”
“Tonight,” he said curtly.
***
“Shes got another woman,” Nadine declared when Helen confided in her.
“Dont be ridiculous. Weve been married ten years.”
“Thats exactly why. Turning away at night, coming home lateno explanations?”
“How would you know?” Helen frowned.
“Been there. And trust me, I dont envy you.”
Helen didnt want to go home. She didnt want to hear: *I love someone else.*
But avoiding it wouldnt change anything. She quickened her step.
Alone in the kitchen, she waited. The lock clicked. Nicholas was in high spirits, even asking about dinner.
“Where are the boys?”
“Doing homework. But I can feed you without them.”
He nodded, eating under her watchful gaze. Smart, hardworking, gentleonce, hed loved everything about her. Not anymore.
“Delicious,” he complimented.
“Talk,” Helen demanded.
Silence. He reached for bread, chewing slowly. Finally, the meal ended. The quiet thickened.
Helen didnt push. After minutes, he spoke without looking up.
“Helen, Ive fallen for someone else. Im leaving. Ill still see the boys, but were done.”
A deep breath.
“Youre tossing us aside for vanity. Easier to abandon your children than deny yourself.”
No reply. She was right. Hed fallencouldnt resist Vera.
“Have you decided, or can I change your mind? Because if you walk out, dont expect to return.”
“I understand. But I wont come back. Veras pregnant. I cant abandon her and the baby.”
“And our two? That doesnt trouble your conscience?”
“Dont make this a tragedy. Thousands of families split. Kids still love their fathers.”
“A baby, really? Shes lying to steal you faster.”
“You dont know anything.”
“Fine. I dont care about either of you. How will you tell the boys?”
“Simple.” He raised his voice. “Oliver! William! Come here.”
They stood before him.
“Mum, we did our homework. Were hungry.”
“Your father has something to say.” Helen moved to the window.
“Eat first. Well talk after,” Nicholas hedged.
“Done. What did you want to say?” Oliver asked.
Helen made no effort to help. Clearing plates, she spoke coldly.
“Your fathers found another woman. Hes leaving.”
“*And us?*” they chorused.
“Youll have a new mum. I wont interfere.”
Under stunned stares, Helen grabbed her bag, documents, cards, and left.
“Dad is it true? A new mum?”
Nicholas stood frozen.
“Bed. Now,” he barked, retreating.
***
Helen stayed with Nadine, who backed her completely.
“You did right,” Nadine soothed.
“The boys” Helen wept.
“Theyll be fine. Nicholas is a fool, but he loves them.”
Dawn found Helen sleepless. At work, she clutched her coffee, lost in thought.
Her future with Nicholas was overunforgivable. Their marriage, once hopeful, now shadowed her.
Hed courted her for a year, promised happiness. But hope and reality were different. For years, hed played the good husband, the doting father. Even Nadine had called him decent.
Yet it hadnt lasted. Love had crumbled under mistakes too vast to mend.
Nicholas was to blame. Now, she just wanted her boys.
The phone rang.
“When are you taking them?” Nicholas demanded. “How could you leave? Youre their *mother!*”
“And you? We vowed to care for them *together.* I kept my word. You traded them forwhat? *This* is your care?”
“Enough. Be home today. Understood?”
She hung up. The words on her screen blurred.
Decision made, she exhaled. The boys needed her.
At lunch, she collected them from school. Oliver spotted her first, sprinting over. William followed.
“Mum, I missed you.”
“Me too. Listenno matter what happens with Dad, I love you. Always. Got that?”
“Mummy” William whispered. “I dont want a new mum.”
“I know, sweetheart.” She took their hands. “Dads in love with someone else. He says he wont leave youwell see. For now, youll stay with him and her. But Ill visit daily. Im always here.”
Oliver, older, understood. “You wont leave us?”
“Never.”
She dropped them home, relieved. Meanwhile, Vera called Nicholas, impatient.
“You know stress isnt good for me. Where *are* you?” She hung up.
At home, the boys waited, homework done.
“Wheres Mum?”
“No idea.”
“Ready? Were going somewhere.”
“To meet *her?*”
“Yes.”
“But we dont *want* her.”
“Since when do you get a say? Your mother walked out. She doesnt *want* you.”
William opened his mouth, but Oliver cut in. “Shut it.”
An hour later, they rang Veras bell.
“Finally.” She swung the door openand froze under three pairs of eyes.
“Get dressed,” Nicholas ordered.
She scoffed. “This is *my* home. Who are *they?*”
Nicholas shoved past.
“Youll share a room. Well figure it out.”
Vera gaped. “Wrong address.”
“Just *wait*,” he hissed.
Upstairs, shouting. Then silence. The boys slept uneasily.
Morning came. Nicholas roused them.
“Vera, wheres breakfast?”
“Did *you* buy food? Ask again when you have.” She flounced off.
Toast and tea later, he dropped them at school.
After class, Helen arrived. They spilled everythingVeras tantrum, the empty fridge. She stifled a smirk.
“Hungry?”
“Yes!”
This continued all week. Friday, Nicholas didnt take them to Veras. They ordered takeaway, feasting like kings.
He left briefly, returning with news: theyd stay home. Vera was the
