“Vicky, honestly, nothing terrible happened! Men do this sometimesthey get carried away, cant stop themselves in time. Be the bigger person. Are you really going to let some girl take your husband? Shell think shes won! Fight for your family!” pleaded her mother-in-law.
That Saturday morning, Vicky dropped her son off at her parents place. Shed arranged for little Daniel to stay with them for a while.
Back home, Victoria pulled cardboard boxes from the balcony and started packing. First, the nursery. She folded clothes, packed toys and books, taped the boxes shut, and labeled them. Soon, the room was bare except for the furniture she wasnt taking.
Around noon, her phone rangmother-in-law again.
“Hello, Margaret.”
“Good afternoon, Vicky. Jeremy told me everything. I know youre upset, but maybe dont rush into this? Take a moment, cool off, think it through. Should you really break up the family so quickly?”
“Im not the one breaking itJeremy did,” Vicky replied.
“Vicky, Im not excusing him! But maybe, just this once, you could forgive him?”
“What do you mean, ‘just this once’? Your sons been seeing his coworker for six months, lying to me. And youre telling me to ‘forgive him’? No.”
“Vicky, please, think again. Youre taking Daniels father away from him. Jeremy adores his son!”
“Margaret, Jeremy can see Daniel whenever he wants. I wont stop him. But Im done living with your son. Lets leave it at thatIm busy packing.”
She sealed the last two boxes, moved to the bedroom, and started filling suitcases.
Her mother-in-law showed up an hour later, convinced a face-to-face chat would change Vickys mind. The conversation went in circles:
“Vicky, nothing terrible happened! Men slip up sometimesthey lose control.”
“Be the bigger person. Dont let some girl think shes beaten you! Fight for your family!”
“Margaret, Jeremy isnt some trophy I need to fight over. Should I challenge that Jane to a duel? A boxing match? Whats she got to do with this? If it wasnt Jane, itd be Ella or Christina.”
“Listen, Ill tell you a secretJeremys father, William, did the same when he was young. But I was wiser than you. I saved our marriage. Weve been together 35 years now, celebrating our coral anniversary soon.”
“And what was this ‘wisdom’ of yours?” Vicky smirked.
“I didnt make scenes. I was sweeter, cooked his favorite meals, took an interest in his work, fixed myself upnew haircut, lost weight, greeted him with a smile after work. Sometimes I knew hed just come from seeing *her*, and I wanted to slam a frying pan over his head. But I smiled and endured. And lookI kept my husband. My son grew up with a father, and now my grandson has a grandfather.”
“You know, Margaret, youre an incredible woman. I could never do that. I have this unfortunate thing called self-respect. What youre suggesting is like eating from a bin.”
Her mother-in-law stormed out without another word.
Vicky kept packing. She knew this wasnt the endJeremy and Margaret would still make her life difficult. Thats why she was in a hurry to leave.
The next day, her dad came by. They loaded the boxes into a van and drove off. On the way, Vicky asked him to stop at her in-laws to drop off the flat keys.
“Can you believe it?” Vicky told her best friend, Emma, the next day. “Yesterday, Margaret spent an hour begging me to forgive Jeremys ‘little slip-up’ and not file for divorce.”
“What did she say?” Emma asked.
“The usual’youre robbing your child of a father,’ ‘all men cheat,’ ‘women should be wiser.’ Then she shared how she ‘won back’ her own husband.”
“How?”
“I wont even repeat it. Trust me, its bonkers. Youd never do it.”
“Have you filed already?”
“Yeah, last Friday,” Vicky said.
“Finally free of that Casanova. It was painful watching that two-timing git,” Emma muttered.
“What do you mean, ‘painful’? Did you know about him and Jane?” Vicky snapped.
“Not for sure, but I suspected,” Emma admitted guiltily.
“And you didnt tell me? I thought we were friends!” Vicky stood to leave.
“Wait! Hear me out. First, I didnt *know*I just saw what you saw and drew different conclusions. Remember the office party? How Jane clung to Jeremy? Or how she always suddenly replaced whoever was supposed to travel with him? I suspected, but I wasnt sure. I didnt want to wreck your marriage over a hunch.”
“You couldve hinted!”
“And if I was wrong? Youd think I was trying to sabotage you. Remember Sarah Brown? She told a friend she saw her husband with another womaneven showed a photo. They patched things up, and *Sarah* got blamed for ‘trying to ruin a happy marriage out of jealousy.’ She quit the company after that. So dont be mad. If Id had proof, Id have told you. Where are you staying now?”
“The flats in Margarets name, so weve moved in with my parents. But next week, well fix up Nans old placetenants just moved out. Its only two bedrooms, but its enough. Ill sort Daniels nursery transfermums friend can help. Once the divorce is through, Ill file for child support.”
“Does Jeremy agree to the divorce?”
“Says he doesnt want it, that hes ‘learned his lesson.’ Once was enough for me. He begged me not to file for supportpromised to pay voluntarily.”
“And?”
“No way. I dont want to see him. Everythings going through solicitors. He even threatened to take Daniel’My flats better, my salarys higher.’ So I tallied up his business trips last yeareight of them. Saved it for court. If he tries for custody, Ill ask whos minding Daniel while hes away. Ive got a job, a homehe wont win.”
Jeremy did file for custody, claiming Vicky couldnt provide for Daniel properly. Margaret even accused her of hiding the child:
“She took him from nursery! We thought they were at her parents, but they vanished after a week. Where is she keeping him? A child shouldnt be hidden in some shady place!”
Vicky had to explain they lived in her two-bed flat, that Daniel attended nursery nearby. She pointed out Jeremys frequent travel made him an unfit full-time parent.
In the end, neither Jeremy nor Margaret got anywhere.
Vicky switched jobs to avoid him, landing a good position easily. Soon after, Emma brought news:
“Jane quit. Shes gone.”
“Why?”
“The office women made life hell for her. She stuck around a month, realised the game was up, and bolted for London. So your ex is alone now.”
“Doesnt bother me,” Vicky said.
And she meant it. Because once youve drunk from that well, no amount of wishing can undo it.
So, what do you think? Did Vicky do the right thing?
