12October2025 Diary
I still cant believe Im the one writing this, but the events of the past few months have forced me to put pen to paper, if only to make sense of the chaos that has surrounded my family.
It all started on a cold Tuesday outside St.Marys Maternity Ward in Leeds. A crowd of relatives was clustered on the stairs, murmuring anxiously. Wheres Victor? someone whispered. We havent seen Victor anywhere! The question hung in the air, and the whole lot of us felt the sting of bewilderment.
Victor Harper, the proud father of our newborn Lily, should have been the one holding a tiny envelope with his babys birth certificate. Instead, his wife Emily vanished without a trace. The fact that Emily who, in this case, was the one whose name was being shortened to Vicky disappeared completely, while the infant was safely in my arms, seemed oddly out of place.
Its run away! That reckless thing! Emilys mother shrieked, handing my brotherinlaw, Daniel, the legal papers and the last letter from the runaway wife. The letter read like a template for such situations: she wasnt ready for motherhood, she asked not to be hunted, promised to pay child support, and signed off with a vague promise to think about it. There was no return address, no explanation of why a respectable woman, who had been dreaming of motherhood a mere six months earlier, would suddenly bolt.
Dont worry, Dan, Emilys mother tried to comfort me. Shell come to her senses, realise what shes missing, and return. Her older daughter Charlotte, however, said nothing. Her gut told her that Emily wasnt coming back. Charlotte never spoke lightly; when she hinted that Emily might never return, her mother snapped, Youll see, love. In a month or two shell remember her motherly instincts.
Three months later the divorce papers arrived. Emily never set foot in court, she refused custody, and little Lily stayed with me. Charlotte started visiting more often, helping with the baby and chatting with Daniel, because she, too, had been abandoned by a lover James after a year of marriage. They had planned to marry once Lily turned three and Charlotte left maternity leave, but James fled, leaving his son Andrew in a tangle of financial and emotional mess. At least the court confirmed that I was Andrews father and ordered James to pay a modest amount of maintenance.
I spent countless evenings watching Daniel for any warning signs, never daring to voice my concerns to my sister or mother. In hindsight, I realised I was looking at the wrong man. Emily wasnt the one to blame; she had willingly left, not been forced. Daniel had even suggested we wait five years to save enough money to turn his modest twobed flat into a threebed house, but Emily rushed her.
And then the worst happened. Emily walked back into our lives, grabbed Lily, and fled again, leaving the tiny infant crying on the hallway floor. It was as if the universe had handed me a cruel joke: first she abandoned us, then she returned just to disappear once more. Lily, though not my blood, had become as dear to me as my own child.
Daniel, in a moment of desperation, handed Lily to Charlotte, saying Take her to mum. He even offered us to move in together, promising that my flat could house both families and that I could rent out rooms to cover the mortgage. My mother, upon hearing that I was moving in with Daniels exwife, tried to shame me, calling it unseemly. She even tried to push Daniel away, but he brushed her off, saying it didnt concern her.
A drunken night later, Daniel confessed that he was ready to marry me and even adopt Lily as his own. Everything will be fair, he said. You raise my daughter like yours, Ill consider Andrew mine. I wont push you into any decisions; well simply make a life together. He admitted he could earn a decent wage, but the endless nappies, pediatric visits, and baby food left him clueless. Youre a natural with children, he added, but dont expect a raise just because youre a dad.
Before the birth, Charlotte had been a nursery nurse at a private preschool, earning a modest salary. Daniels proposal was pragmatic, perhaps too pragmatic. I wondered whether I should give up on the romantic notion of love, which had never truly satisfied me, and instead embrace a sensible partnership with Daniel. He was kind, sober, never drank or smoked, and always helped financially. Lily had, after two years, started calling me Mum, a nickname I never imagined hearing from a child.
So perhaps everything that happens for a reason? My mother never attended the wedding, but no one expected her anyway. We toasted with a small group of close friends, exchanged wishes of happiness, and returned to Daniels flat where the four of us lived together. Life didnt change much, except that the children now shared a bedroom while the adults occupied the other.
One evening, just as a courier was about to ring the doorbell, the front door swung open and Emily burst in, hair disheveled, eyes wild. Darling, Im back! she announced. Daniel brushed her away gently but firmly, asking, Are you pleased to see me? I could feel the tension crackle in the room.
She claimed she wanted to see Lily and perhaps mend things with me. I know I wasnt perfect, but cant we be a family again? she pleaded. Daniels reply was cold and final: Ive already found my family. Traitors wont be let back in.
Emily turned her fury toward Charlotte, demanding why Id chosen her over her. In that moment, Lily now toddling into the room stared at the open nursery door, oblivious to the adult drama. Emily lunged at Lily, trying to snatch her, but Andrew, my son, shrieked and bit her leg. The brief scuffle left Emily clutching at her skirt, tears mixing with rage, while Lily squealed and fled to my brothers side. Emily, breathing heavily, spat out, You snake! You turned my daughter against me! Her voice shook with a fury only a mother could muster.
In the end, the courts denied Emily any claim to Lily, as she had previously renounced custody. My mothers attempts to broker a reverse move a sort of family swap fell flat. Daniel and Charlotte eventually cut ties with Emilys family entirely and moved to a new town, refusing to leave an address behind.
Now we are settled in a quiet suburb of Bath, raising three children together. Lily sometimes tells her trusted friends that she is the daughter of a witch, but that her mother Charlotte is a fairy who rescued her. Andrew adds that his father must be some sort of dark wizard because he abandoned a good fairy.
Looking back, I realize that lifes twists often feel like a fairytale gone awry, but the ending can still be happy if you choose the right people to share the journey with.
Lesson learned: loyalty to those who have stood by you is worth more than any promise from a wandering heart.
