“Honestly, everyone makes mistakes,” he muttered.
“You keep going on about it! That girl doesnt even exist in your world anymore, and youre still jealous and nagging me. Emma, maybe enoughs enough? Weve got real things to deal withlike Sophie.”
Emmas eyebrows shot up. She stayed silent for a moment, wondering if shed misheard. It felt like any second now, her husband would start blaming *her* for *his* affair.
“Daniel, youve got the wrong door. Ive got other priorities now. My only real problem? Divorcing you.”
“Divorce?!” he spluttered. “For Gods sake, weve been fine all this time! Almost ten years. Wed still be fine if you hadnt found out. What difference does it even make?”
“It changes *everything*,” Emma said, locking eyes with him. “All these years, Ive been living in lies. And now youre acting like its no big deal.”
His stubbornness grated on her as much as the betrayal itself. Shed known Daniel for over twenty-five years. She recognized the way he scowled when criticized, the way he pressed his lips thin when upset. But this? This was new. It was like she was seeing him for the first time.
“What illusions? I loved you all this time. Still do. That other thing” He waved a hand dismissively. “Ancient history. Might as well not have happened.”
Hard to pretend nothing happened when there was an eight-year-old girl left behind. Daniel now saw it as his noble duty to bring her into their home. The alternative? His elderly mum, who could barely look after herself. Foster care wasnt an optionhe insisted, like some chivalrous knight, that *his* children wouldnt grow up without parents.
Emma couldnt forgive the betrayal. Shed grown up in a family built on trust.
Her dad was a homebody; her mum adored travelling. Shed sometimes take off alone to Cornwall or the Lakes. Dad would wave her off at the station with a smile, help load her bags, and never once doubted her. Mum did the same when he went on work tripskissed him goodbye, packed a tin full of biscuits, slipped a little keepsake into his pocket.
Sure, they argued. Mum might raise her voice and slam a door; Dad might go quiet for days. But they never questioned each others loyalty. Even when Dad had a few too many at Christmas parties, hed only ever look at Mum, hugging her and boasting about her to everyone.
That was Emmas model for love. She grew up certain: if you love someone, you trust them. And if you dont trust them, whats the point?
Life with Daniel hadnt been bad. Once, theyd been happy. The only strain? Kids.
“Em, whats the rush? Let me get us settled first, land a proper job, *then* well think about kids,” hed say, five years in.
“Im thirty, Dan. Not getting any younger. Neither are you. Or do you want our kid calling us Grandma and Grandpa?” shed grumble.
So she waited. But the “proper job” never came, and her biological clock didnt stop ticking. She had to jump on the last train outotherwise, shed risk never having kids at all. She gave birth at thirty-eight. Now their son was twelve.
Daniel started working up north on rigs to support themthree months away, one month home. Exhausting, but the pay was good. Emma missed him, but saw it as an investment in their future.
She didnt know he hadnt been investing much patience.
“What did you expect? Three months alone. Barely even countsjust filling a need. Doesnt mean anything,” hed explained when she found out.
“A *need*?” Emma snapped. “Then why arent *I* drowning in secret lovers? Or are we made of different stuff?”
“Well, youre a woman. Its not the same for you.”
Maybe they *were* made of different stuff. To Daniel, it was just a slip-uplike sneaking an extra biscuit. To Emma, it erased every good thing between them.
She wouldnt even have known if not for the accident. If Daniel hadnt casually brought up what to do with Sophie, like they were discussing the weekly shop.
“Look, Daniel,” Emma said, snapping back to the present. “I dont even blame the girl. Taken out of context, shes just an innocent kid. But *you*? I dont want to live with *you*.”
He huffed, waving her off.
“Whats got into you? Fine, well talk in the morning. Thingsll seem clearer.”
Come morning, Daniel brought reinforcements: his mum, Margaret. She had skin in the gameif Emma refused, *shed* be stuck with Sophie. So of course, she started pleading.
“Emma, love, think of the poor girl!” Margaret pressed. “Shell be a comfort when youre older. Boys fly the nest, but girls stick around. Look at it this waymaybe its a blessing? Too late for you to have another, and heres one ready-made!”
“Margaret, I cant do it. I wont love her. How could I?” Emma admitted.
“Oh, dont be daft! Youll get used to her. Plenty of women raise kids that arent theirswar widows, foster parents. Remember *The Son of the Regiment*?”
Emma exhaled sharply. One thought infidelity had an expiry date; the other compared it to a wartime novel. Emma just felt like shed been living someone elses life, blind to the shadow over theirs.
“Margaret, all thats lovelybut it only works when both people agree. I *didnt* agree to this.”
“But the girls innocent.”
“And so am I.”
They talked for hours, but got nowhere. To Margaret, it was a hiccup. To Emma, the end.
So that evening, she didnt answer the door. She left Daniels bags in the hallway, bolted the lock, and curled up with her favourite show.
By seven, keys jangled in the lock. Then came the pounding.
“Emma, I know youre there! Open up! Youre acting like a child!”
“Yeah? And youre the grown man whos fathered kids all over the country,” she shot back, leaning against the console table. “Go raise your daughter with your mum. Youll do just fine together.”
“Dont be ridiculous! Youre blowing this out of proportion!”
“Not me, Daniel. Im done. Take Sophie and leave me alone. It doesnt matter how long its been. Betrayal doesnt come with a best-before date.”
“At least let me say goodbye to Jack!”
“So you can upset him too?” she snapped, then paused. “Fine. But Im not unlocking the door.”
“Twenty-five years, and now Im not even welcome inside…” he whined.
Emma ignored him. She went to Jacks room. Hed been unusually quiet all evening. Hed seen her packing Daniels things but hadnt asked why. Hed heard the shouting.
Even a kid knew what was coming.
“Jack, your dad wants to say goodbye.”
“Dont want to,” Jack muttered, not looking up from his homework.
“Are you sure?” she asked softly.
“Positive. He used to be my hero. Thought he was sacrificing so much for us. Now… I dont want to see him, Mum.”
She hugged him tightly. His words lifted a weight off her chest.
“Im sorry I couldnt keep us together,” she whispered.
“*He* broke us. Not you,” Jack said, hugging her back. “Im staying with *you*.”
Daniel was stunned when he heard. He hammered on the door, begging to “talk properly,” but eventually left.
Emma ached insidebut under it, relief was rising. Shed made her choice. Self-respect mattered more than a hollow “happy family.” And thankfully, her son wasnt anything like his father.
