“Oh, for heaven’s sake! So what if he strayed? All men do it. Stop whinging! Go and make up with him. Or do you think Ive got room here for you and that bump?”
“Mum… He cheated on me,” Veronica reminded her, voice trembling.
Her whole world had crumbled. Yesterday, shed caught her husband red-handed. Today, her mother was practically shoving her out the door. And both of them spoke to her like she was some spoiled little girl throwing a tantrum.
“So he cheated. Big deal,” Nina huffed. “You provoked him, didnt you? What, you think youre the only pregnant woman in the world? Others manage just fine. But no, youve got to be the delicate one. You were well enough to work, so you cant have been that poorly.”
“Mum! Dont you remember waiting up for Dad all those nights?” Veronica choked out through tears.
“Thats exactly my point!” Nina threw her hands up. “They all do itjust not all get caught. Look, give it a week to patch things up. If you dont, youre on your own.”
Just yesterday, Nina had been ranting about her son-in-law, vowing hed “live to regret it.” Today, she was practically pushing Veronica to beg forgiveness from the man whod betrayed her. Veronica suspected the truth: her mum just didnt want to lift a finger to help.
Not that shed asked. But right now, a shoulder to lean on wouldnt have gone amissespecially since Veronica was pregnant.
Nina, of course, knew the drill. Veronicas father, Victor, had been a serial philanderer. Ninas approach had been… unique. Shed weep, pace the floors at night, wait for him. Then, when he slunk home at dawn with flowers, shed thrash him with the bouquet.
“Never buying you roses again,” Victor once joked, utterly shameless. “Too prickly.”
And shed laughed with him. Every time he strayed, shed unleash cosmic indignation and demand compensationsometimes with hints, sometimes outright. Thats how Nina ended up with a mink coat, a car, and a shelf of French perfumes.
“Hes putty in my hands after,” shed boast to friends, flaunting her latest haul. “Strike while the irons hot, I say. What, should I just toss him out? At least this way, I get something out of it.”
“Nina ever think of divorcing?” a friend once sighed. “This isnt a life.”
“Oh, so some other woman can have him? Not bloody likely!”
Over the years, Nina had sweet-talked Victor into signing the flat over to her and renovating itjust in case. After all, he might leave one day, and shed be stuck penniless with a child. Hed agreed to that, too.
When Veronica was eight, her parents split. Victor vanished into another womans life, barely ringing on birthdays. Nina had been devastated but gritted her teeth. For a while, they scraped by on remnants of their old luxuries before she had to get a job.
“Used to live like royalty, now Im counting pennies,” shed moan.
“At least youre not wondering whose bed hes in,” her friend would retort.
“Ha! And eating beans on toast.”
Life got lean. Nina pawned her gold jewellery. They learned to tighten belts, skip West End shows, and wear last seasons clothes. Veronica swore shed never repeat her mothers mistakesnever let her children see such misery. Oh, how wrong shed been.
History had a way of repeating itself.
Alex was comfortablea wealthy heir with a sharp mind. He owned a chain of upscale salons across London, bringing in tidy sums. Not that money was his only charm. Early on, hed waxed lyrical about “perfect relationships.”
“People just need to talk things through,” hed insist. “If couples sat down and communicated, divorce rates would plummet.”
Alex seemed gentle, accommodating, kind. But once married, the facade cracked. Hed fetch Veronica peaches at dawn, sprint out for midnight cravings, cover her salon visits. Yet when real conflict arose? Different story.
She fretted when he worked late. Hed brush it off: “Busy, love.” When she begged him to at least answer calls, hed nodthen ignore her.
“Alex, I worry!” she snapped one night as he strolled in past midnight. “Is it so hard to pick up?”
“Ron, youre overreacting. Your emotions, your problem.”
“And if I did this to you?”
“Id deal with it. Wouldnt bother you.”
His logic was baffling. Hed “communicate” only when it suited him. Clash of wills? Hed dig in; shed cave. Naively, she wrote it off as typical bloke blindnessuntil she realised: beneath the charm was pure selfishness.
She mightve missed it entirely if she hadnt stayed employed. Even pregnant, she refused to quit, fearing dependence. A brutal choice: by month two, morning sickness ruled her life. Dizziness, migraines, relentless nauseayet she dragged herself to work. Turned out, it saved her.
First, chores slipped. Their dinners became pasta, steak, and freezer meals. Alex never complained; if he fancied a feast, hed order takeaway. Veronica mistook this for patience. Then intimacy vanished. She was too exhausted; he sulked, then adapted. Or so she thought.
His phone became an extra limb. Hed even shower with it. One peek at his messagesflirty texts, cheeky photoswas all it took. She confronted him that night.
“Honestly, this is on you!” he spat. “What, Im meant to be celibate? Im a man! You think Ill wait a year? Then itll be kids, headacheswhat response did you expect?”
“Understanding. Patience.”
“Try seeing my side! Boris at the salonhis wifes pregnant too. She doesnt push him away. But you? Too much effort, is it?”
Thats when it hit: Alexs “softness” was wrapping paper. Inside? Pure ego. He loved himself, not her.
She packed her bags and fled to Ninas, desperate for support. Instead, more blame.
“Mum, I need help right now”
“I *am* helping! Go back. You need a man; that baby needs a dad. Enough snivelling.”
Ninas worldview was warped. Affairs were bargaining chips. Forgiveness was “wisdom”; endurance, strategy. Maybe she genuinely believed she was saving Veronica. But Veronica knew better.
Next day, she met Angela, an old work friend whod always been solid.
“Rough deal, love,” Angela sighed after hearing her out. “But youll manage. Maternity pay, child support, benefitsyou wont starve. Or crash with me. Im flying solo for now. Split the bills, eh?”
Veronica was floored. The man blamed her, her mum sided with himyet here was a near-stranger offering kindness. Of course she said yes.
Returning home, she packed properly this time. Nina cornered her in the hall.
“Changed your mind? Made up?”
“Never.”
Nina gasped, splutteredbut Veronica was already out the door. Inside, she ached with loneliness and fear. Yet for the first time, she breathed freely. However hard it got, shed never go backnot to Alex, not to her mum. Better to be alone than with traitors.
