Honestly, Vicky, nothing truly terrible happened! Men will be mensometimes they get carried away and cant help themselves. Be the bigger person. Are you really going to hand your husband over to some girl? Shell think shes won! Fight for your family! her mother-in-law pleaded.
On Saturday morning, Vicky dropped her son off at her parents house. Shed arranged for little Daniel to stay with them for a while.
Back home, Victoria pulled cardboard boxes from the storage and started packing. She began in the nursery, carefully folding clothes, stacking toys and books, sealing each box with tape, and labeling them. Soon, the room held nothing but furniturethings she had no intention of taking with her.
Around noon, her phone buzzed. Mother-in-law again.
“Good afternoon, Patricia.”
“Hello, love. Jeremy told me everything. I know youre upset, but maybe dont rush things? Take a breath, think it over. Is it really worth breaking up the family?”
“Im not the one breaking itJeremy did,” Vicky replied.
“Darling, Im not excusing him! But couldnt you forgive him, just this once?”
“Once?” Victoria scoffed. “Hes been seeing his colleague for six months. Lying to me. And you say just this once? No.”
“Please, just consider it. Youre depriving Daniel of his father. Jeremy adores that boy!”
“Patricia, Jeremy can see Daniel whenever he wants. I wont stop him. But I wont live with him anymore. Now, if youll excuse meIve got packing to do.”
She sealed the last two boxes and moved to the bedroom, stuffing suitcases with her clothes.
An hour later, Patricia let herself in, convinced a face-to-face chat would change Vickys mind. The conversation went in circles.
“Honestly, Vicky, its not the end of the world! Men stray sometimesits just how they are. Be wiser than this. Dont let some girl steal your husband!”
“Jeremy isnt some trophy I need to wrestle back,” Vicky snapped. “Should I challenge this Jane to a duel? A boxing match? Whats she got to do with it? If it wasnt her, itd be Ellie or Christina.”
“Let me tell you somethingJeremys father, Richard, wasnt perfect in his youth either. But I was smarter than you. I kept the family together. Thirty-five years later, here we are, celebrating our coral anniversary.”
“And what was this wisdom of yours?” Vicky arched a brow.
“I didnt make scenes. Instead, I was kindercooked his favorite meals, took interest in his work, fixed myself up. New haircut, lost weight, smiled when he came home. Sometimes I knew exactly where hed been, and God, I wanted to smack him with a frying pan. But I bit my tongue. And lookI kept my husband. My son grew up with a father, and now my grandson has a grandfather.”
“Youre an extraordinary woman, Patricia. I couldnt do it. Ive got this unfortunate thing called self-respect. What youre suggesting is like eating from a binno thanks.”
Patricia flushed, shot to her feet, and stormed out without another word.
Vicky kept packing. She knew this wasnt the endJeremy and Patricia would pester her again. Thats why she was in a hurry to leave.
The next day, her dad arrived with a van. They loaded up her boxes and suitcases and set off. On the way, she asked him to stop by Patricias to drop off the flat keys.
“Can you believe it?” Vicky told her friend Emily the next day. “Yesterday, Patricia spent an hour begging me to forgive Jeremys little slip and not file for divorce.”
“What was her reasoning?” Emily asked.
“The usual. Youre taking away Daniels father, All men cheat, Women should be wiser. Then she shared how she won back her own husband.”
“How?”
“I wont repeat it. Just trust meits bonkers. You wouldnt either.”
“Youve already filed?”
“Last Friday,” Vicky said.
“Good riddance to that Casanova. Watching that tosser was painful,” Emily muttered.
“Waityou knew about Jane?” Vicky stiffened.
“Not for certain, but I had suspicions,” Emily admitted guiltily.
“And you didnt tell me? I thought we were friends!” Vicky stood to leave.
“Hold on! First, I didnt know for sure. I saw the same things you didjust read them differently. Remember the office party? Jane hanging off Jeremy? Or how she kept volunteering for trips with him? Youre in HRdidnt you wonder why Jane kept swapping last-minute to travel with him? I suspected, but I wasnt certain. Couldve been wrong.”
“You couldve hinted!”
“And if I was wrong? Youd think I was stirring trouble. Remember Sarah Bell?”
“She told a friend she saw her husband with another womaneven showed her a photo of them hugging. The couple fought but made up, and Sarah got blamed for trying to wreck a happy marriage out of jealousy. She quit the company after. So forgive me for hesitating. If Id had proof, Id have told you. Where are you staying now?”
“The flat was in Patricias name, so Daniel and I are at my parents. But well move into Grans old place next weektenants just left. Its only two bedrooms, but its enough.”
“Ive sorted Daniels nursery transferMums friend helped. Once the divorce is done, Ill file for child support.”
“Will Jeremy agree?”
“He says he doesnt want a divorce, that hes learned his lesson. Once was enough for me. He begged me not to file for supportsaid hed pay voluntarily.”
“And?”
“No chance. I want it official. He threatened to take DanielMy flats better, my salarys higher. So I tallied up his business trips last year. Eight. Handy info for court. If he tries for custody, Ill ask who looks after Daniel when hes gone. Besides, Ive got a job and a home. He wont win.”
True to form, Jeremy filed for custody, claiming Vicky couldnt provide a suitable standard of living. Patricia wailed that Vicky was hiding Daniel”They left our flat, vanished after a week at her parents! Where is he? In some shady place?”
Vicky calmly explained they lived in her two-bed flat, Daniel attended a local nursery, and Jeremys constant travel made him an unfit primary carer.
In the end, neither Jeremy nor Patricia got their way.
Vicky found a new jobshe was good at her workand avoided Jeremy entirely.
Soon, Emily brought updates: “Jane quit and left.”
“Why?”
“The office ladies made her life hell. She stuck it out a month, realized the well was dry, and bolted for London. So your ex is alone now.”
“Doesnt bother me,” Vicky said.
And she meant it. After all, why drink from a well everyones spat in?
So, what do you think? Did Vicky do the right thing?
