I’m the only one left with you, Emily whispered, tears choking her words. George, I swear a devil led you astrayI dont know how this happened. Forgive me, I beg you! I vow Ill never speak to her again. If you want, Ill quit my job, we can go somewhere else. Just dont walk out on me
***
September greeted Emily with a crisp, stillgentle sun. Yellow leaves swirled at her feet, the air smelled of damp earth and the promise of autumn. She hurriedly packed her suitcases. Ahead lay a long journey to Yorkshire, where her mother lay bedridden with a sudden illness.
At first the doctors thought it was a simple chest infection, but a dread settled deep in Emilys chest and grew with each passing day. The shocking diagnosis hit her like a cold shower. George stayed behind; he could not accompany his wife. Emily had to make the only sensible choice: take her little son, Tommy, and fly straight to her mother. Thus began their brutal, exhausting battle against a relentless clock.
The first three months were a blur of endless doctor appointments, lab work, and frantic searches for a competent physician. Whenever a rare window of free time opened, Emily returned home, yet she felt something had shifted. The house was still tidy, the fireplace still warm, George still tried to keep the routine, but Emilys thoughts were stuck in the grey hills of Yorkshire. The home wasnt abandonedGeorge fought to preserve the familiar comfortbut Emilys focus had been torn away.
Just as her mother steadied, Emily was forced to pack again. Tommy, weary from flights and hospital corridors but obedient, followed her. More planes, more doctors, hope flickering then dying. By March a small relief arrived: her mothers condition improved enough for Emily to claim a brief respite, returning home for a couple of weeks.
It was during that fragile lull that a truth, like a stubborn weed, forced its way into the light. Tommy complained that his phone had slipped into the bath. Emily recalled a lifehack shed read in a womens magazinewrap the device in a bowl of rice.
***
Emily fished the smartphone out, turned it on. The screen lit up with a new message. George lay asleep on the sofa, breathing evenly.
Tommy, lookyour phone works, Emily said, handing him the device.
He lazily swiped through the notifications, then froze.
Whats that? Emily leaned in, noticing the change in his posture. The message read: Im falling in love with you more and more each day. What does that mean?
George snapped upright, coughing to mask his unease. His hands trembled ever so slightly.
Emily, youve got it all wrong, he blurted. Its just a joke, a colleagues prank. We mess around at work sometimes.
A joke? Emily crossed her arms, feeling a cold creep inside despite the warm room. Messing around?
Im being honest, its nonsense. We just work together, nothing personal.
Are you sure? Because messages like that arent usually sent by just colleagues, she pressed, studying his face for any hint of deceit.
Im sure as the sun is bright. Youre overthinking because of Mums illness. Lets drop it, go for a walk. The weathers lovely, we need fresh air.
His insistence to leave, to change the subject, was so strong that Emily, exhausted from three months of nonstop stress, let herself be swayed. She credited his urgency to nerves and fatigue and followed him outside. The false calm lasted only moments.
As they stepped back inside, another message pinged from the same colleaguethis one far more explicit. Emily felt a sting of jealousy but chose to confront George first, not to erupt into a scene.
Tommy, look at what she just sent. This isnt a joke.
George grabbed the phone, his face paling.
This this is a mistake. Ill tell her to stop.
Youll write it yourself, or should I? Emilys voice trembled.
Emily, I told youI love only you. Theres no point turning this into a drama over nonsense.
The cycle repeated: planes, hospitals, doctors, endless tests. Tommy remained the only constant in the chaos. Mothers health flickered again, granting Emily another brief breath of relief.
***
March arrived. Mother felt a little better, and Emily managed another short trip home, hoping to restore some balance. Balance, however, eluded her. The SMS thread she skimmed that day gnawed at her. She couldnt simply erase those words.
She decided not to wait for another excuse and confronted George directly.
Tommy, I need the truth. I cant live with your vague explanations.
Emily, Ive explained everything! It was a clumsy prank. I dont get why youre bringing it up again.
Because Im unsettled, she replied firmly.
George tensed.
Emily, why are you making this worse? Everythings already a mess
I spoke to your colleague, Emily said, her voice turning icecold, and she herself reached out to me.
George froze.
She wrote, Emily continued, staring straight into his eyes, Yes, I love him. Yes, we were together. What do you have to say to that, George?
He remained silent, his face turning ashen.
Leave, Emilys voice quivered with restrained fury, pack your things and go.
No, he whispered, youre making a huge mistake! I never did anything with her. She fabricated everything, and you believed some lunatic!
I dont believe you! Emily snapped, thrusting the phone forward, showing a screenshot of the confession, Look! This is your joke!
George dropped his head. Silence stretched forever. When he finally lifted his gaze, guilt and despair swam together in his eyes.
Fine. I slipped. I love only you, Emily. Its true.
Slipped? Emily laughed bitterly, Three years of lies in the face of me! How can a man disrespect a woman like that?
Its not a lie, I truly love you! Its just that you werent there, and I
Not there? Only cowards behave like that! Emily shouted, stepping back, Youre a coward!
But I didnt leave you, Emily, I didnt abandon you! he pleaded, reaching for her hand, Were together
Emily withdrew her hand. Whether he stayed or left mattered little now; the pain he caused eclipsed everything else.
Didnt abandon me? she asked, voice thick, You were torn between us, but you never truly left because it was convenient, not because you loved me. I cant waste any more time untangling your motives. I have to go. Mothers getting worse.
Another flight. Another journey to Yorkshire. Another battle, this time not only with her mothers illness but also with the weight of Georges betrayal
***
Mother passed in August. By New Years, Emily moved through the days like a phantom, mechanically performing chores. The house she once called a fortress now felt foreign. Tommy was her anchor, the sole reason she didnt dissolve into the endless grey.
When the first months of despair faded, she began to wake up, but never truly recovered. Every glance at George seared. She could not look at him, hear his voice, see his face, yet she clung to the need to care for Tommy, who seemed to sense her turmoil.
George, realizing the depth of his transgression, tried to mend things. He stayed nearby, offered help, begged forgiveness, pleaded for a fresh start.
Emily, please, lets try again. I made a terrible mistake. I know. I never left when you went to see your mother. Isnt that proof of my love?
Emilys mind replayed the text messages she had stumbled upon while cleaning her phone. The words she had missed in her desperation now surfaced with terrifying clarity.
Youre my everything, he had written to the other woman.
Her memory of her reply rang sharp:
Did I write everything right to your wife? Someone should have pushed her. Any other woman would have left, but you youre a rag!
Emily watched Tommy building a Lego tower in the corner, his concentration reminding her of her own childhoodfocused, bright, undeserving of a home filled with lies.
George entered, holding two mugs of tea.
Here, hot herbal tea. Please, have a sip.
Emily took the mug but didnt drink.
I cant, George
Emily, we agreedtime heals. Give us time. Ill do anything for your forgiveness.
Time? she smiled bitterly, Time showed how masterfully you can lie. You stayed because it got inconvenient to leave, not because I meant anything to you. Her messages prove it. She told you to tell me everything, didnt she?
That was stupid of her! I told her it was over!
You didnt forbid her, George. You chose the story that suited you at the moment, so I wouldnt collapse.
Emily inhaled deeply.
I cant forgive you. Not now. Maybe never. But I must live. Tommy must live. Well stay apart. Ill send him to his aunt for a couple of weeks, and Ill stay with a friend until I figure out what I want.
George went pale. He understood this wasnt a pause; it was a genuine risk of losing everything.
Emily, dont do this. Please. Ill see a therapist, any specialist. Ill quit my job if I have to. Just dont go.
Im not leaving you, George. Im leaving the lies, Emily whispered. I cant love you now, and I wont live in deceit any longer. Well talk when I returnif I ever return
***
Emily never returned. For two months they lived apart, then she made the final decisionshe would not keep the family together, even for Tommys sake. George changed jobs, cut ties with the other woman. Yet Emily knew that the young woman would forever linger in his and her memory, and she could never reconcile with that. Never.
