Emma discovered her husband’s infidelity by accident.
As is often the case, wives often find out about their husband’s unfaithfulness last. Only later did Emma realize what all those strange glances from her colleagues and whispers behind her back meant. It wasn’t a secret to anyone in their circle that Emma’s best friend Alice was having an affair with Jack. But Emma had no inkling.
She found out one evening when she unexpectedly returned home. Emma had been working as a doctor in a hospital for several years. On that day, she was supposed to be on the night shift. But at the end of the workday, a young colleague, Lily, approached her with a request:
“Hey, Emma, could you swap shifts with me? I’ll cover for you tonight, and you can take my shift on Saturday. I have no other plans,” Lily explained. “My sister’s getting married, and the wedding is on Saturday.”
Emma agreed. Lily was a pleasant and helpful person, and a wedding was a pretty good reason.
Later that evening, Emma returned home in high spirits, planning to surprise her husband. But a surprise waited for her instead. Barely setting foot into the house, Emma heard voices coming from the bedroom. One voice belonged to Jack, and the other… Well, she recognized it too; she just hadn’t expected to hear it at such a time, in that situation.
It was her best friend Alice’s voice. What Emma heard left no doubt about the nature of their relationship.
Emma left the house as quietly as she had entered. She spent the night sleepless at the hospital. How would she look her colleagues in the eye now? Everyone knew, yet she was blinded by her love for Jack, trusting him implicitly. Her husband was the center of her world. For his sake, she had given up her dream of having a child. Whenever she brought it up with Jack, he would say he wasn’t ready, that they should enjoy life first. Now Emma realized that Jack didn’t want children because he didn’t take their family seriously.
During that sleepless night, Emma made a decision she believed was the only right one. In the morning, she submitted a request for leave, followed by her resignation. Then she went home, packed her things while her husband was at work, and headed to the station. She had inherited a little cottage in the countryside from her grandmother. Emma decided to go there, figuring Jack wouldn’t bother looking for her in such a remote place.
At the station, she bought a new SIM card, discarding the old one. Emma severed all ties with her previous life and courageously stepped into her new one.
Within twenty-four hours, she got off the train at a familiar station. Emma hadn’t been there in almost ten years, since her grandmother’s funeral. Everything looked just as it had back then—quiet, sparsely populated. “Exactly what I need right now,” Emma thought.
Emma hitched a ride to the village and then walked another twenty minutes to her grandmother’s house. The years had tangled the garden with bushes, so reaching the front door took effort.
A few weeks were needed to get the house and garden in order. Emma wouldn’t have managed on her own, but the neighbors were a great help. They still remembered her grandmother, Cecilia, who had worked as a primary school teacher in the local school for over 40 years. Generations of village kids learned to read and write under Cecilia’s guidance. Now many wanted to help Emma in memory of their beloved teacher.
Emma hadn’t expected such a warm welcome. She was deeply grateful to everyone who helped her get settled.
Word about Emma being a doctor spread quickly through the village. One day, her nearest neighbor, Sarah, came running in a panic.
“Emma, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you today. My little one isn’t feeling well. She must have eaten something bad; she’s been having stomach troubles since morning.”
“Let’s go take a look at your daughter,” Emma offered, grabbing her medical bag and following Sarah.
The little girl, Daisy, had food poisoning. Emma helped her by setting up an IV and explained to Sarah how to care for her.
“Thank you so much, Emma,” Sarah said, full of gratitude. “I had no idea you were a doctor. The nearest hospital is 60 miles away. We used to have a village nurse, but he left a year ago, and no one’s replaced him since.”
From that moment on, villagers started turning to Emma for help, and she couldn’t refuse them. After all, they had welcomed her so warmly and helped her so much.
When word of a doctor reached the authorities, Emma was offered a position at the district clinic.
“No, I won’t work in the district,” Emma stated firmly. “But if you trust me with the village clinic, I’d be more than happy to take it on.”
The authorities were surprised—a city doctor with so much experience wanting to work in a village clinic—but Emma stood firm in her decision. Before long, the village clinic was up and running again, with Emma leading it.
One evening, someone knocked at Emma’s door. It was already late. But she wasn’t surprised by such a late visit—people fell ill at all hours.
Emma opened the door to a stranger. From his appearance, she immediately understood something was wrong.
“Miss Emma,” the visitor said. “I’ve come from Oakwood, about 10 miles from here. My daughter is very ill. At first, I thought she just had a cold, but her temperature hasn’t dropped for three days. Please, come with me and help her.”
Emma started getting ready, asking the man about the girl’s symptoms as she packed her things.
Upon arrival, Emma saw a small, very pale girl lying on the bed. The little one was struggling to breathe. Her lips were chapped, her hair tangled, and her eyelids fluttered with each breath.
After examining her, Emma said, “The situation is serious. She needs to be taken to the hospital.”
The man shook his head in refusal.
“We live alone, just me and my daughter. Her mum died shortly after she was born. This girl is all I have, and I can’t lose her.”
“But the hospital will be able to help her more quickly. There’s nothing more I can do; I don’t have the necessary medication.”
“Just tell me what medication you need, and I’ll get it. Just don’t take her to the hospital, please. There’s a 24-hour pharmacy in the district, so I can get everything we need. But… I don’t have anyone to watch her.”
Seeing the father’s fear and concern made Emma more sympathetic. It was only now that she fully took him in. He was about her age, tall, and had a striking head of chestnut hair. His eyes were a dark green, with long eyelashes any woman would envy.
“I’ll stay with her,” Emma said. “What’s her name?”
“Amy,” the man replied tenderly, looking at his daughter. “And I’m Richard. Thank you, doctor.”
Emma wrote a prescription, and Richard left for the district center.
Amy’s fever persisted, and she tossed and turned in bed, crying and calling for her father. Emma lifted the little girl into her arms, walking around the room while softly humming a lullaby until Amy finally calmed down.
A few hours later, Richard returned with the medication. Emma administered the injection and, in a tired voice, said, “Now we wait.”
Throughout the night, Richard and Emma stayed by Amy’s bedside. By morning, the fever began to break, and a bit of sweat appeared on her forehead.
“That’s a good sign,” Emma reassured. She was exhausted, but the satisfaction of turning the illness around helped her keep going.
“Thank you, doctor,” Richard repeatedly expressed his gratitude.
A year went by. Emma continued to work at the village clinic, tending to her fellow villagers and residents from nearby areas. But now she lived not in her old grandmother’s cottage but in Richard’s beautiful, spacious home. They had married six months after that harrowing night when Amy’s life had hung by a thread.
It took several more weeks to fully nurse the little girl back to health. Amy became very attached to Emma, and Emma loved her with all her heart. But as she embraced the girl, Emma often thought about the chance at motherhood she had once let slip away.
Every evening, Emma returned home, tired but happy, to the two people who awaited her with love.
One day, Richard greeted her at the doorstep, wrapping her in a hug.
“So, did you get your leave approved? I’ve planned a trip for the three of us.”
Emma gave a mysterious smile and replied, “I got the leave signed off, but we’ll be traveling not as three, but as four.”
Richard looked at her, puzzled for a moment, then caught her up in his arms and spun her around the yard in joy.
