Oh man, let me tell you this story…
Lily first met James when he’d just come back from serving in the army. Bloke looked like he’d stepped straight out of a magazine—tall, fit, with these mesmerising green eyes and dark, curly hair. Next to him, Lily felt plain, even though she was pretty in her own way—blonde, slender, with a sweet smile. She couldn’t believe her luck when, out of their whole group, he picked her.
“What does he even see in you?” her mates whispered. “Guys like that don’t stick around. He’ll have his fun and be gone before you know it.”
But Lily just smiled—she believed in what they had. They went to the cinema, danced, met up with friends. James wasn’t one for grand romantic gestures, but he was *there*, and his touch made her weak at the knees. The first time she brought him home, her mum—Margaret—frowned. Later, she pulled Lily aside and said quietly,
“Handsome husbands make bad husbands, love. Men like that don’t stay faithful. Don’t rush into anything—test him first. He’s too… polished.”
Lily was hurt. She trusted James’s feelings and didn’t want to hear any doubts. But her mum’s words planted a tiny seed of worry.
Slowly, James started changing. First, it was the gym, then the pool, then new mates. Lily joined the same gym just to stay close, but she felt out of place next to the toned, glamorous girls. James couldn’t help looking at them, and more often than not, Lily left early, trying to hide her tears.
“You’re such a weakling,” he scoffed once when she caught a cold after swimming. “Stick to your books.”
The words stung, and Lily remembered her mum’s warning. She could feel James slipping away. He started going out alone, not calling, not inviting her, not explaining. Then one day—he just vanished. No calls, no texts.
“He still not ringing?” her mum asked.
“No,” Lily whispered, turning her face to the wall.
“Right, get up! We’re going to the salon!” Margaret ordered. “New haircut—first step to a new life. Then we’ll get you a dress. You’ve got the skills for it.”
They bought fabric; Lily sketched designs, forcing herself to move on. Rumours about James’s new girls reached her, but she held her head high. And when she turned up at the local dance a few weeks later—new look, glowing, confident—people noticed.
One lad, Thomas—quiet, not exactly a looker—started paying her attention. Not handsome, but his eyes were always on Lily, warm and steady. A month later, he proposed.
“Now *that’s* a proper man,” her mum said. “Falls in love, puts a ring on it. So?”
“I’ll marry him,” Lily murmured.
“Do you love him?”
“How could I not? He’s kind. Hardworking. Loyal. He wants *me*—just me.”
Their wedding was cosy, full of heart. They started from scratch—first chairs, first plates. A year later, their daughter was born. Three years after that, a son. A family, a home, real happiness.
She didn’t think about James anymore. Except sometimes, in passing, she’d hear he’d left his wife, run off with a mistress, was back to his old ways. Lily would just smile.
“Was he ever really mine? Just a chapter. Hope he finds happiness—if he can.”
At home, her kids and husband waited. And her mum—wise, loving, irreplaceable. The one who’d saved her from real heartbreak. The reason Lily found her quiet, steady happiness.
Mum… stay with me a little longer. Without you, the world’s not half as bright.
