After ten years of marriage, she left me for another man. A year later, she returned, pregnant and broken
She walked away with someone else after a decade together. A year later, she stood on my doorstep, heavy with child and shattered.
I met my wife, Eleanor, nearly twelve years ago. Back then, I was still studying at the engineering school in Manchester, living in student halls. Eleanor had just arrived from a quiet village in Cornwalllost, alone, a stranger in the noisy city. We didnt grow close straight away. At first, I barely noticed her, she was so quiet. She kept to herself with her books, hardly speaking a word.
But time worked its magic. After a few months, we began to talkhesitant at first, then every evening without pause. She shared her doubts; I told her my dreams. Soon, we were given a shared room in the hallsthe warden trusted us, seeing how serious we were. Thats how our life began.
I always knew what I wanted. To be a strong man, a pillar, someone who could build not just walls but a warm home within them. I told her plainly: You wont work. A woman should care for the home and children. And if a man cant provide for his family, he isnt a man. She didnt argue. She cooked, cleaned, waited for me each evening. We were a proper family.
Over the years, I climbed the ladder. I joined a construction firm, worked my way up to site manager, then started my own business. We bought a house in the suburbs, two carsone for me, one for her. We lived the life wed dreamed of. Everything except one thing: children. The years passed, and the house stayed silent. We saw dozens of doctors, spent thousands of pounds, endured test after test Nothing worked. I hid my pain. She stayed quiet too, but her eyes were empty. One day, we gave up. If fate denied us this, it wasnt meant to be.
Then everything collapsed. Without warning. Without a chance to understand.
I came home early that dayto beat the traffic. No car in the drive. The gate left wide open. Strange. I waited. The evening dragged on, endless. Then, a text from an unknown number:
Forgive me. I cant live a lie anymore. Theres someone else. Hes coming home, and Im leaving with him. Ive betrayed you, but maybe one day youll understand
The ground fell away beneath me. I sat on the floor, in the house Id built for two, now just one. Only Theo, my best friend and business partner, pulled me through. He stopped me from drowning in drink or walking away from everything.
Time passed. I learned to breathe again. I saw Eleanor in photos onlinestanding before the Scottish Highlands. She was living somewhere up there. Impossible to erase her from my mind. Everything here still spoke of her. I prayed for her return. And the universe listened.
A year later, to the day, the doorbell rang. I opened itand nearly collapsed. It was her. Thin, hollow-eyed, clothes worn and dirty. And that belly. Swollen. She was near the end.
Eleanor fell to her knees, sobbing, begging for forgiveness. Her lover had thrown her out. Shed cheated on him too, and hed cast her aside. She had nothing left: no money, no home, no hope. Except me.
You can judge me. Call me weak, say I shouldve slammed the door in her face. But you know what? I couldnt. Because, despite everything, I still loved her. Because even through the pain, I wanted her beside me. Because I knew one thing: we all deserve a second chance. And if I didnt forgive her, Id lose myself.
Years have passed. We have a son nowthe one I thought Id never have. I love him as if he were my own, because he is: by my choice, by my love. And I love Eleanor, even if the scar on my heart will never fade.
Ive never thrown the past in her face. Never brought it up again. Because to truly love is to choose to stay. No matter what.
