“Vicky, in the end, nothing truly awful happened! Its just one of those things men dothey get carried away, lose control. Be wiser. Are you really going to let some girl take your husband? Shell think shes won! Fight for your family!” pleaded her mother-in-law.
On Saturday morning, Vicky dropped her son off at her parents house. Shed arranged for Daniel to stay with them for a while.
Back home, Victoria pulled cardboard boxes from the balcony and began packing. She started in the nursery, carefully folding clothes, packing toys and books, sealing each box with tape, and labeling them. Soon, only the furniture remainedthings she wouldnt be taking with her.
Around noon, her phone rang. It was her mother-in-law, Evelyn.
“Hello, Evelyn.”
“Good afternoon, Vicky. Jeremy told me everything. I know youre hurt, but must you rush into this? Take a moment, cool down, think it over. Is it really worth destroying your family?”
“Im not the one destroying itJeremy is,” Vicky replied.
“Vicky, Im not excusing him! But could you forgive him, just this once?”
“Just this once? Your sons been seeing his colleague for six months, lying to me. And you say ‘just this once’? No.”
“Please, think again. Youre taking Daniels father away from him. Jeremy adores that boy!”
“Evelyn, Jeremy can still see Daniel. I wont stop him. But I wont live with your son another day. Lets end thisIm busy packing.”
She finished the last two boxes, then moved to the bedroom to fill her suitcases.
Evelyn arrived an hour later, convinced she could change Vickys mind. Their conversation went in circles.
“Vicky, really, its not the end of the world! Men stray sometimesthey get swept up and dont stop in time. Be the bigger person. Will you really let some girl steal your husband? Fight for whats yours!”
“Jeremy isnt some trophy to fight over. Should I challenge this Jane to a duel? Or a boxing match? What does she have to do with it? If it wasnt her, itd be someone else.”
“Let me tell you somethingJeremys father, Edward, had his slip-ups too. But I was wiser than you. I stayed, and weve been married thirty-five years. Soon, well celebrate our coral anniversary.”
“And what was this wisdom of yours?” Vicky smirked.
“I never made a scene. Instead, I became more tender, cooked his favourite meals, took interest in his work. I changed my hairstyle, lost weight, greeted him with a smile. Sometimes I knew hed just come from *her*, and all I wanted was to swing a frying pan at his head. But I smiled through it. And lookI kept my husband. My son grew up with a father, and now my grandson has a grandfather.”
“Evelyn, youre an astonishing woman. I could never do that. Ive too much self-respect. What youre suggesting is like eating from a rubbish bin.”
Evelyn stormed out without another word.
Vicky kept packing, knowing Jeremy and Evelyn would still make trouble. She hurried to leave.
The next day, her father helped load the boxes into a van. On the way, she stopped at Evelyns to return the flat keys.
“Can you believe it?” Vicky told her friend Margaret the next day. “Evelyn spent an hour begging me to forgive Jeremys ‘little slip’ and not file for divorce.”
“What did she say?”
“The usual’Youre taking Daniels father away,’ ‘All men cheat,’ ‘Women must be wiser.’ Then she shared how she won her husband back.”
“How?”
“I wont repeat it. Trust me, its madness. Youd never do it.”
“Have you filed?”
“Yes, last Friday.”
“Finally free of that Casanova. It was painful watching that two-timing fool,” Margaret said.
“Painful to watch? You *knew* about him and Jane?”
“Not for certain, but I suspected. I saw what you sawjust drew different conclusions. Remember the office party? How Jane hovered around him? How many times did she arrange to travel with him? I work in accountswhy didnt it strike you as odd how often shed swap last-minute to go with him? I suspected, but without proof, I couldnt say.”
“You couldve hinted!”
“And if I was wrong? Remember Sarah Bell? She told a friend shed seen her husband with another womaneven showed a photo of them embracing. There was a row, they made up, and Sarah was branded a troublemaker. She left the company. I didnt want that. But if Id had solid proof, Id have told you.”
Vicky sighed. “Were staying with my parents for now. My grandmothers flats being fixed uptenants left last month. Its only two bedrooms, but enough for us. Then theres nurserytoo far now, but Mums friend promised help transferring to one nearby. Once divorced, Ill file for child support.”
“Does Jeremy agree?”
“He says he doesnt want divorce, swears hes changed. But Im done. He begged me not to file for support, promised to pay voluntarily.”
“And?”
“I refused. I want it official. He threatened to take Daniel’My flats better, my salarys higher.’ I counted his business trips last yeareight. Saved it for court. When he claims custody, Ill ask who looks after Daniel when hes away. Ive a job, a home. Hell lose.”
Jeremy did file for custody, claiming Vicky couldnt provide for Daniel. Evelyn accused her of hiding the boy”They vanished after a week at her parents!”
Vicky proved they lived in her two-bed flat, Daniel attended nursery nearby, and Jeremys frequent travel made him an unfit primary carer. They lost.
Vicky found a new jobshe was skilledand avoided Jeremy.
Soon, Margaret brought news: “Jane quit and left.”
“Why?”
“The office women made it clear she wasnt welcome. She lasted a month, saw no future, and bolted for London. So your ex is alone now.”
“Doesnt bother me,” Vicky said.
And she meant it. Some wells are too poisoned to drink from again.
### **Lesson:** Self-respect isnt negotiable. Staying for appearances or fear only deepens the wound. True strength lies in walking away when the cost is your dignity.
