La vida
00
I was eight years old when my mum left home. She walked to the corner, hailed a cab, and never came back. My brother was five. Everything changed after that. Dad began doing things he’d never done before: waking up early to cook breakfast, learning how to do laundry, ironing school uniforms, fumbling through brushing our hair before we left for school. I watched him misjudge rice portions, burn meals, forget to separate whites from coloured clothes in the wash. But somehow we never went without. He came home tired from work and helped with homework, signed our exercise books, and made lunchboxes for the next day. Mum never came to visit. Dad never brought another woman home, never introduced anyone as his partner. We knew he went out and sometimes got back late, but his personal life stayed outside our walls. There was only me and my brother. I never heard him say he’d fallen in love again. His routine was work, come home, cook, wash, sleep, repeat. On weekends he took us to the park, the river, the shopping centre—even if it was just to window-shop. He learnt how to braid hair, sew on buttons, and make packed lunches. When we needed costumes for school plays, he fashioned them from cardboard and old fabric. He never complained. Never said, “This isn’t my job.” A year ago, Dad passed away—it happened quickly, with no chance for long goodbyes. While sorting through his things, I found old notebooks: lists of household expenses, important dates, reminders like “pay the school fee,” “buy shoes,” “take the girl to the doctor.” No love letters, no photos with another woman, no sign of a romantic life. Just the traces of a man who lived for his children. Since he’s been gone, one question won’t leave me alone: Was he happy? My mum left to find her own happiness. Dad stayed and, it seemed, gave up his own. He never rebuilt a family. Never had a home with a partner. Never again became a priority for anyone but us. Now I realise what an incredible father I had. But I also see that he was a man who stayed alone so that we wouldn’t be. And that weighs heavy. Because now he’s gone, I wonder if he ever received the love he deserved.
I was eight years old when my mother left our home. She walked to the end of the street, got into a taxi
La vida
01
Born Again to Happiness: A Widow’s Retreat from Grief, an Unexpected Sanatorium Romance, a Second Chance at Love—and the Blended English Family That Learned to Forgive
Man, please stop following me everywhere I go! I told you already, Im mourning my husband. Dont pursue
La vida
07
“Get Out of My House!” Boris Roared – A Mother-in-law’s Cruel Words Push Her Son to Defend His Adopted Daughter and Break All Family Ties
Get out! bellowed Barry. You son, what are you his mother began, hauling herself upright, clutching the
La vida
03
Lina Was “Bad”—Very Bad, Honestly Almost Pitiful: Unloved by All, Judged for Living Alone Without a Husband, Looked Down on at Work for Not Boasting of Housework Like the Married Women, Rumoured to Have Many Lovers, Scolded by Her Mum for Failing to “Settle Down” Again After Two Disastrous Marriages, Mocked for Enjoying Her Own Company and Rejecting Drudgery—But Despite All Their Gossips and Sighs, Lina Just Smiles Secretly and Dances Through Life, “Bad” in Their Eyes, But Content in Her Own
Monday, 7th March Sometimes I wonder just how bad I truly am, or rather, how willingly the world wants
La vida
04
Staring into the Void: When Young Love, Family Scandals, and Broken Promises Shatter the Dream of Happiness for Anna, Dima, and Their Daughters in Small-Town England
STARING INTO THE VOID David and Alice got married when they had just turned nineteen. They couldn’
La vida
01
“Mum, It’s Us, Your Sons… Mum…” She Looked at Them Anna and Robert Had Spent Their Entire Lives Struggling in Poverty. Once Full of Hope, Anna Watched Her Dreams Fade as Hardship and Addiction Took Over. With Three Sons Born in Quick Succession and Little Income, Despair Consumed the Family. After Years of Sacrifice, Both Parents Fell into the Grip of Alcohol, Forgetting Their Children as the Village Watched Helplessly. When a Neighbor Suggested the Boys Were Better Off in an Orphanage, Anna and Robert Relinquished Them. Years Passed—The Brothers Grew Up, Found Jobs, and Stuck Together, Always Haunted by the Parents Who Abandoned Them. One Day, They Returned to Find Their Mother, Staring Blankly, Until Recognition Dawns and Tears Flow. Can They Forgive the Past?
Mum, its us, your children Mum She glanced at them. Emma and George had spent their lives on the edge
La vida
010
My Husband Always Told Me I Wasn’t Feminine Enough — At First He Just Hinted I Should Wear More Makeup, Dresses, and Be Softer, but I’ve Always Been Practical, Straightforward, and Not Much for Vanity. As Time Went On, His Comments Became More Frequent, Comparing Me to Women We Saw on Social Media or Wives of Friends, Saying I Seemed More Like a Mate Than a Wife. I Never Thought It Was Serious—Until the Day I Buried My Father, When He Criticised How I Looked in My Grief and Said My Appearance Would Make People Talk. Now I See Him Differently—But I Feel I Can’t Leave He’s All I Have. What Would You Say to a Woman in My Position?
My husband used to remark that I wasnt feminine enough. At first, hed mention it in passingsuggesting
La vida
06
A Week Before Our Wedding, She Told Me She Didn’t Want to Get Married. Everything Was Already Paid For—The Venue, Legal Papers, Rings, Even Part of the Family Celebration. I’d Spent Months Organising It All, Working Full-Time and Setting Aside 20% of My Salary Every Month for Her—Hairdresser, Nails, Everything She Wanted. I Thought Supporting Her Was My Duty as a Partner. A Year Before, I Took Her Entire Family on a Seaside Holiday, Paying for Everything After Saving and Working Late Hours. Then, Just Days Before the Ceremony, She Told Me She Never Wanted to Marry—That I’d Done Too Much, That My Love Felt Overwhelming. She Said Yes to My Proposal Only Because I Asked in Front of Her Family. With Five Days To Go, She Walked Away, Leaving Behind the Contracts, Paid Bills, Plans and a Cancelled Wedding. That Was the Week I Learned Being the Man Who Pays For Everything, Fixes Everything, and Is Always There Doesn’t Mean Someone Will Stay With You.
The wedding was only a week away when Emily looked at me, her eyes rimmed red, and said she didnt want
La vida
010
My Husband Never Cheated, But Years Ago He Stopped Being My Husband: Seventeen Years Together, from Young Love and Shared Dreams to Living Like Strangers Under the Same Roof
My husband never cheated on me, but years ago he quietly stopped being my husband. Seventeen years wed
La vida
04
I’m 38 and for years I thought I was the problem — that I was a bad mother, a bad wife, and that something was wrong with me, because even though I kept everything running at home and at work, inside I felt empty and had nothing left to give. I woke up every day at 5:00am, packed school lunches, ironed uniforms, got the kids ready, tidied the house, and went to work, sticking to schedules and always smiling, so no one noticed the exhaustion and invisible pain. At home, I cooked, helped with homework, mediated squabbles, and made sure everything looked fine on the outside, while inside I was desperate and afraid I was failing everyone, thinking perhaps my children would be better off without me. Even my partner didn’t notice, brushing off my fatigue—so I stopped talking. Nights alone in the bathroom became my refuge. And when the day came when I finally couldn’t function—I sat on the kitchen floor unable to move—nobody came to help. It wasn’t until therapy that someone finally told me: this doesn’t mean you’re a bad mum. Asking for help was slow, awkward, and guilt-ridden, but it saved me. Now, I still raise my children and work, but I’ve stopped pretending to be perfect, and I know I was never a bad mother—I was just utterly exhausted.
I’m 38 now, and for the longest time, I thought the problem was me. I believed I was a terrible