“Hello there. I’m Yuri’s wife. Mind if I come in?”
For a whole week, the medical school had been buzzing with excitement over the upcoming volleyball match against the team from the engineering university. Emily had been pestering Jennifer all morning to go watch the game.
“I don’t like volleyball—I don’t like sports at all. I don’t get the appeal,” Jennifer kept refusing.
“What’s there to get? We’ll just cheer for our team, hope they win. Come on, do it for me,” Emily whined.
“It’s not about the match for you, it’s about Daniel,” Jennifer sighed and finally agreed.
The gym was packed, every bench along one wall completely full. But against all odds, Jennifer got swept up in the energy. Soon, she was shouting along with the crowd, waving the team’s red flags—medical students wore red, the engineering supporters wore blue. In the end, the medical team won, and the girls celebrated like they’d personally secured the victory.
“Home?” Jennifer asked as they stepped out of the building. It was dark by then, streetlights glowing softly.
“Let’s wait for Daniel, congratulate him. He’ll change and come out soon,” Emily pleaded, her voice hoarse from cheering.
They didn’t have to wait long. Soon, Daniel appeared with another bloke, spotted them, and introduced his teammate, Yuri. Turned out, they’d been mates since secondary school. They walked together, chatting about the game, then split—Daniel walked Emily home, and Yuri walked Jennifer. And just like that, they started dating.
A year later, after Jennifer graduated, she and Yuri got married. Yuri had finished uni a year earlier and was already working. Both sets of parents chipped in for the deposit, and the newlyweds bought a two-bedroom flat on a mortgage, thinking ahead to future kids.
Three years into their marriage, Jennifer had a son, and six years later, a daughter.
Between maternity leaves, Jennifer worked at a dental clinic, treating family, friends, and their acquaintances. Yuri was an engineer at a big firm. He rarely played volleyball now, only occasionally on summer beach trips, but he’d kept in good shape, still as fit and handsome as ever. Every time Jennifer admired him, she remembered their first meeting. It was hard to imagine she could’ve missed him—she hadn’t even wanted to go to that match.
Of course, the fiery passion of early marriage had mellowed, but they lived happily. They hosted holidays, went to friends’ cottages for barbecues on weekends, holidayed by the sea, even took a couple of trips to Turkey—once just the two of them, and once with their son Jacob. Olivia wasn’t even a thought yet. Among their friends, they were *that* couple—the ones who’d somehow made it work when nearly everyone else had split.
Emily envied Jennifer in a good-natured way. She reckoned Jennifer owed her happiness to her—if she hadn’t talked her into going to that match, Jennifer and Yuri would’ve never met. But Emily and Daniel? That hadn’t worked out. She’d married, divorced two years later, and was still searching for *her* happy ending.
One evening, Jennifer was helping Jacob with his homework—Year 5 was tougher than expected. Olivia sat beside them, tongue sticking out in concentration as she scribbled away.
“Mum, your phone’s buzzing, I think,” Jacob said, glancing up from his workbook.
Jennifer listened. Sure enough, the vibration hummed from the counter. She usually kept it on silent at home—calls came often. Someone’s toothache needing advice, someone begging her to squeeze their *very important* contact in at the clinic. Even with the ringer off, she always answered. She was a doctor—how could she ignore someone in pain?
This time, it was Emily. Jennifer swiped to answer, cutting straight to, “I’m helping Jacob with homework—can I call you later?”
“Later’ll be too late,” Emily said. “Yuri’s not home, is he?”
“Still at work. Said he’d be late. Why?”
“He’s not at work. Just saw him at a restaurant with some pretty young thing. I’m on a date, stepped outside to call you. They got in his car and drove off—probably to her place. Hate to be the one to tell you, love, but this isn’t a one-off. They’re serious. I’ve got an eye for this. You hearing me?”
“I hear you,” Jennifer said.
She knew women fancied Yuri. But he’d never given her reason to doubt him. Emily had been drinking—could be seeing things. Maybe she’d mistaken someone else for him. Or maybe Jennifer had missed the signs.
“I’ve only had one drink,” Emily said, like she’d read her mind. Her voice was steady. “Don’t think I’m stirring trouble out of envy. I care about you and Yuri. Never once tried to nick him off you—he was mad for you from day one. But I couldn’t keep quiet. Forewarned is forearmed.”
“The bloke I’m with? He’s a copper. Want me to ask him to dig up her details? Doubt he’d say no. Frankly, I’d love to drag that homewrecker by the hair myself. But it’s your call. Just remember—you’ve got two kids. Men like Yuri don’t grow on trees. So? Want me to find out?”
From anyone else, Jennifer might’ve doubted it. But Emily? She wouldn’t lie. Why would she?
“You there?” Emily pressed.
“Find out,” Jennifer said, tossing the phone aside like it was the one to blame.
“Mum!” Jacob called.
“One sec.”
She walked to the kitchen, leaned against the counter. Her hands trembled. Yuri… with another woman. An old film title flashed in her mind—*It Can’t Be True!* But Emily had known him for years. She wouldn’t mistake him.
Jennifer clenched her icy fingers. Her heart ached, her face burned, but inside, a cold dread spread. Maybe it *was* just a business meeting? But Emily said they were serious. Yuri was just a man—plenty fell for a pretty face. Happened all the time. And women had always fancied him—who knew that better than her? What now? Throw a fit, smash dishes? Scare the kids? Screaming would only push him away. That’s how these things worked—wives nagged, mistresses gave men what they missed at home. All patience, softness, no demands… What was she supposed to do?
“Mum, I can’t figure out this problem.” Jacob hovered in the doorway.
“Alright, I’ll be right there,” Jennifer said flatly, not turning.
Jacob lingered, then left.
Back in the living room, Jennifer forced herself to focus on the maths problem. By the time Yuri got home, she’d pulled herself together—met him smiling.
“Want me to heat up dinner?”
“Nah, had coffee at work. Knackered. Just gonna shower and sleep.”
She put Olivia to bed, then sat at the kitchen table for ages, sipping tea to steady herself, thinking, thinking…
Yuri was asleep when she finally slipped in beside him. She didn’t drift off till dawn. Who could sleep after finding out their husband was cheating?
In the morning, she woke with a headache, eyes gritty. Made breakfast, roused Olivia. Yuri got up on his own, fresh as a daisy, wolfing down his food.
“Can you drop Olivia at nursery? I’m not feeling great.”
“Course. Get some rest—you’re on the late shift today, right?”
Yuri always remembered birthdays—the kids’, hers, their parents’, even the day they’d met. Knew her rota by heart. A normal morning. Everything as usual. And yet, nothing was.
“You’ll pick Olivia up later? Just checking.”
“Yeah, ’course. Didn’t need to remind me,” Yuri called from the hall.
The next day, Jennifer stopped by her mum’s after work. She needed to talk, to hear advice.
“What do I do, Mum?”
“Don’t know, love. When your dad strayed, I went nuclear—screaming, shouting… Didn’t even need to follow him. Everyone knew but me. Went to her place, smashed it up. Nearly cracked her skull with a stool. Your dad walked in, stopped me.”
“Why’re you looking at me like that? Didn’t think I had it in me? Felt rotten after. Heat of the moment, you do mad things. Your dad said he couldn’t live with me after that. Left. I cried for weeks, didn’t want to go on. Then he came back. But I turned him away.”
“Did you regret not forgiving him?”
“At first, no—even though it was hard. But I only had you. You’ve got two—Jacob needs his dad. Later? Yes, I regretted it. None of us were happy. He stayed with her ’til he died—nowhereShe watched Yuri playing volleyball on the beach that summer, laughing under the sun, and for the first time in months, a quiet hope settled in her heart—maybe love wasn’t about never faltering, but about choosing each other, again and again, even after the stumbles.
