With money, I became younger. Years later, my husband learned the truth and we divorced.
I was born in a small English village. After finishing my GCSEs, I decided to attend a catering college, which I completed four years later. I then worked as a bartender at a local pub, but after five years, I realised that I needed to do something more with my life. My wages were low, and I wanted something better for myself.
It was at work where I met Thomas, who lived in London and had the right connections in the city. I travelled to London and arranged to meet him. I asked if he could help me get into university. He didnt say no but he warned me it would cost. I had savings, so I paid a considerable sum for his help.
With his assistance, I also managed to buy a new set of certificates. I paid for these new documents, which were still in paper form at the time. According to the certificates, I was five years younger, and my new report cards were filled with top marks.
Thomas helped me secure a place at university.
A new chapter of my life began. Now, I was surrounded by completely different peopleyoung and lively students. A year later, I got married. My husband was Mark, who was just nineteen at the time. He came from London, and I moved into his parents flat.
Once I finished university, the country was changing. Margaret Thatchers era had come to an end. Mark and I quickly settled down, rented a small place, and opened a pub together. Eventually, we managed to buy the place and became the owners of our own bar.
Life with Mark was comfortable, though we never had children. One day, we decided to visit the village where I had spent my youth. There, I met up with former classmates and old friends. Of course, my life was now very different from theirs, and I looked much younger than my peers. They were envious; one classmate even told Mark that Id worked in a pub and was actually older than he believed.
After that, Mark began to accuse me of deceiving him. He changed drastically; he started drinking heavily. In the end, we divorced. We had to divide the family business. I bought myself a flat, while Mark took out numerous loans from the bank with crippling interest rates after we separated. Everything collapsed around us.
Now, I still have to work, even though Ive reached retirement age. Often, I think about Thomas, who once told me it was unwise to forge documents. But no one can change the past or fix the mistakes of youth.
Recently, I visited my mother and bumped into an old classmate. Shes been retired for two years now, looking after her grandchildren and tending to her vegetable garden. Meanwhile, I still have to keep working, and my health isnt what it used to be. When were young, we make rash decisions and pay the price for them later in life.
Id truly appreciate any advice on how to come to terms with the foolish thing I did all those years ago.
