Returning home, she found neither her husband nor his belongings.
“Well, why are you looking at me like that?” Zoe smirked. “Stan just wanted to prove hes a real catch. Thats all there is to it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The plain truth, love,” drawled Stans ex-wife.
“I dont understand,” Emily murmured, bewildered.
“Oh! Heres Stanhell explain everything,” Zoe nodded toward the distance.
Emilys mother, Margaret, had raised her like a delicate, treasured bloom.
A stern woman who managed her own timber yard with an iron will, Margaret softened entirely around her only daughterher voice gentle, her eyes warm with affection.
So Emily grew up tender, fragile, and trusting. She had known no hardship, attending both a regular and music school, where she learned to play the piano with joy.
She never became a great musician, but she made a fine teacher.
All she needed was a good marriage, and soon enough, a charming suitor appearedVincent.
He courted her beautifully, spending his modest salary as a driver on her, whispering sweet words and gazing into her eyes so tenderly.
Only her mother disapproved.
“A layabout and a fool!” Margaret declared.
“But Mum, I love him,” Emilys blue eyes welled with tears.
“Fine, fine,” her mother relented. “But youll live with me!”
Their spacious three-bedroom flat had room for all, and Vincent had no objections to living with his mother-in-law, who spent most of her days at work.
He had nothing to his name.
The caring, gentle Vincent soon revealed his true selfdrinking, staying out late, snapping at his young wife.
In Margarets presence, he barely kept up appearances.
Emily refused to see his flaws.
Exactly nine months after the wedding, she gave birth to a son, little Leo, and rejoiced in their new family.
But Leo was sickly, demanding constant attention, and Vincent grew increasingly resentful.
Emily endured, hoping for better.
Her patience ended when her mother died suddenly, having barely a year to enjoy her grandson.
The funeral was arranged by Margarets old friend, Geoffrey.
Vincent didnt come home for days. When he finally appeared, his belongings were already packed in the hallway.
He threatened lawsuits and property division, but Emily remained silent.
Thanks to Geoffreya seasoned solicitorhe was swiftly shown the door.
Emily and Leo never saw Vincent again.
Running the timber yard was beyond her, so Geoffrey hired capable managers.
Financially, they wanted for nothing.
Grieving her mother and her divorce, Emily had no friends or family to lean onjust her son, who needed her love.
She focused entirely on him, shutting out any thought of men (Geoffrey didnt count).
One rainy day, she and five-year-old Leo left the clinic, struggling to stay dry under a large umbrella.
Waiting indoors was pointlessthe downpour showed no sign of stopping. With no car and taxis unavailable, they risked the walk.
“Hop in quick!” A car screeched to a halt beside them, the driver flinging the door open. “Hurryno parking here!”
Strangely, Emily felt no fear. She recognised himtheyd crossed paths at the clinic, where he brought his son, around Leos age.
“Thank you!” she said warmly after the ride. (Theyd exchanged namesStan.)
“My pleasure!” He grinned. “Now, how about your number?”
She tensed.
“Sorry, I dont see married men,” she said, ushering Leo toward their building.
She didnt expect to see him again so soon, yet there he was the next day, waiting in the courtyard.
“Im not married,” he said by way of greeting, thrusting divorce papers at herfinalised a month prior.
Had loneliness worn her down? Was it Stans cheerfulness, his kindness? Or how quickly Leo took to him?
Later, she couldnt explain why she agreed to let him join their walk, then stay for dinner.
Soon, they saw each other daily, and she fell deeper in love.
So deeply that when he proposed a month later, it felt right. He loved her, adored Leowhat more did she need?
Leos bond with Stan decided it. The boy worshipped him, calling him “Dad” before the wedding.
“Dad” didnt object. She simply rejoiced.
After marrying, Stan suggested adopting Leo.
“Always wanted two sons,” he said, then darkened.
Emily stroked his shoulder sympathetically. She knew his ex-wife, now with a wealthy man, barred him from seeing his son, and it tormented him.
Three months after meeting, they were a family.
The one thing Emily kept from Stan was her true financial standing.
The timber yard, though modest, provided steady income, split three ways (as agreed with new partners).
She saved it allfor Leos education, his future home. Geoffrey, before retiring to the coast, had taught her: some things neednt be shared.
If Stan suspected, he never let on.
Yet the idyll lasted less than a year.
Stan grew distant, returning from work sullen and irritable.
“Just stress from the boss,” hed mutter.
“Cant you transfer?” shed ask. “Youre a skilled electrician.”
“Ill sort it.”
Soon, he stopped excusing himselfglowering in silence or snapping at her.
He ignored Leo, but his irritation with the boy was obvious.
Then, the truth came.
Theyd been walking in the park, waiting for Stan to join them for ice cream.
“Shouldnt have let him adopt the boy,” a womans mocking voice cut in. “Hell suffer.”
Emily turned. A striking brunette in a bright orange coat sat beside her.
“Do I know you?”
“Not yet. Im Zoe. Stans ex-wife. Temporarily ex.”
Emily stared. Thank goodness Leo was playing out of earshot.
“Why the look?” Zoe smirked. “Stan just wanted to prove hes still desirable. Simple as that.”
“What?”
“The truth, sweetheart. Ask him yourself.”
Stan approached, eyeing them warily.
“Explain it to her, Stan,” Zoe said, ruffling his hair before strolling off. “Were waiting!”
“What did she tell you?” Stan demanded.
Emily swallowed. “She said you married me to spite her.”
He sighed. “She kept goading meWhod want you? Flaunting her rich bloke, Max. I cracked, filed for divorce.”
“Why adopt Leo?”
“To make it real. New wife, new sonperfect life.”
“So I was just a pawn?”
Silence.
“What now?”
“Dunno. Id sort of gotten used to you.”
He decided quickly. That night, he didnt come home.
By morning, his things were gone.
Emily exhaled, dialling Geoffrey. She needed a solicitor again.
**Lesson:** Love should never be a game. True worth isnt proven through others, but by honesty and kindnesstraits no illusion can replace.
