**A Real Man**
Emily and Gary had been together for two years. Emily’s mother was starting to worry that her daughter was wasting her time with him—marriage seemed nowhere in sight. Gary always said there was no rush, that they’d get there eventually, that they were happy as they were.
Summer passed, leaves fell from the trees, scattering golden carpets across the pavements, and then the rains came. On one particularly damp and dreary October afternoon, Gary suddenly, clumsily, proposed, presenting her with a modest little ring.
She threw her arms around his neck and whispered, *”Yes,”* into his ear, then slid the ring onto her finger and shouted, *”Yes!”*—stretching her arms to the sky and bouncing with joy.
The next day, they went to the registry office, blushing and nervous, to file their notice. The wedding was set for mid-December.
Emily had wanted a summer wedding, where everyone could see how beautiful she looked in her white dress. But she didn’t argue. What if he pushed it back to next summer? What if he changed his mind entirely? She loved him too much to risk losing him.
On the wedding day, a fierce blizzard blew in. The wind tousled her carefully styled hair, the airy hem of her white dress billowed like a bell, and it seemed any moment a gust might sweep the beautiful bride away. On the doorstep, Gary scooped his happy wife into his arms and carried her to the car. Neither the storm nor the wind-tangled hair could dampen their joy.
At first, Emily basked in love and happiness. It felt like it would last forever. Oh, they had their little quarrels, but by nightfall, they’d always make up, loving each other even more.
A year later, their happy little family welcomed Daniel.
The boy was calm and bright, a delight to his parents. Gary, like most men, hardly helped Emily with him—afraid to hold the baby, and if he did, Daniel would wail until Emily took him back.
*”You’re better at this,”* Gary would say. *”When he’s older, I’ll play football with him. For now, I’ll focus on providing.”* But his salary barely kept them afloat.
Daniel grew, started nursery, and Emily went back to work. Money stayed tight—saving for a mortgage deposit was impossible. The arguments began, each blaming the other for unnecessary spending. Making up wasn’t as easy as it used to be.
*”I’ve had enough. I work my fingers to the bone, and it’s still never enough. Are you eating the money?”* Gary snapped one day.
*”You’re the one stuffing yourself,”* Emily shot back. *”Look at that belly.”*
*”Don’t like it? You’ve changed too. I married a butterfly, and now you’re a caterpillar.”*
The fight grew vicious. Emily wiped tears from her lashes as she went to pick Daniel up from nursery. On the way home, listening to his chatter, she realised she couldn’t lose Gary. She’d go home, hug him, kiss him, and say sorry—and he’d kiss her back, and things would be right again. *The course of true love never did run smooth,* she thought, her spirits lifting as she urged Daniel to hurry.
But the flat was silent and dark when they arrived. Gary’s coat and shoes were gone. *”He’ll cool off and come back,”* Emily decided, frying potatoes with bacon—his favourite.
But Gary never returned. He didn’t answer her calls. The next morning, exhausted from sleeplessness and dark thoughts, Emily took Daniel to nursery and went to work. Barely surviving till lunch, she feigned illness to leave early—but instead of going home, she went to Gary’s office.
Quietly opening his door, she froze. Gary was kissing another woman, her manicured hands splayed across his back like pale maple leaves. The woman noticed Emily first, but instead of pulling away, she clung tighter.
Emily fled. She stumbled through the streets, blinded by tears, until she found herself at her mother’s house.
*”Mum, why would he do this? Are all men like this?”* she sobbed.
*”Like what?”*
*”Cheaters. This must’ve been going on for ages. It can’t just happen like this.”*
*”I don’t know, love. When you love someone, they’re your whole world. So when they betray you, it feels like the whole world’s betrayed you,”* her mother sighed. *”He’ll come back.”*
*”What if he doesn’t?”*
*”Time will heal you. You’ve got your son. Focus on him. And if he doesn’t return… maybe it’s for the best. You’re young. You’ll find happiness again.”*
*”You never did.”*
*”How do you know? Maybe I was just afraid—afraid it’d happen again, afraid for you. But you’ve got Daniel. He needs a father…”*
Calmer, Emily collected Daniel.
*”Mum, play with me,”* he asked at home.
*”Leave me alone,”* she snapped.
*”I don’t like it when you talk like that,”* he said quietly, retreating.
Gary returned as Emily was putting Daniel to bed. He pulled out a suitcase and started packing.
*”Where are you going?”* she asked, though she knew.
*”Leaving. I’m done—done with the fights, this cramped flat, the sight of you.”* He wouldn’t meet her eyes.
*”What about us?”*
*”You wanted the wedding, the kid? Now live with him.”* He zipped the case, glancing at Daniel’s wide eyes before storming out.
Emily collapsed onto the sofa, weeping. A small hand touched her shoulder—Daniel, in his pyjamas.
*”Mum, don’t cry. I’ll never leave you like Dad did,”* he said softly.
She hugged him and cried harder, then tucked him in beside her.
Gary never came back. Filed for divorce.
When Daniel asked about his father, Emily’s sharp reply silenced further questions. Life, though painful, settled. When Daniel started school, Emily met William—younger, kind, and quick to bond with her son. He proposed often, but she hesitated. What if he wanted his own child? What if he left her for someone younger?
One day, while cleaning, she sent William and Daniel outside to play. The door burst open—Daniel had fallen from the slide, blood streaking his face. He needed stitches.
Logically, she knew it wasn’t William’s fault. But the thought lingered: *If he were Daniel’s real father, this wouldn’t have happened.* Soon, they drifted apart.
*”Don’t worry, Mum. I won’t abandon you,”* Daniel said again.
She never introduced him to another man.
Daniel grew into a handsome teen, then a young man. Emily was proud but anxious. Girls flocked to him—what if he married and left her alone?
*”That’s a mother’s lot,”* her mother said. *”You raise them, then let go. You’ll get used to it. Grandchildren will keep you busy.”*
*”Maybe I should move in with Mum,”* Emily thought. But her mother fell ill and passed within a year, leaving her flat to Daniel.
Then Gary reappeared—shabby, unkempt. He whined about how women loved him when he was healthy but abandoned him when he fell ill. He asked after Emily’s mother, and upon learning she was dead, railed against fate for stealing his wife and son. He hinted he didn’t have long—only ever loved Emily. Every word reeked of manipulation.
*”Mum, who’s here?”* Daniel asked, spotting a duffel bag in the hall. He stepped into the kitchen—Gary stood up.
*”Hello, son. Look how you’ve grown,”* he said, feigning warmth.
Daniel’s smile vanished.
*”I’m* your *son?”*
*”Daniel,”* Emily warned from the window.
*”Sorry, Mum, but I don’t know him. I waited for him to pick me up from nursery, to come to my birthdays, to ask how I was. He never did. I hid it from you, but I waited.”* His voice hardened. *”Where were you? Off with some mistress? Made her get rid of a baby, then moved to the next?”*
*”Daniel, how—”*
*”I found him. Wanted to see why he left us. Fell out of love with you? Fine. But why abandon me?”* He glared at Gary. *”Why come back now? Another woman threw you out? Heard about Gran’s flat? Or just here to guilt us?”*
*”Daniel, stop! He’s your father,”* Emily scolded.
*”No. He helped make me. You raised me.”*
*”This how you turned him against me?”* Gary snapped. *”I paid child supportAnd as Daniel held his mother’s hand, watching his father shuffle out of their lives for good, he knew some men never grow up—but he would always be the man she raised him to be.
