The Shadow of the Past Chokes Us
God, I’m so tired of my husband’s ex-wife! She’s never moved on since their divorce. Barely thirty, and she’s fixated on revenge. They share two kids, and she uses them like weapons to tear our lives apart. She insists I stole her family, scheming to pull us all down. How? Through the children! Calls my husband daily— *“The kids are crying, begging for their dad!”* Her jealousy poisons everything.
But I didn’t take Andrew from her. We met in Manchester, working for the same firm. I knew he was married—strictly professional back then. Meanwhile, I was stuck with a boyfriend who was never home. Then came the office Christmas party. His ex, *Emily*, was vile—drunk, flirting with strangers, making scenes. I was horrified.
Andrew left her soon after. By then, I’d rebuilt my life—dumped my ex, switched jobs, climbed the ladder. He had his own flat but bounced between short lets while Emily assumed he’d *“come crawling back.”* He didn’t. We started dating. Then we married.
Three years on, Emily won’t relent. She drags the kids into her schemes. Their daughter’s nine, their son seven. They *know* what’s happening. Once, the girl confessed—Emily forced her to sob down the phone, begging Andrew to come home.
She *demands* visits happen only at hers—never out, never at ours. Struts around in skimpy outfits, lipstick freshly applied, desperate to reel him back. Futile. Andrew says the kids—supposedly *miss him*—scatter the moment he arrives: the boy bolts outside, the girl locks herself away with her phone. Meanwhile, Emily invents reasons to stall him—*fix the tap, shift the wardrobe*. Our home? She calls it a *“den of sin.”* Won’t let them step inside.
Once, Andrew was asleep after a night shift. His phone *blazed* with calls—Emily. I answered silently. A child’s voice piped up: *“Daddy, when’re you coming?”* I said, *“Hello?”* The girl stuttered, handing the phone over. Emily snarled, *“Oi, put my husband on!”* I fired back, *“*Your *husband? Wrong number.”* Later, she wailed to Andrew—*I’d insulted her.*
Then came the sabotage. My boss got hounded by debt collectors—*fake claims* I owed thousands. Next, a dating profile with my photos. Messages from a *“secret admirer.”* We knew *exactly* whose handiwork this was.
I *want* Andrew to see his kids—but not like this. Not as pawns in her war. How do we make Emily *stop?*
