**Diary Entry 8th March**
I never expected today to turn out like this. What started as a simple trip to the supermarket before heading to my business partners country house for a barbecueone of those last-minute plans Angela insisted onended with me standing in front of a woman I hadnt seen in nearly a decade, holding a bar of chocolate that wasnt even mine.
Angela had convinced me that the barbecue was the better option. “Its networking,” shed said, smoothing her perfectly manicured nails. “Important people will be there.” So Id agreed, though Id already reserved a table at The Ivy. The necklace Id ordered for herelegant, understatedwas tucked in a velvet box on the back seat. But I wanted to add flowers and chocolatesher favourite, despite how shed deny it with a laugh.
The supermarket was nearly stripped of decent chocolatestypical for Mothers Day. Only the cheap, waxy bars remained, the kind Angela would scoff at. But on the top shelf, tucked in the back, I spotted one last bar of that Swiss chocolate she liked. Just as I reached for it, small fingers tugged my sleeve.
“Please, mister, can I have that one?” A boy, no older than eight, stood shivering, his nose red from the cold. His voice wobbled. “I want to give it to my mum. Its Mothers Day.”
“Why not get another?” I gestured at the picked-over shelves.
“Because she saw this one in an advert,” he mumbled. “Shes never had it before.”
I hesitated, then handed it over. Angela wouldnt miss it. For this kid, though, it clearly mattered. He clutched it like treasure, thanked me in a rush, and bolted for the till.
Then I heard the cashiers sharp voice. “Youre short by half, love. Put it back.”
The boys face crumpled. “But I saved up! Please, count again”
“Not happening,” she snapped. “Move along before I call security.”
I stepped in, paid with my card, and handed him the bar. He stared at me, then dug into his pockets, offering me a handful of crumpled pound coins and pennies.
“Keep them,” I said, ruffling his hair. “Consider it a gift.”
But he trailed me outside, shifting nervously. “Mister I was sposed to give it to Mum. Now its from you.”
I crouched to his level. “Whats your name?”
“Billy,” he said. Then, in a rush: “I was saving for Mums medicine first. But Gran said itd take forever. So I thoughtmaybe just for today, she could have something nice.”
His words hit me like a punch. “What medicine?”
“Dont know the name. The doctors say its expensive. Mum got poorly after she lost her job. She used to sell flowers at the market, got soaked in the rain one day, and now she cant breathe right.”
I hesitated. “Where do you live?”
He pointed down the street. “Just round the corner.”
I left my shopping in the boot, grabbed Angelas flowers, and followed him.
The flat smelled of bleach and exhaustionclean but lifeless. A womans voice called from the other room, weak but familiar. Too familiar.
“Billy, whos with you?”
Then I saw her. And my stomach dropped.
“Emily?”
Her eyes widened. “Edward?”
We stared at each other. Nine years ago, Brighton. A whirlwind weekendsun, sea, and a girl with a braid down her back whod laughed at my terrible jokes. Id left abruptly for a deal in Edinburgh, telling myself it was just a fling. But Id gone back three days later with a ring. She was gone.
And now here she was, gaunt and pale on the sofa, Billy clinging to her side.
“You worked for me,” I said numbly. “At the firm. You never said”
“You didnt recognise me,” she whispered. “I cut my hair. Dyed it. I thought it didnt matter.”
Then Billy piped up, “Mum, look! The chocolate!” He broke off a square, pressing it into her hand.
Emilys smile was fragile. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
But I was still stuck on one thing. “Billyhow old is he?”
Her silence was answer enough.
I left in a daze, cancelling the barbecue with a terse call. Then I drove straight to Angelas flat.
She was waiting, dressed to impress, lips parted for a kiss. I stepped back.
“Did you fire Emily Carter?”
Her smirk faltered. “So she finally told you. I knew shed crack.”
“You lied. You said she quit.”
“She was a threat!” Angela snapped. “I saw the boyhes your double! I wasnt losing you to some”
I walked out mid-sentence.
That evening, I returned to Emilys with the medicine. And a question.
“Why didnt you tell me?”
Her laugh was bitter. “You vanished once. And when I finally saw you again, you were engaged to *her*. What was I supposed to do?”
I pulled a ring box from my pocketthe same one Id bought nine years ago. “I came back for you. You were gone.”
Billy chose that moment to barrel in, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Youre staying, right?”
Emilys eyes filled with tears.
Now, months later, were in our homeBillys drawings on the fridge, Emilys laughter in the kitchen. And every Mothers Day, we buy that same chocolate bar. Because sometimes, miracles come wrapped in foil.
