Perhaps She Needs It More
“Maisy, come on now… You’re pretty, always surrounded by men. But for Laura, this might be her last chance,” Natalie soothed her daughter.
Maisy nearly choked on the biscuitthe very same kind her mother baked only for the most esteemed guests. But right now, Maisy didnt want biscuits. She wanted simple human compassion. Instead, she heard her mother defending her sister.
“Mum, are you serious?” Maisys voice trembled. “Is that really all you can say?”
Natalie shrugged and carefully set her teacup down on the saucer.
“What do you want from me?” her mother asked, a hint of reproach in her tone. “So Ethan cheated on you with Laura. Its not nice, Ill give you that. But what now? Wallow in it?”
Her words sounded reasonable, but the subtext… as if Natalie saw nothing truly wrong in what had happened. Maisy turned away, her fingers nervously tugging at her sleeve. It felt like someone had ripped a bundle of nerves straight from her heart, leaving a gaping hole.
She didnt even want to cry anymore. She just wanted someoneanyoneto see the wreckage in her family. Yet everyone acted as if it were perfectly normal.
To her mother, the situation was simple. Maisy worked in a male-dominated field, she was attractiveshed find someone else.
Laura, on the other hand, was the difficult caseliterally. Pushing past forty, her weight had long crossed the hundred-kilo mark. She never bothered with self-care, barely left the house, and had nowhere to meet anyone. In her entire life, shed only had two serious relationships, neither lasting more than a year.
The problem was, Natalie spoke about people and relationships as if they were objects. *Just share your husband, whats the big deal?* The thought made Maisy sick.
Theyd only just started treating Ethan like a person themselves.
“Maisy, love, youre being silly. Why do you even want Ethan?” her mother had advised just a year ago. “Find yourself a proper bloke.”
“Or at least kick him out to work. You feed him, clothe him, take care of him. Of course hes gotten lazy. Men only feel like men when theyre the hunters. The minute a woman gives in, they lose interest. And youre practically rolling out the red carpet for him,” Laura would add with an air of wisdom.
Laura always turned into an expert when it came to other peoples relationships. She read psychology books and followed “relationship coaches” online, yet nothing ever worked out for her. Still, she clung to the hope that one day, a prince on a white horse would sweep her off her feet.
Maisy was furious with her sister, but in one way, Laura was right. Ethan *had* grown complacent.
At the start of their relationship, he confessed:
“I dont know what I want to be. I only went to uni to shut my parents up. Economics wasnt for me. But Im decent with people, I suppose.”
Back then, Ethan had just graduated, and Maisy found it endearinghonest, even. He was figuring himself out, making an effort. But those “figuring out” years stretched into five long ones.
First, he sold mobile phones. Then he tried estate agency. After that, he started a blog, took odd jobs sorting stock, hunted for freelance gigs. And he always said the same thing: *This is temporary. Ill make it big soon.*
While he “figured it out,” Maisy paid the rent, the bills, the groceries. In theory, theyd agreed to split costs fifty-fifty. In reality, it never worked out.
“Maisy, listen… My bonus fell through. Got fined. Boss is a right tosser, skimping on wages… You know how it is. Rents on you this month,” hed say, avoiding her eyes, just days before the payment was due.
It happened over and over. Maisy plugged the gaps, took extra weekend shifts, clung to the hope that Ethan would grow up.
And he did change. Then he betrayed her.
In their sixth year together, he landed a job at an IT firm, working in HR. Suddenly, money came home. At first, it felt strange. They celebratedtakeaways, new clothes, little luxuries. They even went on holiday.
Then they started savingfor a car, maybe a baby.
And *that* was when her mother and Laura finally accepted Ethan.
Natalie, who once wrinkled her nose at the mention of her son-in-law, now said:
“See? Your Ethans turned out all right. Took his time, but he got there. And you stuck by him. Hold onto himmen like that are rare.”
Laura started dropping by more often, calling constantly. First it was just for coffee, then she needed Ethans helpher laptop was acting up, her car had issues, she needed furniture moved.
Maisy didnt think much of it. She thought it was idylliceveryone getting along.
Turns out, they got along a little *too* well.
Everything changed on an ordinary Tuesday. Maisy didnt come home early or late. She walked in at her usual time and found Ethan and Laura together. They werent even hiding. Maybe they *wanted* her to see.
Maisy just yanked open the wardrobe and hurled Ethans clothes at him. Laura got a share tooverbally, at least.
“Maisy, love, it wasnt on purpose!” Laura pleaded, as if discussing a broken teacup. “We never meant for this to happen. But now it has… maybe its for the best?”
“Ive fancied Laura for ages. Ive always liked curvy girls,” Ethan admitted. “I just didnt know how… how not to lose everything.”
It sounded like Maisy had just been a pit stop. The pain was so raw she couldnt stay near them, in that flat. She ran to her mothersempty-handed, hoping for a shoulder to cry on.
Well, she cried.
“Mum, youre talking like if Lauras got no one, shes entitled to take my husband… Are you seriously saying thats okay?”
“Maisy, youre blowing this out of proportion. Lifes harsh,” Natalie said, lecturing. “Youre a grown woman. So he left. He didnt hit you, did he? Didnt kill you.”
Maisy stood abruptly, knocking over her tea. It splashed across the white tablecloth.
“Thanks, Mum,” she said tightly. “Ive got nothing left to do here.”
“And where will you go? Back to him? Keep playing the martyr, making everyone miserable? Youre just torturing yourself!” Her mother jumped up too. “Stop it! Youve got to move on, not wallow!”
“Not your business anymore. Im free. Ill do what I want.”
“Maisy… It happened. Shes still family. Youve got to learn to forgive.”
“Family like thats worse than strangers,” Maisy spat, slamming the door behind her.
She walked blindly, her bag bouncing against her shoulder, hands shaking. The whole city felt alien. Streets shed walked with Ethan. Cafés shed visited with Laura. The salon shed gone to with her mother as a child.
Then it hit herthere was no place left for her in this family.
Her sister was sleeping with her husband, calling it “for the best.” Her husband admitted hed always fancied Laura. Her mother acted like shed just find someone else.
Oh, shed find someone. And Laura would take him too. *She needs it more.*
Dazed, Maisy reached the train station, wandering along the platforms, watching people wait. A thought struck hermaybe she should leave too. Nothing held her here anymore.
A week later, she handed in her notice. After working her final days, she packed up. She picked her destination at randomstabbed a finger at a map, found the nearest city.
A month later, she was on her waysomewhere without Ethan, Laura, or her mother. No more lectures about “moving on” or “not wallowing.” Just a rented flat. The kitchen was scuffed, the view nothing but another grey high-rise, but it was quiet.
In that silence, shed learn to live again.
Her mother called a few times. Even messaged. Never apologised.
“Come on, Maisy, stop sulking. Itll all work out. Thats just how life is.”
But Maisy refused to believe life had to be this way. She stopped answering. Then blocked her mother. Then Laura. Then Ethan.
The final touch was her wedding ring. It sat in a little fabric pouch in her bag. Shed thought about pawning it if things got desperate. Then decided it wasnt even worth that. She tossed it in the bin with apple cores.
Maybe she had no family now. But she had herself. And peace.
**Life doesnt have to be a battlefield
