Dear Diary,
I thought I truly knew the woman I was living with. We shared laughter and tears, planned a future together, and I believed she would stand by me no matter what. Then life put us to the test, and I suddenly realized that the person I considered my soulmate was, in fact, someone entirely different.
Love, family and a home that wasnt ours
When I met Emily, I was convinced she was the one. She was warm, caring, full of energy, and with her I felt happy and complete. Our relationship moved swiftlyafter a year we were married.
After the wedding we faced a crucial decision: where would we live? Renting in central London was astronomically pricey, and buying a flat seemed a distant dream. We were searching for the best compromise when my mother, Eleanor, offered what felt like a blessing from above.
She owned a flat in Camden, inherited from her own parents, and told us we could move in rentfree, saving us for the future. It was a perfect opportunity. Emily and I were thrilled. Eleanor even handed over her savings so we could refurbish the place the way we wanted, asking for nothing in returnjust our happiness.
For a while everything fell into place.
Until the day our world collapsed.
My parents had been married almost forty years. Id always looked at my father, George, as the model of responsibility and loyalty, certain he would never abandon his family. Then the inevitable happened.
One ordinary afternoon George sat across from Eleanor and, without a hint of emotion, told her he was leaving. Hed simply found someone younger, prettier, more alive. I will never forget the look on Eleanors faceher hands trembling, her mouth opening to speak, but the words stuck in her throat. The man shed loved all her life had just tossed their shared years into the trash.
She couldnt bear it. A few weeks later she suffered a stroke.
I can still hear that nighttime phone ring, the frantic doctors voice, the ambulance siren echoing off the streets. The hospitals white walls, Eleanor lying motionless, terrified, eyes pleading for help. I knew I had no choice.
I had to bring her home.
I’m not living with your mother!
That evening I returned home, convinced Emily would understand. After all, she was my wife. The woman whod given us everythinga roof, her savings, her love. How could we now turn away from her?
But Emilys reaction stunned me.
No, Im not living with your mother! she snapped, arms crossed.
I stared at her, bewildered.
Emily she has nowhere to go. Shes ill. She needs us.
Find her a care home! I never signed up to live with an elderly, sick woman, she shot back.
Her words landed like a punch to the gut. I searched her eyes for any flicker of compassion, any hint of doubt, but found none.
Emily, she isnt a stranger. Shes my mother. Without her we wouldnt have this flat. Do you really want to leave her alone?
She didnt blink.
I married you, not her. If you bring her here, Im out.
It wasnt a request. It was an ultimatum.
The decision that changed everything
For three sleepless nights I weighed every option, tried to find a middle ground. The truth was plain: Emily had already decided. If she could turn her back on my mother so easily, what would she do if the tables were turned and I needed her?
So I acted.
The day before Eleanors discharge I packed Emilys belongings and left them by the front door. When she returned home and saw them, she laughed cruelly.
Really? You choose your mum over your own wife?
I looked her straight in the eye and said calmly, I choose the person who has never left me.
She seemed surprised, perhaps expecting me to beg, to plead for her to stay. I didnt.
That night Emily slammed the door and walked out. The next morning I fetched Eleanor and brought her into my flat.
Who cheats once, cheats again
The first months were harddoctor visits, rehab, endless sleepless nights haunted by worries about the future. Yet I never once regretted my choice.
Ive learned a simple truth: anyone who can turn away from you once will do it again. My father abandoned my mother. My wife wanted me to abandon hers.
Now I live with my mother. Shes slowly regaining strength; each day I see more life return to her eyes. I know I made the right call. Family isnt just the person you share a bed with. Family is the one who never walks away, no matter how tough things get.
What do you think, Diary? Did I do the right thing, or should I have fought for my marriage even if it meant leaving my mother alone?
