Tom, Im pregnant! Emily announced at the doorway, leaving her husband no time to guess what she meant. He froze, glanced aside, and sighed, Well if thats how it turned out. He kissed her cheek quickly, as if trying to outrun his own feelings.
Emily had first fallen for Mark while she was still a university student. He worked at the firm where she was doing her placementyoung, handsome, already deputy department managerseeming to belong to another world. A modest girl from a small town, she never imagined hed notice her. Yet on the last day of her placement, he approached her, handed her a box of chocolates and asked her out for an evening drink. That night their story began.
On their first date he confessed he had grown up without parents. His mother remarried and left, leaving him in his grandmothers care. Emily didnt mention that her own parents had never shown any interest in her. Her childhood had been cold, indifferent, lacking even a hint of warmth. Both knew what loneliness felt like, and perhaps that is why they bonded so quickly.
A month later Emily moved into Marks rented flat. Soon after, they marriedsimple, modest, but hopeful. They dreamed of a future together, a home of their own, a calm life. The only point of tension was children. Emily had wanted a baby for years, while Mark kept delaying, Were fine as we are, why rush?
When the pregnancy test showed two lines, Emily hesitated to tell him, fearing judgment and reproach. At last she gathered the courage.
Are you happy well be parents? she asked.
I thought that would be later, Mark replied, his disappointment evident.
He didnt attend the first ultrasound, waiting in the car instead. Emily returned with tears of joytwins. Two tiny hearts beating inside her.
Twins?! Mark went pale. That wasnt the plan. You need an abortion!
What are you saying? I saw our children I cant Emily sobbed.
She hoped he would understand, that the shock would pass. But each day he drifted further away, criticizing her weight, saying she had lost shape. She tried to ignore it. After the babies were born, things only worsened.
Poppy and Daisyher twin girlsbecame the centre of her world. Mark stayed later at work, withdrew, and refused to help. Emily endured it allfor the children, for love, for family.
When the girls turned a year and a half old, Emily mentioned returning to work. Mark sat opposite her, eyes fixed on the floor.
Ive got someone else. Im leaving. I wont abandon the children, but I want to be with her.
Emily was stunned.
You promised youd never end up like your parents! she choked out through tears.
He left. He lingered for a while, then vanished for good. Emily was left alone, without money or support. Return to the countryside? There was no work there. Stay in the city? There were jobs, but nowhere to live.
Her boss stepped in, arranging a spot for her in a student hall. A tiny room, a bit of renovation, two babiesshe managed. One afternoon, as she struggled to push the stroller down the street, a voice called out:
May I lend a hand? Im Peter, I live next door.
He helped without asking questions, later offering to assist with the repairs and to collect the girls from nursery. At first Emily kept her distancefear held her backbut day by day Peter became part of their lives.
He was an ordinary, dependable man. He, too, had known betrayalhis wife had left him for a friend after learning they couldnt have children. Now he had two little ones who loved him wholeheartedly.
When Peter proposed, Emily first declined.
I have children. Youll find a woman without them.
I want to be with you. The kids arent a problem; theyre like my own.
They married. A week later Mark turned up again.
Emily, Im sorry. Ive realized everything. Lets start over
Its too late. Im married now. My children have a real father.
Peter stepped forward from the doorway.
This is my husband, he said.
Mark turned, waved a hand, and walked away forever.
A year passed. Emily and Peter bought their own flat. Where Mark was now, she never knew and didnt want to know. She learned that happiness isnt found in promises made by those who drift away, but in the steady love that stays.
