**Personal Diary Entry**
I sat at the kitchen table, stirring my tea absentmindedly. The rain tapped against the window, matching the uneasy rhythm of my thoughts. Emily had just left, but her words still hung in the air like a storm cloud.
*”I hope you’re ready for a life without him,”* shed said before driving off.
I hadnt known what to make of it. Was she genuinely looking out for me, or was there something else beneath those carefully chosen words?
Earlier, shed shaken the raindrops off her umbrella and hung her coat on the hook in the hallway. *”Did you see the queue at the doctors today?”* shed sighed. *”Three hours just to get seen. Honestly, at our age, its no jokeblood pressures all over the place.”*
Id made teaEarl Grey, her favouriteand set out a packet of digestives. Wed been friends since our boys were in nappies, pushing prams side by side in the park. Our families had grown up togetherbirthdays, holidays, even shared summers in Devon.
Then, out of nowhere, she dropped it. *”Something happened yesterday,”* she said, her voice too casual. *”I saw James. With a young woman. Arm in arm, laughing like teenagers.”*
My fingers tightened around my cup. *”Maybe a colleague?”*
*”On a Sunday? And they werent exactly keeping it professional, Natalie. She was clinging to him.”*
Emily stirred sugar into her tea, watching me closely. *”Has he seemed… different lately? Distant?”*
I frowned. She wasnt wrong. James had been turning down invitesBBQs, weekends awayalways citing work or exhaustion.
*”Maybe its just his age,”* I offered weakly. *”Fifty-five next month.”*
*”Or a midlife crisis,”* she countered. *”Men do mad things when they think youths slipping away.”*
The clink of my cup against the saucer was unnaturally loud. *”What are you implying, Em?”*
*”Nothing specific. Just thinking aloud.”*
But I knew that look. She was holding something back.
Later, after shed gone, I couldnt settle. When James came home, I watched him closelyhis usual routine: a kiss on my cheek, washing his hands, serving himself shepherds pie. Nothing amiss.
Still, I had to ask. *”James, where were you yesterday?”*
*”Shopping. Needed new shoes.”*
*”Alone?”*
*”Of course.”*
His answer came too smoothly.
That night, I lay awake, listening to his steady breathing. The next morning, Emily called, urgent. *”I need to talk to youproperly.”*
She arrived flustered, clutching printed photos. *”Its about James. Hes having an affair.”*
The pictures showed himor someone like himembracing a pretty brunette. My stomach lurched.
*”His secretary,”* Emily said. *”Everyone at his office knows. I thought you should see for yourself.”*
But something felt off. Later, I rang our son, Oliver. *”Does your dads department even have secretaries?”*
*”What? Nojust old Mr. Harris and Brenda from payroll.”*
The photos were fake.
I confronted Emily. *”Why lie?”*
She crumpled. *”Because I love him, Natalie. And hes miserable with you.”*
The betrayal stung like ice.
That evening, James came home solemn. *”Natalie, we need to talk.”*
I braced myself.
*”Emily confessed her feelings today,”* he said. *”I told her Im a married manthat I love my wife.”*
Relief crashed over me. But Emilys words echoed: *”I hope youre ready for a life without him.”*
Now, miles away, shes packing her bags. James has cut her off entirely. Thirty years of friendship, gone in an instant.
And as I sit here, watching the rain, I cant help but wonderhow close I came to losing everything, all because I trusted the wrong person.
