З життя
He Called Her a Pitiful Servant and Left for Another. But When He Returned, an Unexpected Shock Awaited Him

He called her a wretched servant and walked away. But when he returned, he got an unexpected surprise.
You see, he sneered, “Youre nothing but a miserable maid,” and off he went to someone else. But when he slunk back, he was met with a reply he hadnt bargained for.
Katherine had heard the same words from her grandmother and mother: “The women in this family have rotten luck in love.” Her great-grandmother was widowed at twenty-two, her grandfather died in the factory, and her mother was left alone with a baby before Katherine turned three. She didnt believe in curses, but deep down, she braced herself for heartbreak anyway. Against her better judgment, she dreamed of a home, a husband, children warmth.
Her future husband, Richard, worked in the same factory where she packed boxes. He was in a different department, but they shared the same canteen. Thats how they fell in love. It all happened quicklya few dates, a proposal, a wedding. Richard moved into her two-bed flat, inherited from her grandmother. Her mother had already passed. At first, it was fine: a baby came, then another. Katherine did her bestcooking, cleaning, raising the kids. Richard worked, brought home the money, but came home less and less, and conversation dried up.
When he started returning late, reeking of someone elses perfume, she knew. She didnt ask, terrified of being alone with two children. But one day, she snapped.
“Think of the kids, please. Im begging you.”
He just stared, cold and silent. No explanations. No shouting. The next morning, she made him breakfast. He didnt touch it.
“Youre only good for scrubbing floors,” he muttered, disgusted.
A week later, he left. Packed his bags and walked out.
“Dont leave us!” she cried down the hallway. “The kids need their father!”
“Youre a wretched servant,” he repeated, slamming the door. The children heard. Huddled together on the sofa, bewilderedwhat had they done? Why had Dad left them?
Katherine refused to crumble. She lived for them. Worked as a cleaner, scrubbed stairwells, hauled buckets, taught them to read, and hand-washed laundry when the machine broke. The kids grew up fast, pitching in. She forgot herself, her dreams. But life has a funny way of turning up surprises.
One day, in the supermarket, she dropped a box of tea. A man picked it up and smiled.
“Need help with your bags?”
“Its fine,” she said absently.
“Ill help anyway,” he said, already grabbing her shopping.
His name was John. He started showing up at the shop every day, then walking her home, until one day, he appeared at her building to help with the cleaning. The kids were wary, but he was kind, patient. At their first dinner, he brought cake and white roses. When her eldest teased,
“Played basketball, then?”
He laughed. “Back in school, yeah. Ages ago.”
Later, he admitted, “Had an accident. I speak slow, move careful. My wife left me. If thats a dealbreaker, I get it.”
“If the kids like you, you stay,” Katherine said.
He proposed. And asked to speak to the children.
“I want to be a proper dad.”
That night, she explained it to them. They hugged her.
“Our dad left and forgot us,” her youngest said. “Be nice to have one who stays.”
So John became family. Taught them football, helped with homework, fixed shelves, laughed with them. The house came alive. Years passed. The boys became men. When Thomas fell in love, he went to John for advice. Thenthe doorbell rang.
There stood Richard.
“I was a fool. Take me back. Lets start over”
“Get lost,” Thomas cut in.
“Is that how you speak to your father?!” Richard roared.
“Dont talk to my son like that,” John said, steady.
“We dont need you,” her youngest added. “Weve got a dad.”
They shut the door. For good.
Katherine stood there, looking at her three menher protectors, her family, built with blood, sweat, and tears. And at last she was happy.
