Forget Me Forever

Forget about me forever, they said. Forget you ever had a daughter, my little girl, Poppy, snapped at me, as if shed just cut a rope. Everything was moving at breakneck speed. I felt sorry for both my child and my exhusband.

People always said we were a proper, respectable family. Love, understanding and support lived under our roof. In a flash it all collapsed. Poppy had just turned fifteen that awkward, stormy age and then her dad walked out with another woman. How do you make sense of that? How do you swallow it? Poppy fell into a dark spiral: sketchy friends, shady boys, endless drinking

I was lost too. What should I do about Simon coming back? Throw him out or forgive him? If I forgave him, how could I live on, always suspecting everything? I had no answers.

Simon could love, though. Wed known each other since school. He was charming, could sweep me off my feet. I fell for him hard. No other man even crossed my mind Simon, and only Simon. My parents liked him instantly, saying Youve hit the jackpot with a soninlaw like that. We threw a wedding fit for a storybook, something wed both remember forever.

Then the everyday life started. Simon always tried to make it special. One day I got home from work to find our bed strewn with rose petals. Whats the occasion? I asked, planting a kiss on his cheek. Remember, love? The day I sat at your desk and we got to know each other better, he laughed. I rolled my eyes, but inside I was thrilled he never lets the little moments slip by. Thats my goldstandard husband.

He came back from a business trip loaded with face creams. Molly, theyve briefed me on every jar and scrub tube. Drop the pans and pots, love. I need a pampered wife, not a kitchen maid, he said, plopping me down beside him on the sofa. Time went by and Simon stayed gentle, caring, always one step ahead. I was proud of him, and Poppy adored him too.

We ran a family business together. It was doing well, we never held back. Life was simple: work, laugh, enjoy. Then we decided to move to London for better prospects, leaving everything we owned behind to chase new horizons. Business grew, we met a sharpwitted businesswoman named Claire who ran her own firm. We partnered up, but looking back I wish Id never turned my head that way.

Everything seemed perfect, so Simon and I started planning for a second child naive as we were. One afternoon Poppy came home from school, eyes wide. Mum, is dad really on a work trip? she asked. Of course, why would you think otherwise? I replied, clueless. Becky said she saw him at the supermarket. She might be wrong, Poppy muttered before retreating to her room.

Becky was Poppys best friend, a regular visitor to our house. I called her. Hey Becky, did you run into Uncle Simon at the supermarket today? I asked, trying to sound casual. Yeah, Aunt Molly, I did. He was with some girl, hugging and laughing loudly, she said, painting the scene in bright detail. Meanwhile Simon was still supposed to be five days away on a trip

I decided to wait for the story to unfold. Three days later Simon trudged back home, tired but smiling. How was the trip? I asked, trying to keep the conversation light. Fine, he replied briefly. I know the whole thing, Simon! There was no trip at all! Youve been lying! I shouted. What are you talking about, love? he protested. Ive got witnesses to your outright lie, I shot back. Molly, why dont you feed your husband something on the road and stop being mad? he laughed it off.

I wanted it to be a joke, a misunderstanding, a silly messup. But the truth sat heavy. Id missed the signs, didnt protect the man I loved. A tension hung between us, unspoken, sour. Poppy sensed the cracks; kids pick up on the shifts between their parents instantly.

I didnt want to pry, to dig into his dirty laundry. Let it be. He wouldnt leave, not while I was expecting. Then the unthinkable happened. The ambulance rushed me to the hospital, and I emerged without the baby. A miscarriage, the doctor blamed on the stress. I felt like a frayed electric wire.

Simons hands were free again, and soon he slipped away to that businesswoman, perhaps for the excitement she offered. Poppy and I were left alone, grieving, the world tilting beneath us. I thought Id never want to live again. If it werent for Poppy, I might have said goodbye to life.

But Poppy wouldnt let me drown. She stayed by my side, we grew incredibly close during those bleak months. Her silence turned into a steady, quiet strength as she tried to hold us together.

Two years later my exhusband turned up. I could barely look at him; the pain Simon caused me and Poppy was still raw. I let him in, but he brought nothing but emptiness. All that linked us now was Poppy. Everything else washed away like water through sand.

We stood there, strangers in our own home, quiet. How are you, Molly? Simon asked, oddly out of the blue. And whats it to you now? Miss me? I retorted with a smirk. Is Poppy home? he tried, as if looking for a soft spot. Poppy reluctantly stepped out, crossed her arms, and stared at him with cold disdain. Poppy, darling, please forgive me, he pleaded, looking pitiful. Forget you ever had a daughter! Poppy snapped, retreating to her room. Want me to repeat that? I teased him. He left.

Friends later told me that the woman whod lured Simon away had taken his whole business, leaving him penniless. Thats why he kept showing up, hoping for a second chance.

Three more years passed. Poppy went to university, I landed a senior role at a large firm. Life was calm, no drama, just a quiet steady tide. I started dreaming again hoping to see Poppy married to a good bloke, looking forward to a comfortable retirement. I thought about getting a kitten or a puppy, just a little companion to cheer me up. I was thirtyseven then.

Then fate gave me a twist. Delegations from Turkey often visited my office, and one of them, a charismatic Turkish gentleman named Fatih, started giving me unmistakable attention. He showered me with compliments, lingered with a greeneyed smile, and soon I was swept up by his charm. He was educated, strikingly handsome, and utterly courteous. Before long we were married.

Fatih won over my parents. At first my mum and dad were shocked by a foreign soninlaw, but Fatih brought them Turkish delights, cracked jokes, and even invited them to Ankara. They gave their blessing. Poppy, seeing me radiant and in love, also gave her okay, especially since we were planning to move to Turkey together.

Mom and Fatih, may you be happy forever! she said, beaming.

Years later Poppy even forgave her wandering dad and asked him to be at her own wedding. The whole tangled mess finally found a quiet peace.