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

He called her a wretched servant and walked away to another. But when he returned, he got an unexpected surprise.
Katherine had always heard the same words from her grandmother and mother: “In this family, the women never have 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 even turned three. She didnt believe in curses, but deep down, she feared her love would end in pain too. Despite herself, 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 another department, but they shared the canteen. That was how they fell in love. Everything happened quicklya few dates, a proposal, marriage. Richard moved her into her grandmothers old two-bedroom flat. Her mother had already passed. At first, it was peaceful: their first child came, then the second. Katherine did her bestcooking, cleaning, raising the kids. Richard worked, brought home the money, but came home less and less, and their conversations grew rare.
When he started returning late, exhausted, with the scent of another womans perfume on his shirt, she knew. She didnt ask, afraid of being left alone with two children. But one day, she snapped:
“Think of the kids, please. Im begging you.”
He said nothing. Just a cold stare. No explanations. No shouting. The next morning, she served him breakfast, and he didnt touch it.
“Youre only good for being a maid,” he muttered with disgust.
A week later, he was gone. Packed his bags and shut the door behind him.
“Dont leave us, please!” she cried down the hallway. “The kids need their father!”
“Youre a wretched servant,” he repeated as he walked away. The children heard. The two boys, huddled together on the sofa, confusedwhat had they done wrong? Why had their father abandoned them?
Katherine refused to crumble. She lived for them. Worked as a cleaner, scrubbed stairs, hauled buckets, taught her sons to read, and washed clothes by hand when the machine broke. The boys grew up fast, helping where they could. She forgot herself, her dreams. But fate has a way of surprising you.
One day at the supermarket, she dropped a box of tea. A man picked it up and smiled.
“Need help with your bags?”
“It’s fine,” she replied, distracted.
“Ill help anyway,” he said, already lifting 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 boys were wary, but he was kind, patient. At their first dinner together, he brought cake and white roses. When her eldest teased,
“Did you play basketball?”
He laughed.
“Back in school, yeah. Long time ago.”
Later, he admitted,
“I had an accident. I speak slow, move with difficulty. My wife left me. If you dont want this, I understand.”
“If the boys like you, stay,” Katherine answered.
He proposed. And asked to speak to the boys first.
“I want to be a proper father.”
That night, she explained to her sons. They hugged her.
“Our father walked away and forgot us,” the youngest said. “Itd be nice to have a dad who stayed.”
And so, John became family. He taught the boys football, helped with homework, fixed shelves, laughed with them. The house filled with life. Years passed. The boys became men. Thomas fell in love and went to John for advice. Then the doorbell rang.
At the door stood Richard.
“I was a fool. Take me back. Lets start over”
“Get lost,” Thomas cut in.
“Is that any way to speak to your father?!” Richard shouted.
“Dont speak to my son like that,” John said firmly.
“We dont need you,” added the younger one. “Weve already got a dad.”
They shut the door. For good.
Katherine stood there, looking at the three menher protectors, her family, built with blood, sweat, and tears. And finally she was happy.
Sometimes, the love you fight for is the one that finds you when you least expect it.
