— Love, in the end nothing terrible happened! Men sometimes get carried away and can’t pull the plug in time. — Be wiser. Would you really hand your husband over to some girl? She’ll think she’s won! Fight for your family! — urged the mother‑in‑law.

Emma, in the end nothing terrible has happened! It just happens sometimes that a man gets carried away and cant stop in time, she says. Be wiser. Would you really give up your husband to some other girl? Shell think shes beaten you! Fight for your family! urges her motherinlaw.

On Saturday morning Emma drives her son Sam to his grandparents. She and James have agreed that Sam will stay with them for a while.

Back at the flat, Emma pulls the cardboard boxes out onto the balcony and starts sorting through the belongings. First she empties the childrens room.

She folds clothes, gathers toys and books, tapes the boxes shut and labels them. Soon only the furniture that she isnt taking will be left behind.

Around noon her phone rings. The screen shows Martha.

Good afternoon, Emma.

Hello, Martha. James told me everything. I understand youre upset, but could you slow down a little? Take a breath, think it over. Maybe you dont have to tear the family apart just yet? Martha pleads.

Im not the one destroying the family, James is, Emma replies.

Emma, Im not absolving him! But perhaps you could forgive him this once?

Which once are you talking about? Your son has been seeing a colleague for six months, lying to me, and you say I should forgive him? No, Emma says firmly.

Please, think again. Youre depriving Sam of his father, and James loves his son dearly!

Martha, James can still see Sam; Im not going to block that. But I wont live with your son any longer. Lets end it nowIm packing, I have no time.

Emma packs the last two boxes, goes into the bedroom and starts stuffing her wardrobe into suitcases.

Martha arrives exactly an hour later, convinced that a private chat will persuade her daughterinlaw not to ruin the marriage.

The conversation circles round:

Emma, in the end nothing terrible has happened! Men sometimes get carried away and cant stop.

Be wiser. Would you really hand your husband over to some other girl? Shell think shes won! Fight for the family!

Martha, James isnt a trophy I have to battle for! Are you suggesting I challenge his lover to a duel? To a boxing ring? What does she have to do with this? If it werent Anna, it would be Ella or Christina.

Let me tell you a secret: Ian, Jamess father, also sinned when he was young. I was wiser than you and kept the family together. See? Weve been together for almost thirtyfive years and well soon celebrate our coral wedding anniversary.

And what was your wisdom? Emma asks, smiling.

I never gave him a scandal. Instead I was gentle, cooked his favourite dishes, took an interest in his work, even gave myself a new haircut, lost a few pounds, met him at work with a smile Martha explains.

Sometimes I knew hed come back from a fling and I wanted to smash his head on a pan instead of handing him his slippers. I swallowed my anger, kept smiling, and held onto him. The son grew up with his father, and I now have a grandson.

Youre amazing, Martha. I could never do that. Im just naturally repulsed by this sort of thing. What youre proposing feels like eating out of a dirty bucket Emma retorts.

Martha snaps, stands up abruptly and storms out without a goodbye.

Emma keeps packing. She knows this isnt the end; James and Martha will still try to get under her skin, which is why shes in such a hurry to leave the flat.

The next day, Sunday, her father arrives. The two of them load the suitcases and boxes into a van and drive off.

On the way Emma asks her father to stop by Marthas house to drop off the keys.

Can you imagine? she tells her friend Claire the following day yesterday Martha spent an hour begging me to forgive James for his little indiscretions and not to file for divorce.

What did she say? Claire asks.

The usual: Youre depriving the child of his father, All men cheat, Women must be wiser. Then she shared how shed once pulled her husband back into the family.

And how? Claire presses.

I wont repeat the whole story, but it was pure nonsense. Im not doing that.

Have you already filed?

Yes, on Friday.

Good, finally youll be free of that Casanova. It was painful watching him with that other girl.

What do you mean painful? Did you know he was seeing Anna?

I didnt know for sure, but I suspected Claire admits.

Why didnt you tell me? I thought we were friends Emma snaps and stands up to leave.

Wait! Claire stops her. First, I really didnt know. I saw the same things you did, just drew different conclusions. Remember the office party?

Anna was flirting with James, right? How many times did she ask to travel together on business?

You work in accounts, you see the paperwork. Didnt you wonder why Anna often replaced the colleague who was supposed to travel with James? I suspected, but I kept quiet because I wasnt certain.

You could have at least hinted.

What if I were wrong and it was all my imagination? Would you think I was trying to stir trouble? Remember Svetlana Belova?

She once told a friend shed seen her husband with another woman, even showed a photo of them embracing.

Yes, there was a scandal, they reconciled, and Svetlana was blamed for trying to break up a stable marriage out of jealousy.

She later left the firm. Anyway, if I had ironclad proof Id have told you. So, where will you live now?

The flat belongs to Martha, so Sam and I moved out. Were staying at my parents house for now.

In a week well fix up my motherinlaws flat my parents were renting it, the tenants left a month ago. Its only two rooms, but Sam and I will manage.

We still need to sort the nursery. The old one is far away, but Moms friend promised to help us move into the one right behind our garden. Ill file for child support once the divorce is final. Thats it.

Does James agree to the divorce? Claire asks.

He says he doesnt want to split, that he understands everything and promises it wont happen again. Ive had enough. He even asked me not to claim child support, saying hell pay himself.

And you?

Im against meeting him again. Let it be official. He even said hed take Sam: I have a better flat and a higher salary.

I didnt answer him; I just counted how many trips hed taken last year. Eight.

What did he say?

I saved that info for court. If he tries to take Sam, Ill ask where the child will stay when hes away. I have a job and my own flat, so he cant win.

James actually filed a petition for custody, claiming Emma couldnt provide Sam with the necessary standard of living.

Martha then claimed Emma had hidden Sam: She left the flat, took the boy out of his nursery. We thought theyd stay with Emmas parents, but they were only there a week before disappearing.

Emma had to explain that she and Sam live in a twobedroom flat she owns, that Sam attends the nearby nursery, and that Jamess frequent business trips would prevent him from caring for Sam properly.

In the end, neither Martha nor James succeeded.

Emma avoids any further contact with James and, after the divorce, finds a new job shes a competent professional, so the transition is smooth.

A few days later Claire brings fresh news:

Anna has quit and moved away.

Whats that about? Emma asks.

Our aunts set her up. She realised there was nothing left to chase here and applied for a job in the capital. So your ex is left on his own.

That doesnt bother me anymore, Emma replies.

And shes right. When you have to drink from a well thats run dry, you cant expect any water. What do you think? Did Emma act rightly? Leave your thoughts in the comments.