The doorbell rang, I opened the door and found my mother-in-law in tears – it turns out her husband’s mistress had robbed them.

When William and I were wed fifteen years ago, it was made quite clear to me from the start by my mother-in-law that we would never see eye to eye. We married, though William and I had no children for some time. We waited, year upon year, for a full decade. At long last, God saw fit to bless usboth a son and a daughter came into our lives.

During those years we shared under one roof, William did well for himself, working as the director of a respectable firm. It afforded me the comfort to care for our little ones during my maternity leave, and I was able to devote myself to the family, which suited me perfectly.

My own mother lived far off in another county, so I could not turn to her for help. As for William’s mother, she never did warm to me or change her manner, not in all those fifteen years. To her, I was always a nobodya country girl from humble beginnings who had ensnared her son. She had hoped he’d marry a girl more befitting his station. But William chose me.

My peaceful world was shattered in an instant.

One day I returned from a walk with the children only to find a slip of paper on the bedside table. As I entered the room, it struck me that Williams belongings were gone. He had left us, and on that scrap of paper, he had scrawled: Forgive me, but I have fallen for someone else. Dont try to find me. I know youre strong and will manage Believe me, its for the best.

I rang him at once, my heart pounding, but there was only silence on the line. William did not answer, not then nor ever again. He vanished from our lives, leaving the children and me to fend for ourselves. I knew nothingnot where he had gone nor with whom. With regret, I phoned my mother-in-law.

Its all your doing, she declared with satisfaction. I always said it would come to this. What did you expect to happen?

I was left bewildered and heartsick. Why was I to blame? Had I erred somehow? It was a bitter pill to swallowthe uncertainty of how to go on. William had left without so much as a penny, and we had next to nothing on which to live.

There was no way I could take work just then, with none to mind the little ones. Then I remembered the part-time work I once didwriting academic papers. It was hardly enough, but it allowed us to scrape by for half a year. During that time, not a word from William.

***

Then, one blustery autumn evening, a knock at the door startled me. I thought perhaps it was one of the neighbours, but to my surprise, there stood my mother-in-law. She burst into tears the moment I opened the door, so I welcomed her in. It turned out that Williams new companion was nothing but a scoundrel who deceived him and left him utterly ruined, his family too. Now, they could scarcely provide for themselves. My mother-in-law pleaded with me to let her stay.

And I found myself tornshould I forgive her and take her in, or repay her in kind, shutting her out as she had done to me? Even now, I am haunted by the memory of that day and wonder what might have been had kindness prevailed from the beginning.