My ex-husband left me for another woman, then came back with a request I never expected — Story of the day

I was standing in the middle of my living room, with cardboard boxes scattered around me, each one a piece of life that I left behind. I folded what was left of clothes and my mind wandered to the new chapter that was about to start with Eric.

He was not perfect, but he was firm, a man who had sewn the broken pieces of my heart. The empty spaces left by my ex-husband, Tom, were gradually filled with Eric’s silent strength and unwavering support.

The knocking on the door took me out of my thoughts. It was firm, insistent, and strangely familiar. I wiped my hands in the jeans and felt a strange restlessness invade my chest.

Who could it be at this time?

I did not expect anyone.

I walked over to the door, my heart beating a little faster than usual. When I opened it, I felt the world lean slightly on its axis.

“Tom?”

There I was, standing on the threshold of my door, looking like a ghost of a life that I had tried so hard to leave behind. He had tighter hair than he remembered, his face marked with lines that were not there before, and his eyes …

Those eyes were filled with sadness that he could not identify.

“Cute,” he began, in a harsh, almost brittle voice. “I can enter?”

I hesitated, with my hand pressing the door knob. That was the man who had ripped my heart out and trampled it without thinking twice. However, here it was, asking me to enter.

What exactly for?

Contrary to my good judgment, I nodded and stepped aside, allowing him to enter the space he had almost occupied.

Tom walked in slowly, looking around as if searching for memories, and his gaze stopped at the half-packaged boxes.

“Are you moving?” He asked, although the answer was obvious.

“Yes, I’m moving in with my boyfriend. Tom, what do you want from me? “

The mention of another man seemed to hit him like a punch. He made a slight grimace of pain, which he quickly concealed with a faint smile.

“That … that’s fine. I’m glad you found someone. “

There was a moment of awkward silence. He went on, filling the room with a tension that had been absent for years.

“Linda, I … I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t need it. I know I have no right to ask you for anything after what I did, but … I need your help. “

He looked at me with despair that only arises from pure despair.

“The woman I left you for … is gone. He died two weeks ago. “

He looked away, embarrassed.

“And me… Now I have a daughter. Ava. She’s just a girl, Linda, and I’m all she has. But I can’t do it alone. I thought I could, but I can’t. I need you”.

The man who had destroyed me was now in front, asking for help for the sake of his daughter. I did not escape the irony.

“Why me, Tom? I asked, with my voice just above a whisper. “Why are you coming to me?”

“Because I know you, Linda. You have a heart for this. I don’t know anyone who has it. “

I could feel the ground moving under my feet, how the life I had carefully rebuilt began to tremble under the weight of his words. Everything about me wanted to shut the door in his face, tell him to find someone else.

But there was a little voice inside me, a whisper of the woman I used to be, the one who had once fiercely loved Tom, the one who had dreamed of a family. And that whisper made me stop.

I looked at him, at the broken man he had become, and felt the gravity of the decision before me. I had finally found peace, and now, in one fell swoop, Tom had brought chaos back into my life.

But this time it wasn’t just about me. There was a girl involved who didn’t deserve any of this.

The son I had dreamed of for years, the one Eric could never give me.

“I don’t know if I can do this, Tom. But… I’ll think about it. “

“Thanks Linda. It is all I can ask for. “

I saw him walk away, the door snapped softly behind him, and I knew that nothing in my life would ever be the same.

***

I decided to meet Tom. Deep down, I knew that the past would not let me go so easily. It was like a shadow that refused to fade away.

The coffee was quiet. He had chosen a table near the window. My hands were fiddling with the napkin on the table while I waited.

When the door opened and Tom came in, I felt a little nervous. But then I saw her.

It was Ava, with her big, innocent eyes and her little figure, clinging to Tom’s hand. I look.

“Hello Linda”. Tom guided Ava to the front seat and then sat him down.

“This is Ava.”

“Hello Ava,” I said softly. “What a wonderful dress you are wearing. You look like a fairy. “

He waved at me, fingers curving timidly.

When Tom started talking about the difficulties he faced raising only Ava, I had a hard time concentrating. My eyes kept turning to Ava, who was playing quietly with a small toy.

She was sweet, so innocent, and there was something about her that reached deep in my heart.

The idea of being a mother woke up something in me that I hadn’t felt in years. It was a longing that had never completely disappeared.

“This could be a second chance for us, Linda. A way to rebuild what was lost. “

Before I could answer, Tom put Ava in my arms. As soon as he settled against me, I felt a connection, a heat that spread through me like a wave.

I looked at Ava, with her confident little face, and I felt my eyes fill with tears.

“I need time, Tom,” I finally whispered. “I need time to solve this.”

Later I called Eric.

“I need time, Eric,” I said, trying to hold back my tears. “I need to solve something.”

When I hung up the phone, I realized that nothing was easy anymore.

***

The days after our meeting in the cafe were like a whirlwind. He spent more and more time with Ava, trying to see if he could really consider Tom’s proposal. She was such a sweet girl.

We played in the park and baked cookies in Tom’s kitchen, and every moment I spent with her touched my heart.

Could it really work? Could I be the mother she needs?

One afternoon, while Ava and I were drawing together, she looked at me with those big, innocent eyes.

“Are you going to be my new mom?”

The question caught me off guard.

“I’m not sure yet, honey. Right now we’re just spending time together. “

“I like being with you,” he said sincerely.

His words hurt my soul.

I also like being with you.

I thought about it, but I didn’t say it out loud. Instead, I just smiled at him and gave him a new colored pencil.

But despite these moments of connection, there was something eating away at me. Tom was too anxious, too desperate for me to accept this agreement.

One night, I couldn’t help feeling that something was wrong. Tom had gone out on errands and the house was eerily quiet.

Ava was asleep on the sofa and I was left alone with my thoughts.

What are you hiding from me? Why do you insist so much?

The questions swirled in my mind, refusing to let me rest. Without realizing it, I found myself outside Tom’s office door.

I hesitated, with my hand resting on my knob.

“What I am doing?” I whispered to myself.

I needed answers. My eyes scrutinized the room, looking for … what? I didn’t even know it.

So, I saw a slightly half-open drawer on his desk. Without thinking, I opened it.

There it was, in black and white: an inheritance tied to Ava’s tutelage that could only be fully ensured if Tom had a partner!

It’s not about giving Ava a mother. It’s about money!

When Tom came home later, I was waiting for him in the living room. The documents were scattered across the table, evident proof of what he had been hiding.

Also read: Babies of rich wife and poor widow are accidentally exchanged at birth, they discover it 27 years later – History of the day

“Tom”, I screamed when he entered. “What is this? Were you ever going to tell me the truth? “

Her face turned pale.

“Linda, it’s not what you think …”.

“You know what I think?” I cut him off, raising my voice.

“These papers say it all, Tom. You were using me to keep Ava’s inheritance, right? “

He opened his mouth to speak, but no word came out. The look of guilt in his eyes was all the answer he needed.

The room was silent. I felt the tears flow, but I refused to drop them. I had to get out of there.

I picked up the phone and dialed Eric’s number, but he skipped voicemail directly. Panic started to invade me.

What if she had lost him too? What if this mess with Tom has messed everything up?

While I was there, with the phone taped to my ear, I realized how much Eric meant to me. He was the person who made me believe in love again.

“Eric, please call me,” I whispered on the phone. “I need to talk to you… I am so sorry”.

When hanging up, one thing became clear: I had to fight for what really mattered, and that was Eric.

***

As the taxi rushed through the city, the memory of saying goodbye to Ava came to mind. Her little hand clung to the dress, her confused eyes searched for mine.

“I have to go, honey,” I whispered, holding back my tears.

“But remember that you will always be special to me.”

Leaving her was like breaking my heart in two, but staying would drag me back into the darkness from which I had struggled so hard to escape.

As the taxi rushed through the rain-soaked streets, I frantically sent Eric dozens of text messages.

I’m going. I am so sorry. I’ve been so dumb. Please let me explain.

When the taxi finally turned the corner of his street, I saw him.

Eric was standing in the pouring rain, with a bouquet of white roses in hand, which I liked.

He was drenched, but there he was, waiting as always.