Vera was frying beef patties when her husband walked into the kitchen. “Vera, we need to talk,” Edward said firmly. “Go on,” she replied without looking up.
“Maybe you could sit down and actually listen?” Impatience crept into his voice.
“I dont have time. These wont flip themselves,” she answered flatly. “What did you want to say?”
Edward hesitated, struggling to find the words. “I… Ive met someone else. Im leaving you.”
“Congratulations. Im happy for you,” Vera said calmly.
“What? Happy for me?” He stared at her, bewildered.
But Edward had no idea what Vera was really thinking.
***
“Honestly…” Her friend paused, weighing her words. “I still dont understand how you could do it. Its beyond the pale, Vera!”
“Beyond what?” Vera arched an eyebrow. “Good or evil?”
“You know what I mean. Its just… unthinkable.”
“Well, however you look at it,” Vera smiled, “the result is what matters. And I got exactly what I wanted.”
“Still,” her friend frowned, “there will be consequences.”
“Dont jinx it!” Vera snapped. “If they come, Ill deal with them. Right now, Im celebrating. So dont ruin it.”
Her friend huffed and turned away, pretending to be fascinated by the view outside.
***
It all started that evening when Edward came home from work, shifting uncomfortably.
“We need to talk.”
Veras stomach tightened. Shed been waiting for this.
“Go ahead,” she said, flipping the patties.
“Could you at least sit down and listen?” he said irritably. “Or am I talking to your back?”
“No time, darling,” she replied coolly. “Tommy will remember I exist any second, and itll be Mummy this, Mummy that. So lets not waste time. What did you want to say?”
Edward faltered. “I… Ive met another woman.”
“And?” Vera didnt even turn around. “Whats next?”
“Turn off the bloody hob!” he burst out. “Are you even listening? Im in love with someone else!”
“I heard you,” Vera finally faced him. “Congratulations.”
“What?!” Edward was stunned. Hed expected tearsnot indifference.
“Keep your voice down. Youll scare the kids,” she said evenly.
“You knew?”
“No. But I suspected.”
“Suspected?”
“Of course. Wouldnt you notice if I came home hours late? Hid my phone? Made excuses to sleep in another room? Edward, anyone can tell when theyre not loved anymore.”
“Then why didnt you say anything?”
“You proposed to me,” Veras eyes glinted. “You should be the one to end it.”
Edward barely recognized her. Where were the tears? The begging?
“Anyway, I have a proposal.”
“How interesting,” Vera perched on a stool, watching him.
“Ive thought about it… The mortgage… Youd never manage it alone, even with child support.”
“Are we skipping the divorce discussion?” A steely edge sharpened her voice.
“Whats there to discuss?” He shrugged. “Youll never forgive me.”
“Ah,” she smiled. “You know me so well.”
“Heres how itll work,” Edward barrelled on, oblivious. “You move back to your old flat. Ill stay here.”
“And the children?”
“What about them? Theyll go with you, obviously.”
“So I take both kids to a shoebox, while you and your new girlfriend live in our three-bed?”
“Thats right. You cant afford the mortgage. Ive been paying it all along.”
“I see.” Vera stood. “I need to think.”
She stepped onto the balcony.
“Take your time,” Edward sneered under his breath.
While she was outside, he piled his plate with patties and mashed potatoes, digging in hungrily.
Before he could finish, Vera returned.
“Ill agreeon one condition.”
“What condition?” He smirked.
“You stay here with your new fling and our son. Our daughter and I will leave.”
“What?!” His face twisted in shock. “You want to split the children?!”
“Theyre ours equally, arent they? You take the son you always wanted. Ill take our daughter. Fair, dont you think?”
“Youre insane! Theyre not furniture!”
“No,” Veras voice was ice. “But I wont raise them alone while you walk away. Thats not happening.”
Edward scoffed. “Ill pay child support!”
“Good. Then Ill pay you too. We made them togetherwe raise them together. Dont want our son? Take our daughter. Shes older. Easier.”
“Youre punishing me!”
“Dont flatter yourself,” she said. “This is about fairness. Three-bed for you. One-bed for me. Mutual support. Otherwise, Ill fight you for every spoon in this house. Think it over. Somewhere else.”
Edward left.
He consulted his girlfriend, his mother, his sister.
All assured him Vera was bluffing. No mother would abandon her child over a flat.
His girlfriend, Natalie, was thrilled. A three-bed in London? She hadnt dared dream of such luck.
A few days later, Edward agreed.
“Brilliant,” Vera said. “File for divorce tomorrow.”
“Why me?”
“Because youre the man. And you can afford the fees.”
It took three months.
Edward moved in with Natalie.
Vera packed, enduring endless scorn.
“How could you?”
“What kind of mother does this?”
“Youve no shame!”
Even her twelve-year-old daughter, Lily, glared. “I thought you loved us.”
Vera waited, silent.
Then came the court hearing.
The judge frowned. “You want your son to live with his father?”
“Yes,” Vera said smoothly. “Equal responsibility, after all.”
Edward nodded.
And just like that, it was done.
***
Vera prepared meticulously. She left instructionsschool, allergies, doctors details.
Edward scoffed. “Well manage!”
The moment she and Lily left, Edward called Natalie. “Its done! Come over!”
That evening, Natalie posted online: “New beginnings!” with a photo of them leaning over their sleeping sons bed.
***
Then reality hit.
Tommy asked for Vera constantly.
He refused Natalies cooking.
Mornings were chaostantrums, tears, late arrivals at work.
Then Tommy fell ill.
Edward was clueless.
Natalie suddenly “had a work trip.” Then vanished entirely. “I didnt sign up for this,” her text read.
Edwards mother refused to help.
Vera visited once a week. After each visit, Tommys tantrums worsened.
Money drained away. No more weekends out. No peace.
Three months in, Edward called.
“Vera, we need to talk.”
She arrived, noting his ragged appearance.
“Take him back,” Edward begged. “I cant do this.”
“Oh?”
“Natalie left. Im exhausted.”
“I see,” Vera fought a smile. “But”
“No buts. Move back in. Ill leave. The flat will be yours.”
“And later, youll change your mind?”
“No. Ill sign it over.”
She tilted her head. “Too hard to handle one four-year-old?”
“Please.”
“On one condition. Legally binding.”
Edward stared. “I never knew you were this cold.”
“I had good teachers,” she said.
***
He kept his word.
The flat was hers.
He paid the mortgage.
Child support for both.
Visits every weekend.
And always, a bouquet for Vera.
A thank you.
For letting him live in her one-bed flatpaying only the utilities.
***
Now, everyone pities Edward.
They call Vera heartless.
A monster who abandoned her son.
But she smiles.
No regrets.
Shes already won.
