It was a bright cold morning in October—the day Harry had been waiting for to present the new gaming app he’d been working on day and night for the last six months.

Nothing would stop Harry from grabbing his much-awaited promotion and that six-figure paycheck if everything went well. So he was so excited.

The clock struck eight as Harry stormed into the dining room, his eyes still fixed on his phone, not his wife Sara or his two little sons, Cody and Sonny…

“Morning, honey,” Sara said.

“Good morning, Daddy,” the boys chorused.

But Harry didn’t respond. He quickly grabbed a toast, lost in his thoughts about the upcoming presentation, and hurried back to his room to get ready.

“Sara, where’s my white shirt?” Harry’s voice suddenly boomed from the bedroom while everyone was still enjoying their breakfast.

“I just put it for a wash with all the whites.”

“What do you mean by you just put it for a wash? I asked you to wash it three days ago. You know that’s my lucky shirt. And I needed it for today’s meeting,” Harry snapped as he stormed to the dining room.

“Why can’t you ever do anything right? Why do you always have to mess things up? Today’s a big day for me. What am I gonna wear now?”

Sara’s face turned red, and she started making excuses.

“Stop yelling at me in the morning, Harry. I didn’t have enough white clothes to wash. I just gathered all of them until I had a full load. And it’s not the only white shirt you have. It’s not a big deal or something. So stop barking, alright?”

“Oh really? I’m barking? You wanna do this now?”

“Do what, Harry? You’re making a scene for a stupid little thing. And nobody would be interested in what color shirt you’re wearing when all eyes would be fixed on your goddamn presentation.”

“A goddamn presentation? Come again…Did you just say that? Do you have any idea how I’ve been busting my butt off day and night for that project?”

“Watch your words. The kids….”

“And you know what? You sit at home all day doing nothing,” Harry blurted out. “Is it too hard to remember one simple thing? And that friend of yours in the apartment below…All you do is gossip with her as if you’re gonna solve the whole world’s problem. All you do is Blah Blah Blah and NOTHING at home.”

“Harry, stop this. The kids are watching. You’re scaring them.”

“Oh really? And nobody watches you when you’re on the goddamn phone gossiping all the time with your friends. Whose husband did what…Whose wife has a fling with who…and basically sitting at home doing nothing around here? Nobody watches that, huh, Sara?”

“And you know what? I give up…I can’t handle this crap anymore. You can never be a good wife if you can’t do even a simple thing for me.”

Harry dressed up in a random suit and stormed out of the house, grabbing his briefcase.

As Harry presented his project, his phone kept vibrating in his pocket. With each ring, his heart leaped, thinking Sara had called him to apologize like she always did whenever they fought.

“That was one helluva presentation, Harry. Good job, man,” Harry’s boss, Mr. Adams, congratulated him. And Harry was over the moon when he finally got his hands on his dream promotion.

He checked his phone on his drive home and was surprised at not seeing Sara’s calls or texts. She usually called or sent those heart and smiley emojis with a sorry voice message every time they fought. But this time, there was none.

“Strange! Still angry with me, huh, babe?” Harry muttered before approaching a roadside florist and getting a bouquet of Sara’s favorite white roses. He beamed with joy as he took the elevator to his high-rise apartment on the seventh floor overlooking the sea.

“Honey, I’m home!” Harry called out, tossing the keys on the table. But there was no answer, except for his own voice bouncing off the walls.

Harry put the flowers in the vase and searched every room in the house, but there was no sign of his family.

“Sara, honey….” he called out again. “Guys? Daddy’s home…Cody? Sonny?”

“Where’s everyone?”

Agitated, Harry took his phone to call Sara when a note on the coffee table held in place by a red pen drew his attention. He shakily picked it up and stammered at the words: “I want a divorce.”

Harry sank onto the couch, the note feeling heavy in his hand as he read it over and over again.

“Is this some kind of a joke?”

Harry closed his eyes, hoping it was not real. He grabbed his phone and called Sara.

“Pick up…Sara…please…pick up,” he frantically whispered. But there was no answer.

“Where did she go? Where are the kids?” he whispered as he scrolled down the contacts to call Zara, Sara’s sister.

“Hey…is Sara with you? I just came home, and she’s not….” he spoke, anxiously pinching his fingers.

“Sara’s in the hospital right now, Harry.”

“The hospital?? Wha-What happened to her?”

The line went blank as Harry bolted out of his apartment and onto the streets, shouting for a taxi approaching in his direction.

“Keep the change,” he hurried out of the cab and burst into the hospital, his eyes darting around, looking for Zara.

“Where is she? Oh my God, Zara. What happened to Sara? Is she alright?”

“Really, Harry? You’re asking if she’s alright? She’s here coz of you…You did this to my sister. You told her she was not ‘wife’ enough for you?”

“Look, we’ll talk about this later, alright?” Harry then rushed to meet the doctor.

“Doctor, is my wife alright? Can I see her?”

“It’s a mild attack. Nothing to worry about…She’s out of danger. But she needs to take care of her health now. Yeah, please, go ahead and only ten minutes coz she needs to rest.”

Harry shakily walked into the ward, trying to force a smile as he approached Sara.

“Hey, I know that I…What I did was…Look, I’m sorry, and let’s just….”

But Sara cut Harry off.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. You don’t have to. Coz you know what? I don’t want to hear it anymore.”

“Honey, please, let me explain.”

“I don’t wanna hear anything. Not anymore. I’m done. Divorce is the only thing I want.”

“Wha-What? Why…Sara, look, you got to be kidding…You’re taking it too far, alright?”

“Why? You’re asking me why?” Sara scowled. “Coz I buried my life alive, Harry. I had ambitions, plans…and dreams. I was at the top of my class in college. Several interior design companies, so many of them, were impressed with my portfolio and offered to join them in New York.”

“Honey, see, you’re just complicating everything. Let’s just go home and sort everything….”

“Shut up. Just shut up,” Sara raised her voice. “Or just leave if you’re not ready to listen.”

“I chose you over every opportunity, and it ruined my life. You have a successful career. You have respect in society and recognition as a game designer. But me? You’ve been only treating me like a tailpiece. Like a dog living in a cozy cage, doing the same stale chores day and night. And yet, you have the audacity to tell me that all I do is nothing?”

“Please, honey, I’m sorry, alright?” Harry tried to calm Sara down. “Look, everything I do is for you guys. I want us to be happy. I know I’ve made mistakes…Hell lot of mistakes. But please, I deserve a chance to make things right. We can work this together, okay?”

“No, I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be fake to myself. To you. And to the kids. I’m 32, but I feel like a crone. I just hate you, Harry. You’re so disgusting.”

“What about the kids, Sara?”

“I’m in a tough spot to provide for them…So they’re staying with you.”

Harry spoke no more and stormed out of the hospital to pick up his kids from Zara’s house.

“Daddy, when will mommy come home? Aunt Zara said Mommy’s sick. What happened to Mommy?” The boys asked Harry.

“Your mommy will be back very soon, sweeties.”

“I hope so,” he whispered to himself.

As Harry entered the kitchen, a familiar smell of spices assaulted his senses. He’d always find Sara making dinner around that time. But that day, the kitchen was bare, with a sink overflowing with dirty dishes.

“Okay, so who wants pizza for dinner?” he distracted the kids.

Harry ordered the pizza since he knew the boys loved it and hoped it would cheer them up.

The kids chuckled as they gobbled their favorite ice cream and pizza. Harry squeezed a smile, but deep down, he was not entirely convinced that Sara meant everything she said. He believed she might be going through a nervous breakdown and hoped things would settle down once she calmed down.

“…And don’t let the bed bugs bite!” Harry chuckled as he kissed his children goodnight after dinner.

“But the divorce part is still hitting hard, man. I mean…She’s never said such a thing before,” Harry told his friend Alex on a phone call later that night.

“Women are so unpredictable, pal. She could’ve just cracked up. So chill.”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same. Talk to you later, man!”

Harry dozed off to sleep and wouldn’t wake up until he felt two little hands jolting him awake the next morning.

“Daddy? Daddy, wake up. You have to drop us at school. We’ll be late. Daddy?”

“Sonny, what are you doing in my….” Harry rose, drooling on his pillow, and leaped out of bed in his blue-white striped shorts at seeing the time.

“Holy—!” he gasped. “Give Daddy a minute. I’ll just…run…go brush,” he chased his son out of the room and bolted to the bathroom and then to the kitchen.

“Okay, guys, get your shoes on while I get the breakfast ready,” he told the boys as he ran around the kitchen, gathering the ingredients to make French toast.

Harry tossed the egg-soaked bread in the sizzling pan and rushed to pack their school bags and iron his shirt. And amid that hustle, the smoke alarm went off in the kitchen.

“Oh, no, the toast,” Harry gasped, bolting into the kitchen, coughing and waving the smoke. “Owww…Holy…Owww…Ouch!” he burned his finger while taking the pan off the stove and dropped it, hopping around the mess.

“Daddy…Daddy, what’s happening?”

“It’s just the smoke alarm. Don’t worry. Stay right there.”

As Harry turned off the smoke alarm, he smelled burning fabric. He had no idea how to use the iron while trying to fix his crinkled shirt and had forgotten about it.

“Oh, no…not again,” he rushed to the laundry room and turned off the iron, relieved it didn’t start a fire.

“Daddy, what about the French toast? We are hungry.”

“I’m sorry, boys. I was just trying to…Okay, listen, give Daddy five minutes, alright? I’ll quickly get ready, and let’s grab something nice to eat on the way to school, yeah?”

With everyone finally ready, Harry rushed out with the kids. As he loaded them in his car, he saw the time on his wristwatch and realized he had only ten minutes to reach his office and attend an important meeting.

“Great! Now what? The meeting starts in ten minutes, and I’m still stuck in traffic. I’ve never been late for work,” Harry muttered, honking endlessly.

“Excuse me, everybody. Sorry! Traffic, you know….” Harry excused himself as he sat down for the meeting.

“It won’t happen again, Mr. Adams. I promise,” he shook hands with his boss after the meeting and was very embarrassed.

Later that day, when he arrived home after picking up his sons from school, Harry hoped to find Sara waiting for them. He thought she would put aside their differences and just get back.

But a week passed, and Sara never returned. As Harry unlocked his apartment door one evening after picking up his kids from school, he noticed something was off.

The fresh fragrance of Sara’s favorite perfume lingered in the living room, and Harry’s heart started to race.

He walked to the kitchen and noticed all the drawers and cabinets were half-open and nearly empty. Sara’s favorite mug with her initials and the Eiffel Tower graphic print was gone.

Harry made his way to their bedroom, and his worst fears were confirmed. Sara’s clothes were missing. Her shoes, handbags, cosmetics, and photos of her with the boys—everything was gone.

“Did she leave me for real?” Harry collapsed on the bed.

“Please, Sara…don’t do this to me…Pick up…Pick up.”

But Sara never answered his calls.

“Daddy, what happened to Mommy’s pictures and her things?” the boys distracted Harry from what had become his worst nightmare.

“Guys, there’s choco chip ice cream in the fridge. Please…just gimme a minute. Daddy’s got to make an important call, alright?”

“….She told you, didn’t she, Harry? You took my sister for granted. Oh, by the way, she’s not here with me. I have a flight to catch,” said Zara.

“Is this some kind of a joke, Zara? Your sister came here. Took all her things. And left me? With the kids? Is she outta her mind?”

The line went blank, and Harry froze, unable to believe what had just happened. His worst fears became a reality, and he didn’t know how he would handle everything alone.

It had been five months since Sara left, and Harry kept himself busy with work and taking care of his boys.

Meanwhile, the deadline for another important project was approaching, but Harry had barely made any progress on it. He just couldn’t focus on his work anymore.

One afternoon, as Harry was rushing to pick up his sons from school, his boss stopped him and invited him to a celebratory lunch.

“Harry, I was wondering if we could go to the pub…and grab a beer now,” Mr. Adams said.

“Now, but Mr. Adams, I got to….”

“Harry, I’ll be waiting for you in the lobby. Make it fast.”

The boss seemed unusually calm as Harry sat across him in the pub.

“So, Harry,” Mr. Adams spoke, sipping his drink. “As you know, we have a corporate event next week. Will you be able to make it?”

Harry hesitated for a moment and paused drinking.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Adams. But my kids have an important theatrical performance at school on that day. I promised them I would be there.”

“I understand…Family comes first!” the boss nodded.

Harry sighed deeply before taking a sip, but his boss wasn’t done yet.

“I wanted to discuss your performance lately, Harry. We’ve noticed that you’ve been coming late for work…missing deadlines. And the quality of your work has significantly declined. We’re a business, and we’re here for a mutual cause: Money. You know what I mean?”

Harry’s heart sank, but he still wore a smile because, besides being his boss, Mr. Adams was a good friend for years.

“You got to be kidding, Mr. Adams. So what have you guys planned? To let the best game developer go?” Harry laughed.

“I’m afraid, yes.”

Harry froze, putting back the glass of beer he was holding.

“Mr. Adams…No, you can’t be serious.”

“I’m sorry, Harry. I’ve been getting a lot of pressure from the upper end. It’s their decision, not mine. We appreciate everything you’ve done for us. But we don’t have a choice. I’ll give you excellent recommendations…I’m sure you’ll find something else soon.”

“Mr. Adams, please. Okay? Don’t do this. Tell me it’s one of your stupid jokes. I’ll laugh my butt off till you tell me to stop. Please, don’t do this. I need this job. And you know how important it is for me. I have two kids to feed. Please….”

Mr. Adam’s silence haunted Harry, and he couldn’t believe his luck.

“Alright. Thank you. You just deprived a father of his chance to feed his children. Thank you so much,” Harry kicked the chair behind him and stormed out of the pub.

As he disappointedly walked across the street, his phone rang.

“Sara?” Harry gasped.

“Harry, can we meet for a quick chat at five? You know…at the café where we first…?”

Sara was sitting in the café that evening, her eyes darting around as she waited for Harry. She clutched the cup of latte tight, not sure of how to tell him why she’d come.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves when Harry finally arrived.

“Hey!”

“Hey, it’s been a while. How are you? How are the boys?”

“What do you think?” smiled Harry. “What’s the matter, Sara? Did you just remember us?”

Sara pursed her lips. “I…I was undergoing therapy. In Chicago. At…At a friend’s place. I’m alright now. Perfectly fine! I got a job here in Boston. I’m doing pretty well, and….”

“Oh, I’m glad to hear. And?”

“I came to talk about the kids.”

“What about them?”

“I came for them, Harry. I…I want custody.”

“Custody?? How dare you? And you have the nerve to demand that after you left us like we didn’t exist.”

“Harry, stop. People are watching. Stop.”

“You can’t just disappear and then walk back into my life, demanding custody of my kids. You don’t have the rights.”

“Of course I do! I’m their mother.”

“Oh really? And you abandoned your kids and just disappeared? Is this some kind of a freak show? And you know what? My children don’t need you. They have me. They’ve gotten used to my ways and don’t need you anymore.”

“That’s not true. They love me, and I know that. You’re a liar, Harry. It’s always about you. You’re only bothered about yourself. I won’t let you do the same thing to my kids. I’ll see you in court very soon.”

Sara left, having said that, leaving Harry boiling with rage as he smashed the cup of latte on the wall and stormed out.

Days passed, and it was the day of the trial. Harry was nervous but never showed it to his kids that morning as he prepared breakfast.

“Daddy, can I have more pasta, please?” said Sonny.

“Me too,” added Cody.

Harry had learned to cook well and did almost every chore without making a mess like he used to. He ironed their uniform, packed their bags, and did the dishes. And there were no more takeaways for breakfast.

Harry did everything to put a smile on his children’s faces and still found time to balance his new freelance video editing gig and the kids.

“Daddy loves you!” he kissed the boys after dropping them outside their school, sighing heavily as they disappeared into the campus.

He then hurried to the court, nervous yet calm.

“Mr. Wills, can you please tell us about your attention to your family while you lived together with my client, Miss Sara?” Sara’s lawyer asked Harry.

“Well, I did my best to provide for my family. I worked long hours. Overtime sometimes. I kept myself busy because I wanted to make sure they had everything they needed.”

“That’s what most responsible family guys do, right?! And what about your wife’s ambitions? Did she want to build her own career?”

“Before we had our kids…Yes, she did want to work. But after that, she stayed home to look after the kids and the household.”

“Well, looking after the kids…the family…cooking, cleaning. So basically, your wife has been your cook. Your children’s nanny. Your wellwisher. And did you insult her, saying she did nothing at home?”

“I did. Yes, it was an outburst. I was late for office and….”

“Mr. Wills, were you fired from your job? Why were you fired exactly?”

“Objection, Your Honor. This is utterly irrelevant and immaterial to the case,” Harry’s lawyer rose.

“Objection overruled.”

“Thank you, Your Honor!” added Sara’s lawyer. “Mr. Wills, why were you fired from your job?”

After a momentous pause, Harry looked into Sara’s teary eyes and opened up. “Because I couldn’t balance my work and parental duties. I tried, but it was too much. But I didn’t give up. I would never give up on my kids. I love them.”

“Mr. Wills, how are you managing now? How do you intend to support your kids…without a job?”

“I have a job. I can support them well.”

“Be specific, Mr. Wills. What job and what’s the salary?”

“It…It’s a part-time freelance gig. I’m a video editor.”

“Mr. Wills, I admire your confidence, despite your climbing down the career ladder! I’m sure you make nothing much like you used to in your previous job, right?” the lawyer added ironically. “A freelance job. Low salary. And raising two kids in today’s recession. Well…That’s all, Your Honor.”

Sara was then called up to the box as Harry’s heart started pounding.

“Ms. Sara, can you please tell us about your life with your husband…I mean, soon-to-be ex-husband?” Harry’s lawyer asked. “Did he ever refuse to give you money or care for you in any way?”

“No…Not at all. He was always generous with our finances. We never had any issues with money.”

“Did Mr. Wills ever raise his hands on you or the kids? Has he ever come home drunk and misbehaved at home?”

“No, he never laid a hand on us. My husband. Sorry. Mr. Wills has never come home drunk.”

“Your husband has taken care of you. You even agreed on that. He’s never laid his hands on you. Then why did you leave him and the kids?”

“I had a nervous breakdown. I was so depressed with the things going on in my house. My husband never had time for me. He was always busy. He would come home and sit with his laptop, barely asking me if I was sick…happy…or sad. I tried to cope. But I couldn’t do it anymore and left. I didn’t want my kids to struggle with me as I wasn’t emotionally stable at that time. So I had no choice but to leave them with their father.”

Harry slowly started to break on the inside, and those words hit him like a bag of bricks.

“Ms. Sara, where were you these six months? What were you doing, and how will you care for the kids?”

“I was in Chicago at a friend’s place. I wanted to be away from everything and everyone for a while. Then I moved back to Boston…got a job as an interior designer.”

“What’s the guarantee you won’t have another breakdown and won’t abandon the kids again?” the lawyer broke Sara’s silence.

“Objection, Your Honor. This is baseless and….” Sara’s lawyer chimed in. “My client Ms. Sara has come for the children’s custody. Why would she leave them again?”

“Order…Order.”

“I won’t do it ever again. My children are my world. I’ll be there for them and never let anything like that happen again.”

And two hours later, the verdict was announced, and Sara was granted custody of the kids.

“….Mr. Wills, you’ll have the right to visit your children and take them with you two days a week. You’re required to pay $860 as support to your children every month. This case is now closed.”

It was a pleasant Sunday morning for everyone but Harry. The kettle sat on the stove, shooting a plume of hot steam as he watched his kids put their favorite Lego toys in the cardboard box.

“And here you go…the roller skates are in this box. And Sonny, no ice cream after bed, alright? And you there, little fella…No fighting with your brother, okay?”

The boys nodded, their eyes downcast.

“Daddy, are we not going to live as one happy family like we used to? With Mommy?”

Harry hugged his kids, trying his best not to cry. And just as he secretly dropped those tears while hugging them, there was a loud knock on the door.

“Hey!” Harry smiled at Sara. “Come in.”

“Mommy! Mommy!” the boys ran to her.

“I…I’ll just go get the things out of their bedroom,” Harry pulled himself together to gather his children’s stuff to be taken down the elevator.

“Mommy, we missed you so much.”

“It’s okay, sweetie. Mama will never leave you again. Never.”

Just as Sara held the boys’ hands and turned around to leave, she stopped.

“Honey, what’s the matter? It’s time to leave.”

“You’re just tearing us apart,” spoke Cody, the eldest of the two, as he let go of Sara’s hand and bolted to his father.

“We want Mommy and Daddy,” added Sonny.

Harry gently brushed his children’s hair with his fingers and hugged them tighter, sighing a deep heavy breath.

“It’s okay, little fellas…It’s okay.”

Sara could no longer hold herself back. She bolted in their direction and hugged them, the embrace lasting for a few minutes before she looked Harry in the eyes.

What can we learn from this story?

• Respect and appreciate your loved ones for who they are. Harry and Sara loved their children and each other, but circumstances drove them apart due to misunderstandings and conflicts.
• Listening to each other with an open mind and heart strengthens a relationship. Had Harry and Sara discussed their flaws and sorted out their differences instead of blaming each other, they wouldn’t have parted ways for six months.

Tell us what you think about this story, and share it with your friends. It might inspire them and brighten their day.

A rich lawyer hears his spoiled son mock a boy whose father was a grocery packer in a store. He then decides to teach the lad a very painful lesson by switching his place with the less fortunate kid. Click here to read the full story.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.