Oftentimes, couples cannot see eye-to-eye. Many wives have different dreams than their husbands and vice versa. Just like the woman in our story today. Jasmine Ezra was a woman who preferred to live a life surrounded by family. She came from a large family herself, having 5 brothers and sisters to argue and play with. They were each other’s greatest support systems, and she wished from a young age that she might raise her own children someday. She longed to have many children, or at least one. But, when it came to her husband, he did not share such desires. He wanted to live a life without any constraints.
She Longed for Children
Jack Ezra was a man who loved adventure. When he and Jasmine got together, they had met when on a ski trip. Jasmine was struggling to maintain her balance, and he had offered her some unofficial lessons. They fell deeply in love and were married a year later. Jasmine spoke about her dreams of being a mother to a large family, but she was disappointed when Jack refused that life. He wanted to carry on living an adventurous life and have the opportunity to travel at the drop of a hat. He said that children would only hold them back, and they would be happier without them.
Jack convinced Jasmine to hold off on the idea of children, and he promised that their life would be jam-packed with activities and holidays. They went on one holiday at the beginning of their marriage, but never again after that. Jack got a new job with a particularly popular financial company and that involved a lot of travel. There were many conferences that he would now have to attend, which asked him to spend three or four days away from home. This was generally over the weekends, so Jasmine was left to entertain herself.
She Worked Hard Until Inheritance Came Through
Jasmine was a brilliant photographer. She worked for a magazine taking pictures for their stories, being paid to do what she loved. The only type of shoot she avoided doing was anything to do with families and children. She so badly wanted her own kids that she would tear up watching other mothers fuss over their children. Jasmine came from a wealthy family, but they did not give any handouts. She had to work for her money, but she earned pretty decently with the magazine. When her grandmother passed away, there was a sizable inheritance left for her, she would only be eligible to receive it when she turned 40 years old.
Jasmine planned to retire young because the money she was to inherit was enough to live on comfortably for the rest of her life. She had sneaky ideas to convince her husband to do the same so they could go on those lavish and adventure-filled holidays he had promised her when they first got married. She knew this would be hard because he loved his job so much.
Read: Old Widower Who Lived in Dirty Trailer Left $5.4M Inheritance to Lady Who Isn’t One of His 6 Children – a Short Story
Jasmine Cleaned House
It was a Friday morning, and Jasmine did not have any photoshoots planned, so her weekend started early. Jack left early in the morning for another conference. This one was halfway across the country, which meant a long flight. Jasmine hated it when he left every time – she never got used to saying goodbye to him.
Jasmine was pretty bored that day and tried to find something to occupy herself with. She was not much of a TV person, and all of her friends were at work. So, she decided to clean the house. Jasmine started in the kitchen and then moved into the sitting room. When she finally made it up to the room she was hot and feeling sweaty. She went over to the cupboard and stared at the jumble of clothes for a moment. Sighing, she grabbed an armful of her husband’s clothes and started folding them neatly into piles.
Turning back to the cupboard for another armful, she noticed a briefcase that had been hiding behind all the mess. Curious, she opened the latch. There were a bunch of documents inside, which Jasmine thought was odd because they had a safe for this purpose. She saw one folder that had a small heart scrawled on top. Inside she found five birth certificates for different children. Her heart sank as she read their names. Jack was their father.
Discovery
Jasmine did not want Jack to know that she had found out about her secret family. She was heartbroken over the realization that he was not going away for work every week but rather traveling to see his children and their mother. She realized that he was probably with them now, as he had left early this morning for another conference. The thought of them together made her feel ill.
She waited for him to come home on Monday, and he went straight to bed for a nap, claiming the conference had zapped his energy. Jasmine took the opportunity to drive over to the address she had managed to find, hoping it was the home of Jack’s secret family. The woman who opened the door looked strangely akin to Jasmine, but slightly different. She could hear a child crying from somewhere in the house.
Jasmine came clean about her discoveries, and the other woman, whom Jasmine found out was called Delilah, was just as baffled by the revelation. She was horrified that she had been fooled for so many years, even having five children with him. She told Jasmine that they were even planning on getting married in a few months. A wedding she had been promised for years. Jasmine realized right there and then that he had been waiting for her inheritance to come through. He wanted to take her money and leave her for Delilah.
Read: Old Lady Adopts Lost Little Boy with Note in His Pocket, His Mother Returns after 13 Years – a Short Story
Confrontation
The two women concocted a plan to leave Jack on the same day. Jasmine stopped past her lawyer’s office and got some divorce papers for him to sign. Delilah went the extra mile. She dropped her children off with her parents for a week, they would just be confused to see their mom pack up their dad’s things.
That evening, when Jasmine got home. She poured herself a large glass of wine and went to sit at the kitchen table. She had the divorce papers in front of her and the birth certificates she had discovered next to them. When Jack came downstairs, expecting dinner to be ready, he was confused by the lack of cooking going on. When he asked jasmine what was for dinner, she could not help but snort in laughter as she sipped her wine. She slid the documents over to him, and his face turned ghostly white.
Jack stuttered and stammered, and tried his best to give excuses and possible reasons for the birth certificates. Jasmine just held up her hand and told him she had already met them all. He stopped dead in his explanations, eyes bulging. She told him to sign the papers unless he wanted things to get ugly. He signed them begrudgingly. He left with a few of his things, but Jasmine knew it was because he thought he had a whole house’s worth of things back with Delilah. She couldn’t help but smirk as he reversed down the driveway.
Resolution
Jack arrived at Delilah’s house and was gutted to find everything he owned out on the lawn in boxes. There was a note included that explained that she knew about Jasmine. Jack knew he was caught out, and there was no excusing his behavior. He called out to Delilah, but she just waved at him from what once was their bedroom window, but was now hers.
Jasmine and Delilah became fast friends. They united over the fact that they were both duped but supported each other fiercely. Jasmine became something akin to an aunt to the children, who adored her. Jasmine also found love again in a man who wanted children but never found the right woman. They did one round of IVF, and Jasmine fell pregnant! She was finally going to be a mother.
Keep Reading: ‘I’m Waiting for Mom,’ Girl Says to Park Janitor, Next Day He Sees Her Still Sitting at Same Spot – a Short Story