So, you know how it isTom had just finished university and figured it was finally the right time to marry his first love from secondary school, Emily! Emily was lovely, really sweet and clever as anything. At that point, she was busy writing her masters dissertation. Anyway, the young couple agreed theyd tie the knot as soon as her thesis was done.
Tom decided he ought to tell his mum about their plans, but she really didnt have the news he was hoping for. She told him flat out: its either Alice from next door or nobody else. Then she hit him with that classic question about what mattered morehis career or love? Shed always dreamed hed become really successful, a proper man about town.
Now, Alice came from old money, and shed fancied Tom for ages, but he was completely fixated on this Emily, who didnt have a penny to her name. Plus, Emilys mum didnt have the best reputation in the village and you know how people gossip, right?
I dont need another daughter-in-law, you can do what you want! his mum said, all dramatic.
Tom tried again and again to change her mind, but she was having none of it. At one point, she even said that if he married Emily, shed curse them both. That really shook him. So, Tom carried on seeing Emily for another six months, but eventually, the spark just fizzled out.
In the end, he went and married Alice. She was completely besotted with him, but they decided not to bother with a big wedding. Tom just couldnt bear the thought that Emily might see the photos. With Alices well-off background, Tom ended up moving into her massive family home, and her parents helped him climb the career ladder. Thing was, he was never truly happy.
Tom didnt want any kids, either. Eventually, when Alice realised she wasnt going to change his mind, she went and filed for divorce herself. By the time it all happened, Tom was already forty and Alice was thirty-eight. She soon remarried, had a child, and ended up really happy after all.
But Tom could never let go of the idea of being with Emily. He tried to get in touch with her, to find out what happened to her, but it was like shed vanished into thin air. Then one day, a mutual acquaintance told him that after they split, Emily had married the first man she met, but he turned out to be a real brute. Tragically, he beat her so badly that she died.
After all that, Tom moved back into his parents old flat and just started drinking himself into oblivion. Hed stare at Emilys photograph all the time, never able to forgive his mother for everything thatd happened.
