Mark had just finished university, and decided it was finally time to marry his first love from school, Emily. Emily was a lovely girlcharming, sharp, and kind. At the time, she was knee-deep in her Masters thesis. The young couple made a promise to each other: as soon as she finished, they would tie the knot.
One rainy Sunday afternoon, Mark went to break the news to his mother over tea. But she met him with cold eyes and even colder words. Youll be marrying Charlotte from next door, or not marrying at all, she announced, folding her arms. Tell me, Markwhat matters more to you: your future, or this so-called love? For years, his mother had dreamt of him becoming someonesomeone polished, respected, with all the trappings of success.
Charlotte came from moneya grand house up on the hill, family friends on the council, the sort of people who hosted garden parties with champagne. Shed always carried a torch for Mark, while hethe poor foolloved Emily, whose family counted every pound at the end of the week. Emilys mother, to make matters worse, was subject to a swirl of rumourshardly the sort for a respectable marriage.
What will people say? his mother pressed, her voice tight. I dont need another daughter-in-law, but youll make your own choices, wont you? That was the last she would say.
Mark pleaded, argued, begged for months, but his mother never budged. On her final word, she said if he married Emily, shed curse them both. The threat sank deep into Mark, leaving a chill he couldnt shake. He and Emily met in secret for six more months, but their love began to wither from the strain.
In the end, he married Charlotte. She adored him entirely, but they agreed thered be no big wedding celebrationMark couldnt bear the thought of Emily stumbling upon wedding photographs in the local newspaper. Charlottes family welcomed him into their stately home, and her parents helped Mark climb the career ladder. But joy never found him there.
He didnt want children. Charlotte soon realised shed never change his mind, and sought a divorce on her own terms. By then, Mark was forty, Charlotte was thirty-eight. She remarried, had a child, and found the happiness Mark never could.
Years later, Mark pined for the life he could have had with Emily. He tried to track her down, but it was as if shed vanished into thin air. Finally, an old acquaintance told him the truth: after Mark left, Emily married the first man she meta brute who, the neighbour whispered, had beaten her so badly that she was gone. The loss struck Mark like a thunderbolt.
After that fateful revelation, Mark retreated into his parents shabby old flat, his dreams and ambition long broken. Night after night, he drowned his regrets in cheap whisky, endlessly staring at an old, worn photograph of Emilyhaunted by a sorrow he would never forgive his mother for planting in his heart.
