Jackson and Athena’s love story flourished in the early years of their marriage, but things slowly changed when Jackson started to cheat her and made his mistress pregnant.
Jackson was married to Athena for about eight years now. The couple were high school sweethearts and decided to tie the knot after they had finished their college education.
It had been her dream to become a counselor, and this path was something she was never going to pass on. Slowly, she spent less time at home until she barely saw her husband. By day, her attention was split between further studies and attending to patients. At night, she was drained and would go straight to bed.
Despite her state, Athena went above and beyond on days when she could. She would plan out road trips, book meals in luxurious restaurants, or even just spend the whole day with Jackson doing anything that pleases them. But clearly, their relationship had already weathered down.
For months now, Jackson had been keeping an intimate relationship with a woman he casually met, Amy. She was a regular at the local coffee shop that Jackson always visited. They would often cross paths and eventually shared countless conversations.
Jackson spoke about his unhealthy relationship with Athena and found comfort in Amy until their feelings for each other developed. After a while, Jackson confessed his love for Amy, promising her that he would leave Athena. He even set aside funds to rent out an apartment where both of them could secretly meet.
One day, during their usual meet-ups, Amy revealed that she was pregnant. The married man was caught off guard, confused as to whether the child was his. “You’re the father. We’re going to be a family,” she said. Jackson was speechless and mumbled his following words.
Amy was surprised at his reaction, thinking that the big news would further their plans to be together. “We can’t see each other anymore. We can’t keep doing this,” Jackson said. He quickly stormed out, with Amy desperately clinging on to his arm.
Amy went to the park and cried while sitting on the bench. Hours passed, but her tears would not stop falling. Countless people passed by, yet no one bothered to ask what was wrong. Not until one woman stopped, and sat beside Amy. It was Athena.
“Excuse me, miss? Is everything alright?” Athena softly asked. Amy didn’t want to share her struggles with a stranger, so she just nodded that she was okay. Athena hesitated to ask again, given the first response but eventually did.
Athena spoke, this time reassuring Amy that everything was going to be alright. She introduced herself as a psychiatric counselor and that she worked just a few blocks up. Amy felt comfortable knowing she dealt with people, so she began to open up.
Athena observed the unstable state that Amy was in and immediately offered her a ride home. Amy was quick to decline, and so Athena offered free counseling instead. Unsure of what was next for her life, Amy took her card and visited her clinic a few days after.
Amy arrived at the clinic, ready for her session with Athena. Once she entered the office, she observed many things, from awards to books and even toys for young patients. But, one thing that caught her attention was Athena’s photo with her husband.
Amy’s heart sank, realizing that the woman she met was the wife of the man she was seeing. “What a small world,” she immediately thought. She was unsure as to whether to tell Athena what she had just realized. Days passed, and Amy contemplated whether she should come forward with the truth about Jackson.
She wanted to get revenge on him for leaving, yet her fickle heart convinced her that maybe he was coming back. True enough, just a few moments later, he rang the doorbell. Jackson came forward and told Amy that he was sorry for what he said, explaining that he realized deep down that he was only in love with her.
Jackson promised that they would live life together, describing their home and the places they would travel to. But, he gave an ultimatum that Amy must abort the child. He emphasized that he was not ready and wanted to ensure that they would start a family only at the right time.
Amy realized that if Jackson truly loved her, he would have wanted to keep the child. Nevertheless, his sweet words were only after the goal of getting rid of the child. These thoughts pushed Amy to go forward with her plan of telling the truth.
On a piece of paper, she wrote the whole story of meeting Jackson and revealed that he was the father of the child she carried. Amy mailed the letter to Athena with a picture of them both as proof. After sending the letter in the mail.
Amy used her remaining savings to move out of the neighborhood and prepare for the coming of her child. She never looked back and decided to focus on her next chapter raising her child as a single mother
