Story of the Day: Woman Leaves Her Family for Her Boss

A woman drops her loving husband and two beautiful children for the promise of luxurious life with her rich, older boss and ends up losing her soul.

What makes you happy? Do you know? Sadly, most people don't. They confuse what they want with what they need, leading to disaster, as one woman learned to her regret.

Sarah Martin wanted more, more of everything. She wanted more money, fun, pretty things, fancy cars, nights at the opera... Sarah wanted "more" of things she didn't have and never counted what she did have.

And what did she have? She had a loving husband, Nick, two beautiful children, a boy, and a girl, aged six and four, a pretty home, and a promising career as a lawyer at a prestigious firm.

But for Sarah Martin, none of it was enough; she deserved more, so much more! And why didn't she have more? Everyone could see it was all the unambitious Nick's fault!

When Sarah married Nick, he'd been a promising young architect with a bright future ahead of him, but over the following seven years, she'd watched amazed as he'd lost promotion after promotion.

His teammates were promoted over him time after time, taking credit for Nick's creativity. Nick always told her his time would come, but it never did, and Sarah now believed it never would.

Nick, she now saw, would never have that killer instinct that made a man a success and a provider of the good life worthy of a woman like Sarah. Why, Sarah had been the prettiest girl in her high school, in her college, in the entire state!

Becoming a mother hadn't robbed Sarah of her figure or her beauty. In fact, she knew she'd never been so lovely. It was time for Sarah to change her life and moved on to the future she deserved.

She was thinking about all the wonderful pleasures she'd enjoy when called from the kitchen where he was making Saturday breakfast for Sarah and the children. "Sarah, honey, one egg or two?"

Sarah walked into the kitchen and stared at Nick with disdain. "So how much longer is it going to be, Nick?"

Nick smiled at his wife tenderly. "Poor baby, are you very hungry? Just a few moments... Listen, I was aging to tell you tonight? But I just can't wait!"

Sarah stamped her foot impatiently. "No, Nick, it will have to wait. What I want to know is how long before I have the good life you promised me?

Nick blinked in surprise. "Listen, love, if you'll just let me..."

"Let you," Sarah screeched, "I've let you ruin my life all these years. Look at where we're living!"

Nick looked around their cozy apartment with surprise. "Where we are living?"

"Yes! This poky little place. I have news for you, Nick; it's not 'cozy'; it's pathetic."

Nick stared at Sarah. "There's nothing wrong with our home, Sarah, or with our lives. Listen, you know how I've been talking about how things were going to change? Well..."

"Oh, don't tell me! You've been given a 50 dollar raise to make up for the fact that someone else got that promotion you've been hoping for!"

Sarah smiled seductively as the door swung open and found herself face to face with a pretty young woman.

"No, Sarah, listen..."

"No, Nick, I'm done listening to you, waiting for you to become the man I thought you'd be! I want the life I deserve."

"The life...There's nothing wrong with our life, Sarah. We have a good home, beautiful children, and now..."

"And now what? Now you're taking me to a luxurious holiday at your parents' country house in New Jersey? I want more, Nick; I want to go to Tahiti, Bali, Paris."

Nick looked at Sarah sadly. "I see, so what we have is not good enough?"

Sarah laughed. "Did you think it could ever be? But luckily, Nick, I'm more ambitious than you are and organized a better life for myself."

"A better life...What do you mean, Sarah?" Asked Nick, alarmed.

"What do I mean? I mean that there's a better man waiting for me, wanting me, giving me all the good things I deserve!"

"What?" Nick was pale with shock.

Sarah's rage got the better of her. "I'm having an affair, Nick, for the last six months, I've been having an affair with one of the partners at my firm, Richard Knox, and you didn't even notice!"

"An affair? You've been having an affair?"

"Let me ask you, didn't you notice that I was working a lot of late hours, wearing new, expensive clothes, jewelry?"

"Clothes, jewelry..."

"And Nick? That conference I attended last month? I went to the Bahamas with Richard, to a five-star hotel...Only the best for me now, Nick!"

Nick was aghast. "Richard? That sleazy old man you complained was always staring at your boobs? The one who hits on all the paralegals?"

"Well, he's not looking at anyone but me these days, Nick! He wants me, he loves me, he tells me I'm 'the one,' and I'm leaving you."

"I can't believe it...You are leaving me for a dirty old man who's got his hand up every skirt at the office? For what, Sarah? For expensive clothes, for luxury vacations, jewels?"

"What else is there, Nick? You tell me...What else is there?"

Nick was shaking his head. "Love, Sarah, I thought there was love. That is what we had: love, a family, a beautiful future..."

"A beautiful future? You must be kidding! Living in this dingy neighborhood in a two-bedroom apartment? Buying clothes at Mr.Price and holidaying in New Jersey? You keep that future, Nick, I'm moving on!"

"Just like that? You're leaving us?"

"Leaving YOU, I'm taking the children. Richard will provide them with all the advantages you never could."

Sarah walked out with her head high and her blood sizzling with triumph. She'd told him what was what! Now it was time to leave and start her new life. Sarah dressed up with care and dabbed on expensive perfume.

She climbed into the poky little Kia Nick had given her on her last birthday and sneered. Soon she'd be trading up in more ways than one. Sarah decided it was time she announced her decision to Richard.

She had never been to his home, they had always met at the Hilton, but she knew his address from his personnel file. Sarah drove up to Richard's luxurious home. Yes, this was the life she wanted.

She was shivering with anticipation as she rang the doorbell. It was true what Nick had said...Richard was more than a little sleazy and hardly the sexiest man in the world, but he was successful and so very rich.

Sarah smiled seductively as the door swung open and found herself face to face with a pretty young woman sporting a huge nine-month baby bump. It must be Richard's daughter; she was so young.

"Good morning, " Sarah smiled sweetly, "May I speak to Richard Knox please."

The girl smiled, "Of course, one second..." she shouted: "Richard? Babe? Someone for you!"

The girl nodded politely at Sarah and walked away just as Richard came to the door. At his first glimpse of Sarah, he became pale and agitated. "Wha...Sarah! What are you doing here?"

Sarah was stunned by his tone. "I came to tell you, I've left my husband...I'm all yours now, Richard, just like you wanted."

"What? I never told you to leave your husband?"

"But... You said you wanted me forever, that you couldn't stand it when I had to go home, that I was 'the one'..."

Richard smiled cynically. "Come on, Sarah! You're a grown woman! It was talk, only talk. We had great sex, that's all."

Sarah looked at him in horror. "Just sex? You said you loved me..."

"I love my wife, OK, but, as I'm sure you've noticed, she's not at her best right now. So I had a little fun with you. Get over it."

Sarah was dizzy with nausea. "Get over it? I walked out on my family for you..."

Richard lost his patience. "More fool you! Get out now if you don't want to lose your job too. I don't want my wife listening to your nonsense."

Sarah drove home in a daze. The dazzling future she'd been planning on had evaporated. She felt sick. All those nights pretending enthusiasm while Richard kissed her with his slobbery mouth had been for nothing.

Worse of all, she had to go back to Nick and tell him she'd been dumped. No! She'd tell him she'd had a change of heart...That was it... Sarah blinked a few practice tears.

"I couldn't, Nick, when the time came, I just couldn't...Can you ever forgive me?"

Yes...That would work. Nick was such a softy! A few tears and he'd melt, and everything would be back to normal. Sarah was feeling confident when she walked into the house.

Nick and the children were out. Good! That would give her time to prepare. Sarah was walking to the bedroom to change when she saw an envelope addressed to her propped up on the dining room table.

A note from Nick? She opened it impatiently and started reading.

"My company wants me to head a billion-dollar development, a series of hotels in the Caribbean. That means a promotion, a raise, a home in St. Kitts. I'm taking the children, Sarah," she read the note in shock, biting back the tears as she read on:

"I want them to have the advantage of growing up in a home where love is the priority. I'm sure your lover can afford to fly you over to see them every other week. Good luck."

Sarah put down the note. Finally, Nick had come through. The good life he'd promised her, everything she'd ever dreamed of, and she'd lost it all. It was over. Sarah looked around the apartment.

She was stuck here now. Monday, she'd have to walk back into the office where everyone had known that she had been Richard's part-time amusement. She'd lost her children, her husband, her life.

And for what? Sarah felt tears pour down her cheeks. It was much too late for regrets now. She'd have to do the best she could. She was young, beautiful; she'd find love again, right?

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a man who breaks up his best friend's marriage by telling his wife about his infidelity.