Night time without the kids was always the hardest on Melanie. The silence of the house was a constant reminder to her that she wasn't enough. Not only was she not pretty enough, she wasn't woman enough to keep her husband home and satisfied. Melanie hated quiet nights like this, her doubts always found a way of creeping through her subconscious and entering her thoughts constantly tormenting her. Most of these lonely nights she'd spend in the company of her best friend Patty, but Patty was away visiting her in-laws in Maryland.

Some of her other friends meant well when they encouraged her to get back out there in the dating world, but the reality was Melanie just wasn't ready yet. She was still too raw from learning of David's betrayal. She felt empty and broken, her self worth completely shattered after learning of her husband's affair. Oftentimes Melanie would stare at herself harshly in the mirror, judging her grey green eyes, her brunette hair, her mom belly where a once flat stomach lay, and the stretch marks that covered her once flat stomach and thighs. Melanie knew that her chest was no longer as perky as it had once been, especially after nursing her two kids. But she had always prided herself on taking good care of her body and always going back to her pre-pregnancy  weight, give or take two or three pounds.

Now she was a defeated, heartbroken woman. Staring at herself in the full length mirror hanging on her closet door, her thoughts would torment her on why David chose someone else. The memories were too fresh and nights like tonight, when the silence of her house was deafening, she remembered that day the most.

It was exactly four and a half months ago, the eve of their seventh wedding anniversary, when Melanie decided to surprise David. He was, as usual, working late on a Friday night. Tammy had agreed to watch Jessica and Thomas so Melanie and David could have a night or two alone to celebrate, something that hasn't happened in the almost year  and a half since the death of David's father. Melanie had dressed in her sexiest  red cocktail dress, had splurged on a manicure and a pedicure, and had made reservations at The Chalet, one of the more exclusive restaurants in town. Not hesitating, Melanie walked into David's office building and heard a lot of strange noises coming from his closed office door. Not bothering to knock she turned the handle and found David having sex on his desk with Sara. Melanie screamed, David jumped, and Sara smirked. 

David tried to cover himself up and make excuses. "Melanie!", He gasped in surprise. "This ain't what it looks like!"

Melanie grimaced, it was exactly what it looked like. As tears gathered in her eyes she simply asked, "How long?"

David gulped, pulling his pants on while Sara just stood there smirking and running her fingers down his chest. "Mel, honey."

Melanie quickly cut him off. "I asked you how long."

"Seven months," came David's whispered reply.

Melanie's knees began to buckle but she stood firm in the door frame of the room, clutching it tightly in her hands. "Do you love her?" She whispered as she felt the bile rising in her throat at what she knew the answer to come would be.

"What?" David demanded but one look at his wife's tormented face he stopped, taking a deep breath and answering honestly, "Yeah, I love her"

Not waiting to hear anything more, Melanie turned and walked out. Calling Tammy and telling her everything she made arrangements to pick the kids up on Sunday, she knew she needed time to process and decide her next move would be.

In that single moment of time, the idyllic life as Melanie knew it was over and her new nightmare began. Gone were the days of being a happy wife and mother. Instead, Melanie's days were  filled with heartache and despair as she watched the love of her life choose another woman over herself and the family that they had built together. She watched as the kids cried and screamed for David to stay as he picked up his suitcases and left their home without a backwards glance. In just a month, Melanie's whole world was shattered, leaving her the broken woman she was today.

Folding the last of the laundry, Melanie got out her planner to review the upcoming week. In only three short weeks she would be returning to work as a Kindergarten teacher. After Jessica was born she and David had decided that her new role as mother was more important to their family. For the past five years Melanie had played the role of the domestic goddess, but that all came crashing down along with all her dreams of a life with David after she had found him and Sara together. At her lawyers urging she had applied for teaching jobs and was blessed to find one rather quickly. Noting her appointment with her lawyer to discuss custody and the upcoming court hearing on Tuesday afternoon, Melanie turned her mind toward working on her lesson plans. Thankfully, she had kept several of her old resources and had been smart enough to keep her teaching license up to date, so lesson plans weren't as hard to create as she had first worried they might be. Within 30 minutes she had six weeks of school planned and decided to work on her classroom decor.

As Melanie concentrated on creating the poster necessary to welcome her students to her new room, the silence of her lonely Saturday night was shattered by the ringing of her phone. Glancing at it briefly she saw a number she didn't recognize but knew to be a local number.

"Hello", Melanie sighed into the phone, slightly irritated that her train of thought was disturbed.

"Yes, I'm looking for a Mrs. Melanie Thompson," a rather nasally voice demanded on the other end of the call.

"This is she", Melanie responded slowly a sense of dread filling her stomach.

"Mrs Thompson, this is Beth Monroe at Mercy Hospital. Your husband, sister, and children were in a car accident. No one was severely hurt but Mr. Thompson asked that we notify you," Beth stated through the phone.

"What?" Melanie cried in alarm. "She's not my sister!" She blurted out without thinking, then quickly added, "My children are okay right?"

"Yes ma'am the operator replied, " But we do need you to come down to get them, your husband is in surgery for a broken arm and."

"Yes, of course," Melanie all but screamed cutting the other woman off. "I live less than 20 minutes away, I'll be there as fast as I can."

"Thank you and see you soon." Beth ended the call. Grabbing her purse and sliding into her sandals at the front door, Melanie ran out to her Ford Explorer. Calling Tammy she agreed to pick her up on the way to the hospital. Driving as fast as she dared without getting a ticket, Melanie made it to her mother-in-laws and the hospital in record time.

Entering the emergency room, with her heart racing and looking frantic, Melanie didn't know just how quickly her life was about to change.