Lily had always felt like she was an outsider in her own family. Her mum clearly favoured her older sisters, Emma and Sophie, showering them with way more care and affection. This unfair treatment really bothered the girl, but she bottled up her feelings and kept trying to please her mum, hoping to get even a tiny bit of that love.
“Don’t you ever think about living here with me! The house is going straight to your sisters. And you’ve been giving me that look like a stray since you were a kid. So go and live wherever you please!” Those were the words her mum used to kick Lily out the moment she turned eighteen.
Lily tried to protest and point out how unfair it was. Emma was just three years older, Sophie five. Both had been to uni, all paid for by their mum, and no one had hurried them into being independent. But Lily had always been the odd one out. Despite everything she did to be the perfect daughter, in the family she only got superficial affectionif you could even call it that. Only her grandpa was truly kind to her. He was the one who’d taken his pregnant daughter in after her husband walked out and never came back.
“Maybe Mum’s worried because of my sister? They reckon I look a lot like her,” Lily thought, trying to figure out why her mum was so cold. She’d tried a few times to sit down and talk honestly with her mum, but it always ended up in an argument or her mum throwing a fit.
Her grandpa, though, was a proper support. Some of her best memories were from the summers in the village. Lily loved helping in the garden and with the vegetables, learned to look after the animals, bake piesanything to avoid heading back home to the daily put-downs and complaints.
“Grandpa, why doesn’t anyone love me? Is there something wrong with me?” she’d often ask, holding back the tears.
“I love you very much,” he’d say gently, but he never said anything about her mum or sisters.
Little Lily wanted to believe he was right, that she was loved, just differently… But when she was ten, her grandpa died, and after that the family was even meaner to her. Her sisters would make fun of her, and her mum always backed them up.
From that point on, she never got anything newonly second-hand clothes from Emma and Sophie. They’d poke fun:
“Oh, what a trendy top! You can use it to mop the floor or for Lily, whatever’s handy!”
And if their mum bought sweets, the sisters would eat them all and give Lily just the empty packets:
“Here, you silly girl, you can collect the wrappers!”
Her mum heard it all but never told them off. That’s how Lily grew up feeling like an unwanted strayalways chasing love from people who thought she was worthless and just something to laugh at. The harder she tried to be good, the more they seemed to resent her.
So when her mum kicked her out on her eighteenth birthday, Lily took a job as a hospital porter. Being resilient and working hard had become normal for her, and now at least she got paid, even if it was only a little. But no one there hated her. If people aren’t nasty to you when you’re kind, that’s already an improvement, she reckoned.
Her employer even gave her the opportunity to get a scholarship and train to be a surgeon. In that small town they were really short of specialists like that, and Lily had already shown promise while she was working as a nurse.
Life was difficult. By the time she was twenty-seven, she had no close family. Work had become her entire life. She lived for the patients she cared for. But she always felt lonely: she lived by herself in a staff hostel, just like before.
Visiting her mum and sisters was always disappointing. Lily tried to go as seldom as she could. They’d all go outside for a smoke and a chat, and she’d be left crying on the porch.
One time, during one of those visits, a colleaguea porter called Tomcame up to her:
“Why are you crying, sweetheart?”
“What sweetheart… Stop messing about,” Lily replied quietly.
She saw herself as plain, just a nobody really, not even noticing that by almost thirty she’d become a small, attractive blonde with large blue eyes and a neat nose. She’d lost that clumsy teenage look, stood up straighter, and her light hair, pinned up in a tidy bun, seemed to want to escape.
“You’re actually really beautiful! You need to appreciate yourself and stop looking down. And you’re a promising surgeon with a good future ahead,” he told her encouragingly.
Tom had been working with her for nearly two years, occasionally bringing her chocolates, but this was the first proper conversation they’d had. Lily cried and told him everything.
“Maybe you should phone David? The patient you looked after not long ago. He seems fond of you. People say he’s got plenty of connections,” Tom suggested.
“Thanks, Tom. I’ll give it a try,” Lily answered.
“And if that doesn’t work out, we could always get married. I’ve got a flat, and I won’t be horrible to you,” he said, half joking.
Lily went red and suddenly realised he was being serious. He saw her not as a poor orphan but as a woman who deserved love.
“Okay. I’ll think about that as well,” she smiled, feeling for the first time in ages that she wasn’t just a drudge or unwanted, but a lovely young woman with everything still to come.
That same evening, Lily called David’s number:
“It’s Lily, the surgeon. You gave me your number and said I could get in touch if I had problems…” she began and then stopped.
“Lily! Hello! How lovely that you’ve finally called! How are things? You know what, let’s meet up instead. Come over, we’ll have some tea and talk it all through. We older types do enjoy a good chat,” the man replied in a warm voice.
The next day was Lily’s day off, so she went to see him right away. She explained her situation honestly and asked if he knew anyone who needed a live-in helper.
“You know, David, I’m used to hard work, but right now I feel like I just can’t handle it anymore…”
“Don’t worry, Lily! I can arrange a surgeon’s job for you at a private clinic. And you can live here with me. I wouldn’t be alive now without you,” he said.
“Oh, yes please, David, I accept! But your family won’t mind, will they?”
“My family only come around when I’m not here. They’re only interested in the house,” the man replied sadly.
So they started sharing the house. Two years passed, and a romance grew between her and Tom, often while having tea together. But David didn’t like Tom and never missed a chance to say:
“I’m sorry, love, but Tom’s a nice bloke, just a bit weak and sensitive. You can’t depend on someone like him. Try not to get too involved with him.”
“Oh, David… It’s too late for that. We’ve already decided to get married. He sort of proposed to me two years ago, as a joke. And now I’m pregnant…” Lily announced happily, practically beaming. She’d only just learned the news but quickly added, “But you’re still really important to me! I’ll visit every day. You’re like family to me.”
“Well, Lily… I’m not feeling too good. Here’s what we’ll do: tomorrow we’ll go to the solicitor, and I’ll put the cottage in the village in your name. You’ve always loved country life. It could be your little getaway… or you could sell it if you wanted.”
He paused, not finishing what he was saying, and frowned.
Lily tried to argue that it was too much, he still had years left, better to leave the cottage to his children. Even though in the last two years they’d only visited him once. But David wouldn’t budge.
Lily was stunned when she learned that the cottage was in the very village where her beloved grandpa had lived! His house had been pulled down ages ago, the plot sold, and now other people lived there. But the idea of having her own little place there filled her with warm feelings and memories.
“I don’t deserve this, but thank you so much, David!” she thanked him sincerely.
“One thing though: don’t tell Tom that the cottage is in your name. And don’t ask me why. Can you do that for me?”
He looked serious, and Lily nodded, promising to keep it to herself. She still wasn’t sure how she’d explain the cottage to Tom, but she could say she’d patched things up with her mum.
Later on, Lily discovered that David, on top of the after-effects from his stroke, also had cancer. He refused to have the operation. Eventually, Lily helped organise his funeral and moved in with her future husband.
Problems started when she was about seven months pregnantby then they’d already been living together for six months.
“Maybe you should do some work? Before the baby comes,” Tom suggested.
By that time, Lily had stopped working at the clinic where David had got her the job. She thought she could live off her savings, counting on Tom’s support. But his words surprised and upset her.
“Well… maybe…” she answered, not sure. It didn’t feel right since she was paying for the shopping, and it turned out Tom was quite stingy. But with the baby growing inside her, she didn’t want to cancel the wedding.
But a week before the planned wedding, while Tom was out, a woman she didn’t know walked into their flat using her own key.
“Hello. I’m Jessica. Tom and I love each other, and he’s just too scared to tell you. So I’ll say it: you’re not needed here anymore,” said a tall, thin blonde in a confident and pushy way.
“What?! Our wedding is in a few days! We’ve already paid for it all!” Lily stuttered in shock. She’d taken on most of the costs for a modest party at a café.
“I know. No worries. Tom will marry me. I’ve got friends at the register office; we can sort it all out fast,” Jessica declared brazenly, as if it was settled.
Jessica had no intention of leaving. When Tom showed up, he only muttered:
“Lily, sorry… Yes, it’s true. I’ll help with the baby but I can’t marry you.”
“We’ll do a paternity test,” Jessica added, placing her hand on Tom’s shoulder.
“What paternity test?! You’re my first and only!” Lily shouted and lunged at him with her fists.
“She’ll scratch your eyes out, you daft girl! She’s almost thirty but behaving like a child!” Jessica sneered.
Tom stood there quietly, not defending Lily, just looking down awkwardly. It was clear now: everything was up to Jessica; he was just a bystander.
Lily began packing her things. There was no point arguing over a man who so easily abandoned her. Jessica mentioned that she and Tom had dated years agoshe was married then but was free now. Lily had just been a temporary fill-in until the “woman of his dreams” was available.
She could have asked Tom for explanations, but what was the use if he let Jessica handle it for him?
“So the cottage came in handy after all,” Lily thought.
The cottage was actually decent, even though it didn’t have running water. But the stove was greather grandpa had shown her everything she needed for village life. It was liveable. Only, how to give birth by herself? Well, there was still time; she’d figure it out.
Firewood was ready, the shed was strong, and there was even snow at the door that needed clearing. The woodpiles were fulla real stroke of luck in this cold!
It was good that David had introduced her to the neighbours early on as the new owner and his son’s wife. No nosy questions.
Lily, of course, phoned her mum and sisters. As expected, they didn’t disappointthey suggested she give the baby up for adoption and “next time don’t get mixed up with anyone before the wedding.” They also gossiped about how Tom hadn’t returned the wedding money, half of which she’d paid for.
But no one knew about the cottage. Now Lily could get away from everyone and pull herself together.
It was freezing; she didn’t even take off her winter coat. But when she began raking the coals in the stove with the poker, she felt it hit something hard.
Lily took off her gloves and pulled out a wooden box that had been wedged in the firewood. It was properly sealed, with big letters on the lid: “Lily, this is for you.” She recognised the handwriting at onceDavid’s.
Inside were photos, a letter, and a small box. Her hands shook as she opened the envelope and began to read:
“Dear Lily! You should know that I was your grandpa’s brother. And one of the people he asked to take care of you.”
From the letter, it became clear: many years ago there had been a big argument between her grandpa and David, but before dying, the older brother had found him and asked him to look after Lily once she turned eighteen. He had also left her an inheritance that his daughter would never give up.
David hadn’t been able to find Lily straight awayher mum and sisters had hidden her address. But fate brought them together in the hospital when he was being treated and she was his nurse. He had wanted to tell her everything earlier but hadn’t had the time. So he decided to give her the cottage that her grandpa had bought from him while he was alive, knowing his daughter would never leave anything to her granddaughter.
Another shock in the letter: it turned out her mum wasn’t her biological mother. Lily was the daughter of her late sister, whom she had hated and envied. In the photoyoung parents, smiling, hugging a little girl. Lily had survived because she was with her grandpa on the day of the accident.
In the box lay some fifty-pound notes left by her grandpa. Touching them made her heart feel warm. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Now she and her baby were safe!
When Lily lit the stove, it seemed to her that all her fears, betrayals, and resentments disappeared in the flames. She would start overfor the baby and for herself.
Of course, in time she would forgive those who had hurt her. But she was done with them. This cottage would be her refuge.
David always said a good house should belong to someone who values it. He said he built it in his youth with his own hands, from the best materials.
“It’s not just a house, it’s a real treasure! It will stand for two hundred years!” he often repeated. The village was reachable by busonly two stops away.
Yes, the pay was low, and help with the baby was still uncertain. But the main thingshe had a roof over her head, some savings, a profession. She was young, beautiful, and she would have a son!
For the first time, Lily felt she was truly a happy person.Lily had always felt like she was an outsider in her own family. Her mum clearly favoured her older sisters, Emma and Sophie, showering them with way more care and affection. This unfair treatment really bothered the girl, but she bottled up her feelings and kept trying to please her mum, hoping to get even a tiny bit of that love.
“Don’t you ever think about living here with me! The house is going straight to your sisters. And you’ve been giving me that look like a stray since you were a kid. So go and live wherever you please!” Those were the words her mum used to kick Lily out the moment she turned eighteen.
Lily tried to protest and point out how unfair it was. Emma was just three years older, Sophie five. Both had been to uni, all paid for by their mum, and no one had hurried them into being independent. But Lily had always been the odd one out. Despite everything she did to be the perfect daughter, in the family she only got superficial affectionif you could even call it that. Only her grandpa was truly kind to her. He was the one who’d taken his pregnant daughter in after her husband walked out and never came back.
“Maybe Mum’s worried because of my sister? They reckon I look a lot like her,” Lily thought, trying to figure out why her mum was so cold. She’d tried a few times to sit down and talk honestly with her mum, but it always ended up in an argument or her mum throwing a fit.
Her grandpa, though, was a proper support. Some of her best memories were from the summers in the village. Lily loved helping in the garden and with the vegetables, learned to look after the animals, bake piesanything to avoid heading back home to the daily put-downs and complaints.
“Grandpa, why doesn’t anyone love me? Is there something wrong with me?” she’d often ask, holding back the tears.
“I love you very much,” he’d say gently, but he never said anything about her mum or sisters.
Little Lily wanted to believe he was right, that she was loved, just differently… But when she was ten, her grandpa died, and after that the family was even meaner to her. Her sisters would make fun of her, and her mum always backed them up.
From that point on, she never got anything newonly second-hand clothes from Emma and Sophie. They’d poke fun:
“Oh, what a trendy top! You can use it to mop the floor or for Lily, whatever’s handy!”
And if their mum bought sweets, the sisters would eat them all and give Lily just the empty packets:
“Here, you silly girl, you can collect the wrappers!”
Her mum heard it all but never told them off. That’s how Lily grew up feeling like an unwanted strayalways chasing love from people who thought she was worthless and just something to laugh at. The harder she tried to be good, the more they seemed to resent her.
So when her mum kicked her out on her eighteenth birthday, Lily took a job as a hospital porter. Being resilient and working hard had become normal for her, and now at least she got paid, even if it was only a little. But no one there hated her. If people aren’t nasty to you when you’re kind, that’s already an improvement, she reckoned.
Her employer even gave her the opportunity to get a scholarship and train to be a surgeon. In that small town they were really short of specialists like that, and Lily had already shown promise while she was working as a nurse.
Life was difficult. By the time she was twenty-seven, she had no close family. Work had become her entire life. She lived for the patients she cared for. But she always felt lonely: she lived by herself in a staff hostel, just like before.
Visiting her mum and sisters was always disappointing. Lily tried to go as seldom as she could. They’d all go outside for a smoke and a chat, and she’d be left crying on the porch.
One time, during one of those visits, a colleaguea porter called Tomcame up to her:
“Why are you crying, sweetheart?”
“What sweetheart… Stop messing about,” Lily replied quietly.
She saw herself as plain, just a nobody really, not even noticing that by almost thirty she’d become a small, attractive blonde with large blue eyes and a neat nose. She’d lost that clumsy teenage look, stood up straighter, and her light hair, pinned up in a tidy bun, seemed to want to escape.
“You’re actually really beautiful! You need to appreciate yourself and stop looking down. And you’re a promising surgeon with a good future ahead,” he told her encouragingly.
Tom had been working with her for nearly two years, occasionally bringing her chocolates, but this was the first proper conversation they’d had. Lily cried and told him everything.
“Maybe you should phone David? The patient you looked after not long ago. He seems fond of you. People say he’s got plenty of connections,” Tom suggested.
“Thanks, Tom. I’ll give it a try,” Lily answered.
“And if that doesn’t work out, we could always get married. I’ve got a flat, and I won’t be horrible to you,” he said, half joking.
Lily went red and suddenly realised he was being serious. He saw her not as a poor orphan but as a woman who deserved love.
“Okay. I’ll think about that as well,” she smiled, feeling for the first time in ages that she wasn’t just a drudge or unwanted, but a lovely young woman with everything still to come.
That same evening, Lily called David’s number:
“It’s Lily, the surgeon. You gave me your number and said I could get in touch if I had problems…” she began and then stopped.
“Lily! Hello! How lovely that you’ve finally called! How are things? You know what, let’s meet up instead. Come over, we’ll have some tea and talk it all through. We older types do enjoy a good chat,” the man replied in a warm voice.
The next day was Lily’s day off, so she went to see him right away. She explained her situation honestly and asked if he knew anyone who needed a live-in helper.
“You know, David, I’m used to hard work, but right now I feel like I just can’t handle it anymore…”
“Don’t worry, Lily! I can arrange a surgeon’s job for you at a private clinic. And you can live here with me. I wouldn’t be alive now without you,” he said.
“Oh, yes please, David, I accept! But your family won’t mind, will they?”
“My family only come around when I’m not here. They’re only interested in the house,” the man replied sadly.
So they started sharing the house. Two years passed, and a romance grew between her and Tom, often while having tea together. But David didn’t like Tom and never missed a chance to say:
“I’m sorry, love, but Tom’s a nice bloke, just a bit weak and sensitive. You can’t depend on someone like him. Try not to get too involved with him.”
“Oh, David… It’s too late for that. We’ve already decided to get married. He sort of proposed to me two years ago, as a joke. And now I’m pregnant…” Lily announced happily, practically beaming. She’d only just learned the news but quickly added, “But you’re still really important to me! I’ll visit every day. You’re like family to me.”
“Well, Lily… I’m not feeling too good. Here’s what we’ll do: tomorrow we’ll go to the solicitor, and I’ll put the cottage in the village in your name. You’ve always loved country life. It could be your little getaway… or you could sell it if you wanted.”
He paused, not finishing what he was saying, and frowned.
Lily tried to argue that it was too much, he still had years left, better to leave the cottage to his children. Even though in the last two years they’d only visited him once. But David wouldn’t budge.
Lily was stunned when she learned that the cottage was in the very village where her beloved grandpa had lived! His house had been pulled down ages ago, the plot sold, and now other people lived there. But the idea of having her own little place there filled her with warm feelings and memories.
“I don’t deserve this, but thank you so much, David!” she thanked him sincerely.
“One thing though: don’t tell Tom that the cottage is in your name. And don’t ask me why. Can you do that for me?”
He looked serious, and Lily nodded, promising to keep it to herself. She still wasn’t sure how she’d explain the cottage to Tom, but she could say she’d patched things up with her mum.
Later on, Lily discovered that David, on top of the after-effects from his stroke, also had cancer. He refused to have the operation. Eventually, Lily helped organise his funeral and moved in with her future husband.
Problems started when she was about seven months pregnantby then they’d already been living together for six months.
“Maybe you should do some work? Before the baby comes,” Tom suggested.
By that time, Lily had stopped working at the clinic where David had got her the job. She thought she could live off her savings, counting on Tom’s support. But his words surprised and upset her.
“Well… maybe…” she answered, not sure. It didn’t feel right since she was paying for the shopping, and it turned out Tom was quite stingy. But with the baby growing inside her, she didn’t want to cancel the wedding.
But a week before the planned wedding, while Tom was out, a woman she didn’t know walked into their flat using her own key.
“Hello. I’m Jessica. Tom and I love each other, and he’s just too scared to tell you. So I’ll say it: you’re not needed here anymore,” said a tall, thin blonde in a confident and pushy way.
“What?! Our wedding is in a few days! We’ve already paid for it all!” Lily stuttered in shock. She’d taken on most of the costs for a modest party at a café.
“I know. No worries. Tom will marry me. I’ve got friends at the register office; we can sort it all out fast,” Jessica declared brazenly, as if it was settled.
Jessica had no intention of leaving. When Tom showed up, he only muttered:
“Lily, sorry… Yes, it’s true. I’ll help with the baby but I can’t marry you.”
“We’ll do a paternity test,” Jessica added, placing her hand on Tom’s shoulder.
“What paternity test?! You’re my first and only!” Lily shouted and lunged at him with her fists.
“She’ll scratch your eyes out, you daft girl! She’s almost thirty but behaving like a child!” Jessica sneered.
Tom stood there quietly, not defending Lily, just looking down awkwardly. It was clear now: everything was up to Jessica; he was just a bystander.
Lily began packing her things. There was no point arguing over a man who so easily abandoned her. Jessica mentioned that she and Tom had dated years agoshe was married then but was free now. Lily had just been a temporary fill-in until the “woman of his dreams” was available.
She could have asked Tom for explanations, but what was the use if he let Jessica handle it for him?
“So the cottage came in handy after all,” Lily thought.
The cottage was actually decent, even though it didn’t have running water. But the stove was greather grandpa had shown her everything she needed for village life. It was liveable. Only, how to give birth by herself? Well, there was still time; she’d figure it out.
Firewood was ready, the shed was strong, and there was even snow at the door that needed clearing. The woodpiles were fulla real stroke of luck in this cold!
It was good that David had introduced her to the neighbours early on as the new owner and his son’s wife. No nosy questions.
Lily, of course, phoned her mum and sisters. As expected, they didn’t disappointthey suggested she give the baby up for adoption and “next time don’t get mixed up with anyone before the wedding.” They also gossiped about how Tom hadn’t returned the wedding money, half of which she’d paid for.
But no one knew about the cottage. Now Lily could get away from everyone and pull herself together.
It was freezing; she didn’t even take off her winter coat. But when she began raking the coals in the stove with the poker, she felt it hit something hard.
Lily took off her gloves and pulled out a wooden box that had been wedged in the firewood. It was properly sealed, with big letters on the lid: “Lily, this is for you.” She recognised the handwriting at onceDavid’s.
Inside were photos, a letter, and a small box. Her hands shook as she opened the envelope and began to read:
“Dear Lily! You should know that I was your grandpa’s brother. And one of the people he asked to take care of you.”
From the letter, it became clear: many years ago there had been a big argument between her grandpa and David, but before dying, the older brother had found him and asked him to look after Lily once she turned eighteen. He had also left her an inheritance that his daughter would never give up.
David hadn’t been able to find Lily straight awayher mum and sisters had hidden her address. But fate brought them together in the hospital when he was being treated and she was his nurse. He had wanted to tell her everything earlier but hadn’t had the time. So he decided to give her the cottage that her grandpa had bought from him while he was alive, knowing his daughter would never leave anything to her granddaughter.
Another shock in the letter: it turned out her mum wasn’t her biological mother. Lily was the daughter of her late sister, whom she had hated and envied. In the photoyoung parents, smiling, hugging a little girl. Lily had survived because she was with her grandpa on the day of the accident.
In the box lay some fifty-pound notes left by her grandpa. Touching them made her heart feel warm. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Now she and her baby were safe!
When Lily lit the stove, it seemed to her that all her fears, betrayals, and resentments disappeared in the flames. She would start overfor the baby and for herself.
Of course, in time she would forgive those who had hurt her. But she was done with them. This cottage would be her refuge.
David always said a good house should belong to someone who values it. He said he built it in his youth with his own hands, from the best materials.
“It’s not just a house, it’s a real treasure! It will stand for two hundred years!” he often repeated. The village was reachable by busonly two stops away.
Yes, the pay was low, and help with the baby was still uncertain. But the main thingshe had a roof over her head, some savings, a profession. She was young, beautiful, and she would have a son!
For the first time, Lily felt she was truly a happy person.
