After a Life-Threatening Childbirth, My Husband Wants to Kick Me and Our Baby Out Because of His Mother

<blockquote class&equals;"pullquote align-center"><p>I always dreamed that having a baby would bring us closer&period; But my husband’s mother had other plans&period; She controlled everything&comma; and my husband let her&period; I tried to set boundaries&comma; but nothing prepared me for the betrayal that left me standing at the door with my newborn in my arms&period;<&sol;p><&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<p>When I first found out I was pregnant&comma; I felt like the happiest person in the world&period; Bill and I had dreamed about this for so long&comma; imagining the day we’d finally hold our baby in our arms&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>But I wasn’t the only one waiting for this child&period; Bill’s mother&comma; Jessica&comma; had been waiting too—only in a way that made my life unbearable&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>She had never liked me&comma; never even pretended to&period; From the very beginning&comma; she made it clear that I wasn’t good enough for her son&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Bill deserves someone better&comma;” she would say&comma; shaking her head whenever I was around&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>But the moment she found out I was pregnant&comma; everything changed&period; And not in a good way&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It was as if the baby belonged to her&comma; not me&period; She insisted on being involved in everything&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;You need me to come with you to the doctor&comma;” she’d say&comma; already grabbing her coat before I could protest&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote class&equals;"pullquote align-center"><p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I know what’s best&period;”<&sol;p><&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<p>When we started preparing for the baby&comma; she took over completely&period; She picked out furniture&comma; dismissed my choices&comma; and even declared&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The nursery should be blue&period; You’ll have a boy&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>My pregnancy was already miserable&period; I had constant nausea&comma; barely able to eat&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>But Jessica didn’t care&period; She would come over&comma; fill the house with the smell of greasy food&comma; and smile as Bill enjoyed her cooking&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Meanwhile&comma; I was stuck in the bathroom&comma; sick to my stomach&period;I couldn’t take it anymore&period; I told Bill to stop sharing any details with her&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>But somehow&comma; when we arrived at the clinic for the ultrasound—the one where we’d find out the baby’s gender—Jessica was already there&comma; sitting in the waiting room like she belonged&period; I froze&period; How did she even know&quest;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;It’s a girl&comma;” the doctor said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I squeezed Bill’s hand&comma; my heart pounding&period; We had dreamed of this moment&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>A daughter&period; A beautiful little girl&period; I turned to Bill&comma; expecting him to share my excitement&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>His face lit up with joy&period; But then I saw Jessica&period; Her mouth pressed into a thin line&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;You couldn’t even give my son a boy&comma;” she sneered&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;He needed an heir&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I stared at her&comma; my hands tightening into fists&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;An heir to what&quest; His video game collection&quest;” My voice came out sharper than I intended&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;And just so you know&comma; the father determines the baby’s gender&comma; not the mother&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Jessica’s eyes narrowed&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;That’s a lie&comma;” she snapped&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Your body is the problem&excl; You aren’t strong enough&period; You were never right for my son&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The doctor cleared her throat&comma; shifting awkwardly&period; A nurse glanced at me with sympathy&period; I forced myself to stay calm&comma; rubbing my temples&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Let’s go&comma; Bill&comma;” I muttered&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Once we were in the car&comma; I turned to him&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;How did she find out about the appointment&quest;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Bill avoided my eyes&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I told her&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Anger bubbled inside me&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I asked you not to&excl; She stresses me out too much&excl;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;She’s the grandmother&comma;” he said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I shook my head&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;And I’m your wife&excl; I’m carrying our daughter&excl; Don’t you care how I feel&quest;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Just ignore her&comma;” Bill said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Easy for him to say&period; He wasn’t the one being attacked&period; He wasn’t the one feeling completely alone&period; My own husband wouldn’t protect me&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>When labor started&comma; pain crashed over me like a wave&period; My vision blurred&period; My body trembled&period; It was too soon&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The contractions hit hard and fast&comma; each one stealing my breath&period; Bill rushed me to the hospital&comma; barely making it in time&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Nurses surrounded me&period; Bright lights burned my eyes&period; The pain was unbearable&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I gripped Bill’s hand&comma; gasping&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I can’t—”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;You’re doing great&comma;” he said&comma; but his face was pale&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Then everything went wrong&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The doctors took my daughter away the moment she was born&period; I reached for her&comma; desperate to hold her&comma; to see her tiny face&period; But they didn’t let me&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Please&comma;” I begged&comma; my voice weak&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Give her to me&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;You’re losing too much blood&excl;” a doctor shouted&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The world spun&period; The voices faded&period; Then—nothing&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I wasn’t the first person to hold my daughter&period; When I finally regained consciousness&comma; my body felt like an empty shell&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Every breath felt like a battle&comma; my chest barely rising under the weight of exhaustion&period; My skin was cold&comma; my hands weak as I tried to move&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The doctor had told me later that my survival was a miracle&period; They hadn’t expected me to make it&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I had come too close to the edge&comma; my body drained of too much blood&period; The realization that I could have died&comma; that I almost never got to see my daughter’s face&comma; made my stomach turn&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Then the door burst open&period; Jessica stormed in&comma; her face tight with anger&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;You didn’t even tell me you were in labor&excl;” she snapped&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Bill sighed&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;It happened too fast&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;That’s no excuse&excl;” Jessica hissed&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>A nurse finally entered&comma; holding my daughter&period; My heart clenched&period; But before I could reach for her&comma; Jessica stepped forward and snatched her from the nurse’s arms&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"ContentRenderer&lowbar;paragraph&lowbar;&lowbar;B2z36">&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;What a beautiful girl&comma;” Jessica said&comma; rocking my daughter in her arms&period; Her voice was soft&comma; but her eyes held triumph&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"ContentRenderer&lowbar;paragraph&lowbar;&lowbar;B2z36">I reached for my baby&comma; but Jessica didn’t hand her over&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"ContentRenderer&lowbar;paragraph&lowbar;&lowbar;B2z36">&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;She needs to be fed&comma;” the nurse said&comma; stepping closer&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Jessica barely glanced at her&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Then give her formula&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I forced myself to sit up despite the weakness in my body&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I’m going to breastfeed her&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Jessica’s lips tightened&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;But then you’ll always be taking her away from me&excl; You won’t be able to leave her with me&excl;” Her voice rose&comma; sharp and accusing&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Bill finally stepped in&period; He pried our daughter from Jessica’s grip and placed her in my arms&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The moment I held her&comma; I burst into tears&comma; overwhelmed by how much I loved her&period; She was mine&period; She was worth everything&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Only two weeks had passed since the birth&comma; but my body still felt heavy&period; Every movement drained me&period; Bill had taken leave from work to help&comma; but I still struggled&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Jessica&comma; of course&comma; made things worse&period; She came over almost daily&comma; ignoring my exhaustion&period; She refused to call my daughter by her real name&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Little Lillian&comma;” she would say&comma; smiling as if she had a say in it&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;It’s Eliza&comma;” I corrected&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Jessica didn’t even acknowledge me&period; Bill never corrected her either&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>One afternoon&comma; she arrived uninvited again&period; This time&comma; she held an envelope in her hand&comma; gripping it tightly&period; Her eyes gleamed with something unsettling&period; My stomach twisted&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Bill frowned as he took the envelope from Jessica’s hands&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;What’s this&quest;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Jessica’s lips curled into a smirk&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Proof&period; I knew Carol wasn’t right for you&period; I knew she wasn’t faithful&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>My grip on Eliza tightened&period; My heart pounded&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;What nonsense is this&quest;” I demanded&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Jessica’s eyes gleamed&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Open it&period; It’s a DNA test&period;” She shoved the envelope toward Bill&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Bill’s fingers trembled as he tore it open&period; His eyes scanned the paper&period; His face darkened&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>He turned to me&comma; jaw clenched&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;You and the baby need to be out of here within an hour&comma;” he said&period; His voice was cold&period; Then&comma; without another word&comma; he stormed out&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I gasped&period; My legs shook&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;What&quest;&excl; What did you do&quest;&excl;” I screamed at Jessica&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>She folded her arms&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;You were never worthy of my son&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I held Eliza closer&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;You wanted this baby so badly&comma; and now you want to throw her away&quest;&excl;” My voice cracked&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;That test isn’t even real&excl;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Jessica scoffed&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;You won’t even let me take her because you’re breastfeeding&period; Bill deserves a proper wife&period; One who will give me a grandson&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Rage exploded inside me&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;You’re insane&excl;” I screamed&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I packed Eliza’s tiny clothes&comma; stuffing them into a bag with shaking hands&period; My vision blurred with tears&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I grabbed my own things&comma; my heart pounding in my chest&period; Before leaving&comma; I snatched Bill’s toothbrush&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>As soon as I stepped outside&comma; the cold air hit me&period; My knees buckled&period; I clutched Eliza close&comma; my sobs breaking free&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>My own husband—her father—had thrown us out like we were nothing&period; He hadn’t even looked at me twice&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>He hadn’t asked questions&period; He had believed Jessica without hesitation&period; I knew the truth&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Eliza was his daughter&period; I had never betrayed him&period; But none of that mattered&period; He had chosen her over us&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I made my way to my mother’s house&period; The moment she opened the door&comma; she gasped&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Carol&quest; What happened&quest;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I broke down again&period; She pulled me inside&comma; listening in horror as I told her everything&period; She held me as I cried&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Days passed&period; My body grew stronger&period; Once I had recovered enough&comma; I left Eliza with my mom and went to see Bill&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I knocked on the door&comma; my heart steady&period; Bill opened it&comma; his face unreadable&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;What do you want&quest;” he asked&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Wordlessly&comma; I handed him an envelope&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;This is the real DNA test&comma;” I said&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I took your toothbrush&period; In case you didn’t notice&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>His brows furrowed&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;So that’s where it went&period;” He tore the envelope open&period; His eyes scanned the page&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;99&period;9&percnt;&comma;” he read aloud&period; His breath caught&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Eliza is your daughter&comma;” I said firmly&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Bill looked at me&comma; his expression shifting&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Carol&comma; I’m so sorry&comma;” he said&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I’m sorry I believed my mother&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I shook my head&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;No&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>His face fell&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I thought she wasn’t mine&period; But now that I know she is&comma; I want you both to come back&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I stared at him&comma; my hands tightening&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;You don’t deserve to be her father&period; You never questioned whether Jessica’s test was real&period; You didn’t stop for a second to think about me or Eliza&period; I did this so you would know exactly what you lost&period; Because of your mother&comma; you threw us away&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>His voice broke&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Please&period; I’ll cut her off&period; Just come back&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I took a step back&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;I’m filing for divorce&period; I want full custody&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Carol—”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I turned away&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Goodbye&comma; Bill&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>As I got into my car&comma; I heard him call my name&period; But I drove away&comma; knowing Eliza and I would be just fine&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em><strong><span class&equals;"highlight" style&equals;"background-color&colon; &num;a5d682&semi; color&colon; ffffff&semi;">Tell us what you think about this story and share it with your friends&period; It might inspire them and brighten their day&period;<&sol;span><&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;

Quitter la version mobile