When I was pregnant, everything about my spouse changed. He made fun of how I looked, didn’t care about my problems, and made me feel bad about myself every day. Then, when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, he left me for someone else, sure that he would win. But he didn’t realize that I had my own plan. And when the time was right, I hit back in a way that he didn’t expect.
A lady who is pregnant should be allowed to talk about it with someone who really loves her. But for me, it was a lonely and awful effort to go up the hill.
Adam was the man of my dreams till things went bad. He adored me and treated me like a queen, and he always went out of his way to show it. He sent me flowers at work or made me breakfast in bed on lazy Sundays, which made me feel like the most adored woman in the world.
When I told Adam I was pregnant, he was extremely delighted. He grinned like a child as he held the test in his hands. He said, “We’re going to be parents,” and his eyes shone.
But that beautiful moment was the beginning of a long and agonizing finish.
As the weeks went by and my body altered, Adam’s behavior changed too. At first, it was small things like comments and quiet sighs. He said one morning, “You might want to stop wearing your pajamas all day.” “It wouldn’t hurt you to look a little better.”
I tried to be understanding at first and just shrugged it off. I was always nauseous, had back pain, and was tired—things he couldn’t see or feel. But as time went on, his comments wounded more and more.
He complained, “You just lie around all day,” as he took off his shoes one night. “This house is a mess.”
“I am trying,” I said softly. “I’m in pain. I become dizzy when I get up. “I can hardly eat.”
He laughed and then left.
Then the evenings got longer. The messages that keep flowing to his phone. The smell of perfume on his clothes when he arrived home hours after work.
I tried to talk to him once, but I was eight months pregnant, my feet were swollen, and I could barely move without leaning on furniture for support.
“Where have you been?” I asked, my voice shaking.
He didn’t look at me. He put his keys on the table and stated, “It’s not your business.”
My heart sank. But things just got worse.
That night, he burst into the kitchen. He cried, “EMILY!” I had to get off the couch, and I hung on to the armrest to keep my balance.
I asked, “What’s wrong?”
He looked at me in a bad way. “Where is the food?”
“I tried, but I got sick again.” I wasn’t able to finish cooking dinner.
He rolled his eyes and looked at the sink. “Could you have at least cleaned up the dishes?”
His voice rose louder with each syllable. “I work all day and then I have to deal with this crap?” You don’t even try anymore.
I cried. “Your kid is with me.” “I’m doing all I can.”
“Don’t start,” he shouted. “My sister had a lovely time being pregnant. She cooked. She cleaned. She stayed strong. She didn’t turn into this… mess.
He slammed the door and ran away that night. I was shaking in the kitchen, and tears spilled on my lap.
A text came in a few hours later, right before dawn. His mom sent it.
He will be with us all night. He just needed some space.
First relief, then fear. I knew deep down that he wouldn’t really come back to me. He is not the man I married.
Things didn’t get better after he came back. The remarks got harsh. “You look awful.” “This house is disgusting.” “Why do you even bother getting dressed?”
One day, I fell apart with my best friend Natalie.
“You have to leave him,” she said with firmness.
“I can’t,” I responded quietly. “I don’t have a job or any cash. I’m going to have a child shortly. “Where should I go?”
“You’ll stay with me.” With your mom. Whatever it takes. Don’t let him hurt you, though.
I wanted to believe her. But the terror made it hard to get up and go.
But one night, everything became clear.
Adam was in the shower. He protected his phone like a dragon would protect gold when it rang. I got it.
A lot of messages. A dating app. Photos of women. Plans for the hotel. My hands were shaking. I grabbed my stomach like I was trying to keep my unborn daughter safe from the evil that was coming through me.
He wasn’t telling the truth. All the time. Of course.
At that point, something inside me snapped. Or maybe something powerful finally woke up.
I made a plan. One that is calm and careful. Then, only a few weeks before I gave birth, Adam came in with another woman.
I blinked since I didn’t know who she was at first. She was still a kid. Bright. She grinned as if she belonged here.
I asked, “Who is this?”
Adam casually put an arm around her and said, “This is my girlfriend Tessa.”
I thought I had heard him wrong. But then he put a folder on the table.
“Those are the divorce papers.” “Sign them.”
I looked at him. Then to the woman. Then back to him.
“What about our kid?” I said.
“I don’t want her.” Or you.
I was shaking as I signed the papers.
I said in a low voice, “You’ll regret this.”
He laughed. “You? You look awful. “Who’s going to want you now?” I asked. “I have Tessa.”
I took my daughter and my pride with me.
A few of weeks later, I gave birth to Lily. She came the day my divorce was final.
It was like poetry.
Lily was the finest. When I first held her, her tiny fists wrapped around my finger. In that moment, all the pain, betrayal, and shame went away. I had her. She was mine.
We moved in with my mom. She helped me feel better by feeding me, holding the baby while I slept, and reminded me of how important I was. My body and heart both became better over time.
Months passed. I started working from home as a freelancer and setting up a little business. I lost the weight I gained while I was pregnant. I got my confidence back, which is more important. I didn’t see a broken woman in the mirror anymore; I saw someone who had been reborn.
Then, on a nice day, someone knocked on the door.
Tessa was there.
She looked tired and worried.
She muttered, “It’s over,” as she went in. “Your plan worked.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Excuse me?”
She smiled shyly. “Adam gave everything away. The house. The bank’s accounts. He was too busy with me to even read what he was signing. Now everything has your name on it.
I glanced at her for a moment, then I started to laugh. I walked forward and hugged her quickly.
I said, “Thank you.” “Thanks for following through with the plan.”
I had met Tessa months ago, when I found out Adam was cheating. She was one of the women he texted. But she wasn’t as lost as the others. She was a buddy of a friend and an actor. She agreed when I told her what I was going to do.
We put food in the trap. Adam didn’t even give it a second thought. He gave everything away without reading the fine print, exactly like I imagined he would.
The structure. The money. Everything.
Lily and I quickly moved back into the house I had to leave. But now it was only me.
One night, I stood on the porch with Lily in my arms and relished the peace and warmth of our new life.
Then I heard it.
“Tessa!” Come back! I’m sorry! “Please!” Adam’s voice rang out in the air like a terrible song that wouldn’t stop playing.
I turned back and saw him in the driveway, looking dirty and hopeless.
Tessa stood outside her car, cold and quiet.
I left the porch.
In a lovely voice, I said, “Adam.” “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
He looked back. “You? What the hell are you doing here?
I smiled. “Living in my house.” The one you gave away.
He blinked. “What?!”
I got closer. “You didn’t read the news, did you? You just signed them like you always do. You didn’t even give it a thought.
He looked at me and then at Tessa. “You tricked me.”
I looked away. “Not Adam. You tricked yourself. You pick what you want over being loyal. You hurt my feelings. You left our kid behind. I handed you the rope, and you used it to hang yourself.
His voice cracked. “Come back to me.” I was stupid. I understand now. “I’m going to get better.”
I laughed quietly. “You can’t come back.” I don’t want you. “I don’t need you.”
He told her, “No one else will want you!”
I stared him right in the eyes. “Look at me, Adam.” I shine. I have a nice daughter, a house in my name, money in my bank account, and peace in my life. But you are standing here with nothing.
His shoulders dropped. His lips trembled. “Please, Emily.”
I didn’t say anything else. I turned around and went back inside, locking the door behind me.
I looked down at Lily, who was still sleeping in my arms. She moved a little and hung on to my shirt with her tiny hands.
I kissed her on the forehead.
“Don’t worry, sweetie. “We’ll be fine.” Better than fine.