My husband, Martin Wells, had always hated children. Yet, he suddenly fell in love with our neighbor’s baby. Every night, he stayed up late taking care of the child. He ignored me completely, even when I had a car accident and needed surgery.
Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore, so I filed for divorce at the party that was meant to celebrate my discharge from the hospital. Immediately, all of my friends and family responded that the car accident had damaged my brain.
In response, Martin threw wine onto my face and shouted angrily, “I couldn’t take care of you because you got yourself into an accident and got yourself hospitalized! Are you seriously jealous of a six-month-old baby?”
I slowly wiped the wine that dirtied my gown as I glared at the mysterious red marks on his neck, saying coldly, “Since you love her child so much, I’ll let you stay with them forever after we divorce.”
——
Martin’s face showed confusion and emotion at the same time. Without further ado, he pulled up his collar to hide his neck.
His eyes turned red with anger as he yelled, “Sophia, what do you mean? I went to care for Nancy so I could learn how to take care of babies … for our future children! And now you want a divorce for such a ridiculous reason? Have you gone crazy?”
I ignored his shouting and kept my expression calm. Instead, I took the divorce papers from my bag and handed them to him.
“Sign it. We’ll meet at the Town Hall tomorrow morning.”
Everyone around us was shocked, staring at me in disbelief. But I couldn’t care less. I held the divorce papers before turning to leave. They couldn’t believe that a couple everyone admired could fall apart so suddenly.
Martin looked stunned, clearly not expecting me to have already prepared the documents. When my mother saw how serious I was, she realized I wasn’t joking. She was the first to pick up the divorce papers from the table. After reading them, her face darkened.
“Sophia, are you really going through with this? Both you and Martin have been married for ten years. Everything between you seemed fine. What happened?”
Everyone tried to talk me out of it, even Martin’s friends.
“Yes, Sophia, you and Martin have been together for ten years. Don’t let a neighbor’s baby come between you.”
“The neighbor is a single mother. Martin’s just helping her because he feels sorry for her. Are you really that petty?”
“He didn’t want kids because he didn’t want to mess up your career. How come you don’t understand that he’s being considerate for your sake?”
The people around me accused me of being heartless. Still, I said nothing. I still handed the divorce papers back to Martin.
“This marriage needs to be over. I will not stand it anymore.”
My father arrived after hearing the news. He quickly slapped me hard across the face, which burned instantly. Holding my swollen cheek, I heard him yell furiously, “You ungrateful girl! How dare you divorce a man as good as Martin? I’ll beat some sense into you!”
“Martin has supported you for years so you could focus on your career. And now you want to leave him? Do you even know shame?”
My mother instantly put herself between her and my father, grabbing my hand and speaking softly but firmly, “Sophia, talk it out if you have problems. Don’t get a divorce. You’ll never find a husband this good again. If you’re divorcing because you’ve fallen for someone else, I won’t forgive you.”
I slowly raised my head. Not long after, I could taste blood in my mouth, while the crowd whispered all around me. Martin then stepped forward. He held me as if he cared deeply, tending to my injuries like the perfect husband everyone believed he was.
But only the two of us knew the truth behind our marriage.
He gently said, “Sophia, I know you might have feelings for someone else … but I’m the only one who truly cares about you.”
“We’ve been together since childhood, Sophia. We’ve been married for ten years! So, how could we get a divorce over something so small?”
“I never take even a second glance at other women out there. As long as you’re willing to come home, I won’t mind.”
With just a few words, Martin turned everyone’s attention to my supposed new lover. The situation turned to his favor again. All eyes glared at me like sharp knives. Again, my father slapped me hard.
“So that’s why you want a divorce? Because you’re having an affair? How could I have raised such a shameless daughter!”
“Sophia, you’re an ungrateful woman! Stop causing trouble. You’re going to make your father sick. Go home and live properly with Martin!”
All of my friends and relatives tried to persuade me, while Martin cried and begged as if his pride was gone. However, it just made me look at him coldly as I pushed him away and said firmly, “Let me go, Martin. I’m no longer in love with you.”
It seemed that Martin had no idea that our marriage had already died the moment he started caring for the neighbor’s baby more than me.
Martin stared at me in disbelief, while his lips were trembling as he asked, “What did you just say?”
The whole room went silent. His tears fell harder, but I turned to leave.
Martin suddenly grabbed me tightly as his voice shook, begging me, “Don’t go away, Sophia. Please don’t go away. Yes, I made a mistake. All of it is my mistake.”
“Just give me another chance to prove myself. I promise I’ll change. Please don’t leave me.”
Martin’s friends blocked my way.
“Sophia, what the hell is going on? You’d better apologize to Martin right now!”
“My friend has been with you for so many years. How can you hurt him like this? Have you forgotten how much you loved each other?”
“You two were together from middle school through college. It took eight years before you married. Have you forgotten all that?”
“You heartless woman! Are you saying you don’t even want the baby you’re carrying? Would you rather your child grow up without a father?”
When I announced to everyone that I had already made up my mind to divorce Martin, my parents rushed over and held me tightly. They tried to talk me out of it.
“Sophia, you’re pregnant! So, how come you’re still talking about divorce? Have you gone mad?”
I pulled away with all my strength, pretending not to care and said in a firm tone, “I’ll raise my child myself. We’re already divorced.”
My mother looked shocked, unable to believe I could say such a thing.
“Sophia, haven’t you always wanted a child? Now that you’re finally pregnant, why are you still doing this?”
Her words hit me like a heavy blow to the heart. Indeed, I had dreamed of having a child since I was twenty. For ten years, I prayed that Martin and I would have one. But every time, my hope was crushed. I couldn’t live like this anymore. I only wanted to end things completely.
Our loud argument drew the attention of Wendy Haines. That woman was the single mother next door. She came over with her baby in her arms, trying to hand the child to Martin. Every day around this time, Wendy went to work and Martin helped take care of her child.
When Wendy saw us, she ignored the chaos and rushed to take the baby from me. The tenderness in his eyes was something I had never seen before. It was as if he were holding his own baby.
My chest tightened so much that I almost lost my balance. Martin and I once had children, too, but I lost them both in miscarriages.
Then, Wendy said softly, “Sophia, I heard everything. I hope you don’t mind Martin helping me with the baby. I’ll start looking for another place today and move out soon. I don’t want to affect your relationship.”
Martin frowned, unwilling to let go.
“No, it’s fine. I’m just helping you take care of your child. That’s all.”
He turned to me with a sigh, saying, “Sophia, don’t take your anger out on others because of what happened between us. You just recovered from an accident. Please stop making a scene!”
Martin wept more than ever. It caused everyone else to turn their anger toward me.
My father’s face turned red with fury as his voice turned hoarse when he grabbed my hand, shouting, “Listen to me! Stop causing more trouble! Just end things with your lover and live a good life with Martin. That’s what matters most!”
“You already have a child together. If you still dare to get a divorce, don’t blame me for breaking your legs!”
I stayed cold and expressionless.
“This marriage has to end,” I said firmly, turning to leave.
My father’s voice exploded behind me, shouting, “If you dare to divorce Martin, I’ll cut you off as my daughter!”
Meanwhile, Martin didn’t try to stop me. Instead, he shouted, “Sophia, if you’re leaving, don’t expect a single penny! I’ll throw you out with nothing!”
“Since you’ve found someone else and want to abandon me, don’t blame me for being cruel!”
Soon enough, I filed for divorce immediately and submitted the videos I’d secretly recorded at Wendy’s house as evidence.
That night, I planned to stay at a hotel. But to my shock, all my bank accounts were frozen. I suddenly remembered that all these years, I had handed over every bit of my earnings to Martin, leaving almost nothing for myself.
For so many years, I had worked day and night for our little family. I thought that after all our years together, we would finally have a happy home. But I realized it was all a lie. Actually, I had been alone from the very beginning.
Eventually, I ended up borrowing some money from a friend to check into a hotel. When I opened my phone, I saw that someone had secretly recorded our argument the day before and uploaded it online. It was already trending.
The comments were full of insults. Some people even threatened to ruin my life.
[She’s divorcing her husband just because he helped babysit a neighbor’s child? What kind of woman does that?]
[She’s clearly cheating! Now she’s pretending to be the victim … How shameless!]
Public opinion spread quickly. Even the hotel staff looked at me with disgust. When I turned on my computer, a stabbing pain filled my chest.
There were hundreds of videos showing Martin and Wendy’s secret meetings. Every night, after putting her daughter, Nancy, to bed, he went into her bedroom. I had found the truth from Martin’s own phone.
My own husband had connected to the neighbor’s security camera and saved videos of himself with Wendy. When he wasn’t paying attention, I linked that camera feed to my own phone. From then on, I saw that they were together every night.
The way Martin looked at Wendy was so gentle, which was a look he had never given me. To others, he seemed kind and thoughtful. But I was the only one who knew his true coldness. After we both got married, he told me he didn’t want children and warned me never to bring it up.
When I became pregnant by accident, I begged Martin to let me keep the baby. But he forced me to have an abortion without hesitation. That pain stayed with me forever. After that day, my husband never allowed me to touch him again.
And now, he was caring for another woman’s child right in front of me.
“Miss Anderson, the court hearing is scheduled three days from now. I’ve prepared all the documents you requested,” my lawyer informed me.
The next morning, my secretary called to say that the company’s investors were pulling out because of the public backlash. When I arrived at the office, Martin was already there.
“Sophia, don’t go in yet. Reporters are everywhere,” he warned.
But I pushed him aside. Martin quickly stumbled to the floor, looking shocked. Everyone around turned to look at us. He surely had never expected me to do that.
“Sophia, are you really that heartless? Can’t you even show me a little mercy?” he asked bitterly.
Wendy came over and helped Martin up from the ground.
Our argument quickly drew reporters and furious onlookers, who turned their cameras toward me and shouted that I was cold and heartless.
“Please, don’t put the blame on her. It’s all my fault for not handling things properly. Don’t blame her,” Martin said pitifully.
Looking at his fake, self-pitying face, I almost felt sick.
I responded to him coldly, “Since you don’t want a divorce, don’t put the blame on me for taking you to court.”
Soon enough, Martin dropped his act and snapped in front of the reporters, “Fine, you shameless woman! Don’t blame me for throwing you out!”
“My child doesn’t need someone like you. Divorce it is. See you in court!”
I found it almost funny. Martin clearly had no idea that I already knew everything he’d been hiding from me. So, I said nothing else.
In the meantime, I settled the company’s affairs and started preparing for the court hearing. After the media frenzy that day, our story spread even further online. I became the villain, while Martin was painted as the poor, gentle husband.
People claimed that I had had several abortions for my lover and spent all my family’s money on him. Others said the car accident had damaged my mind. The insults were endless to the point where my parents even threatened to cut ties with me.
“You’ve gone too far, Sophia! I’ll declare that I never have a daughter like you from today onwards!” my father yelled.
“Look at what you’ve done! You’ve brought shame to this family. I can’t even acknowledge you anymore!”
Despite facing all of that, I kept my silence. I only appeared in court three days later. On the day of the trial, the courtroom was packed. Friends, relatives and even online strangers had come to see me humiliated.
Martin leaned close and whispered, “Are you sure you want to go this far? For the sake of our years together, I’ll give you one last chance. If you apologize now, I’ll let it go.”
“You can’t win this, Sophia. The whole country knows what you did to me. Do you even have the courage to live after this?”
Wendy gave me a mocking smile. Even my parents looked at me with disgust, wishing I had disappeared. But I remained calm and waited for the judge to begin the session.
Martin had hired one of Washington’s top lawyers, clearly determined to destroy me in court. The lawyer read out a list of my supposed ‘crimes’ during the marriage, trying to make me look like the guilty one.
“If he only helped his neighbor care for her child, that’s not considered infidelity. Given the situation, it’s clear she bears most of the fault here,” he argued.
“If she can’t present any new evidence, the court should grant the divorce and declare her at fault.”
The courtroom burst into applause. Martin and Wendy hugged each other, celebrating early as people whispered that I deserved it. But I stayed calm and raised my hand.
I told the judge, “I have new evidence. A CCTV footage from our neighbor Wendy’s home and a DNA paternity test report for Martin and Wendy’s daughter, Nancy Haines.”
The room went silent. Everyone’s faces turned serious. Martin’s face went pale and tense and I knew the real drama was about to begin.
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