My husband and I had been happily married for over ten years. I thought we had a perfect relationship and that he really loved me. But what he did during one of the most important moments of our lives made me doubt his love and who he really is.
Before our daughter was born, we had a big fight. Suddenly, he suggested we do a paternity test after the baby was born. I was completely shocked—it came out of nowhere, and he didn’t give any reason. I work part-time from home and hardly see anyone outside my family. I don’t have male friends except my brother.
When I asked if he thought I was cheating, he just said he “wanted to be sure.” That was all. But he kept bringing it up over and over, and the stress started affecting my health. Finally, I told him I couldn’t keep talking and stayed at my brother’s house for a while.
I was heartbroken. At my brother’s, I spent my days thinking about how to fix things. I even called my husband to talk, but he refused to answer.
Before our daughter was born, we had a big fight. Suddenly, he suggested we do a paternity test after the baby was born. I was completely shocked—it came out of nowhere, and he didn’t give any reason. I work part-time from home and hardly see anyone outside my family. I don’t have male friends except my brother.
When I asked if he thought I was cheating, he just said he “wanted to be sure.” That was all. But he kept bringing it up over and over, and the stress started affecting my health. Finally, I told him I couldn’t keep talking and stayed at my brother’s house for a while.
I was heartbroken. At my brother’s, I spent my days thinking about how to fix things. I even called my husband to talk, but he refused to answer.
While I was still recovering from surgery—ten hours after I first tried calling—my husband finally called back. The first thing he asked was why I hadn’t answered him. My brother, who had my phone, got furious. He said, “Hey, it’s Derek. I’m at the hospital. She didn’t make it,” and then hung up.
My husband rushed to the hospital and arrived just as I was waking up. He started shouting as soon as he saw us, and security had to remove him. He didn’t get to see our daughter until the next day because I was asleep, and the staff needed my written permission to let him in.
My whole family thought Derek’s prank was harsh, but we agreed my husband deserved it. Derek keeps reminding him that I almost died because we were waiting for him. He used to mostly ignore my husband, but now he can barely stand him—you can see it in his face whenever they’re in the same room.
Once things settled a bit, my husband tried to apologize. He kept saying he never meant to cause so much stress and that he “just wanted to be sure” about the baby. But his words felt empty. The betrayal had hurt too much. I told him, “How can I ever trust you again?”
We eventually decided to try counseling, hoping to rebuild our relationship. The sessions were hard—full of tears, anger, and tough honesty. One day, I completely broke down and said, “I needed you. You weren’t there. You chose your doubts over your family.”
Derek’s anger toward my husband didn’t go away either. He stayed polite for my sake, but the tension was always there. Every family gathering felt tense. My husband could feel it too, which only made things harder between us.
Over time, though, my husband started to change. He became more patient and attentive, trying to show he could be trusted again. He threw himself into taking care of our daughter—feeding her, changing her, rocking her to sleep—doing anything he could to help. One night he said, “I want to earn your trust back, Anna. I know I messed up, but I want to fix this.”
It’s been a long, painful journey, and we’re still not fully healed. But even so, I feel hopeful.