I thought I knew everything about my husband—until I overheard a shocking conversation between his mother and sister. When Peter finally confessed the secret he’d been hiding about our first child, my world shattered, and I was left questioning everything we had built together.
Peter and I had been married for three years. We met during a whirlwind summer, and everything just clicked. He was smart, funny, and kind, everything I’d ever wanted. When we found out I was pregnant with our first child a few months later, it felt like fate.
A photo of a happy couple | Source: Pexels
Now, we were expecting our second baby, and our lives seem pretty perfect. But things haven’t been as smooth as they appear.
I’m American, and Peter’s German. At first, the differences between us were exciting. When Peter’s job transferred him back to Germany, we moved there with our first child. I thought it would be a fresh start, but it wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped.
A man packing boxes | Source: Pexels
Germany was beautiful, and Peter was thrilled to be back in his home country. But I struggled. I missed my family and friends. And Peter’s family, well, they were… polite at best. His parents, Ingrid and Klaus, didn’t speak much English, but I understood more German than they realized.
At first, I didn’t mind the language barrier. I thought it would give me time to learn more German and blend in. But then, the comments started.
A successful woman | Source: Pexels
Peter’s family came over often, especially Ingrid and Peter’s sister, Klara. They would sit in the living room, chatting away in German. I’d be in the kitchen or tending to our child, pretending not to notice when their conversation shifted toward me.
“That dress… it doesn’t suit her at all,” Ingrid once said, not bothering to lower her voice.
“She’s gained so much weight with this pregnancy,” Klara added with a smirk.
A smirking woman | Source: Pexels
I’d look down at my swelling belly, my hands automatically smoothing over the fabric. Yes, I was pregnant, and yes, I’d gained weight, but their words still stung. They acted like I couldn’t understand them, and I never let on that I could. I didn’t want to cause a scene, and deep down, I wanted to see how far they’d go.
One afternoon, I overheard something that cut even deeper.
Two gossiping women | Source: Pexels
“She looks tired,” Ingrid remarked, pouring tea as Klara nodded. “I wonder how she’ll manage two children.”
Klara leaned in, lowering her voice a little. “I’m still not sure about that first baby. He doesn’t even look like Peter.”
I froze, standing just out of sight. I felt my stomach drop. They were talking about our son.
Ingrid sighed. “His red hair… it’s not from our side of the family.”
Klara chuckled. “Maybe she didn’t tell Peter everything.”
A chuckling woman | Source: Pexels
They both laughed softly, and I stood there, too stunned to move. How could they say that? I wanted to scream at them, tell them they were wrong, but I stayed quiet, my hands trembling. I didn’t know what to do.
The next visit after our second baby was born was the hardest. I was exhausted, trying to manage a newborn and our toddler. Ingrid and Klara arrived, offering smiles and congratulations, but I could tell something was off. They whispered to each other when they thought I wasn’t looking, and the tension in the air was thick.
Two women gossiping | Source: Pexels
As I sat feeding the baby in the other room, I heard them talking in hushed voices. I leaned closer to the door, listening.
“She still doesn’t know, does she?” Ingrid whispered.
Klara laughed softly. “Of course not. Peter never told her the truth about the first baby.”
My heart skipped a beat. The truth? About our first baby? What were they talking about?
A shocked woman | Source: Midjourney
I felt my pulse quicken, and a cold wave of fear washed over me. I knew I shouldn’t listen, but I couldn’t help it. What could they mean? I needed to know more, but their voices faded as they moved to another room. I sat there, frozen, my mind racing.
What had Peter not told me? And what was this “truth” about our first child?
A thoughtful woman in her living room | Source: Midjourney
I stood up, my legs shaky, and called Peter into the kitchen. He came in, looking confused. I could barely keep my voice steady.
“Peter,” I whispered, “what is this about our first baby? What haven’t you told me?”
His face turned pale, his eyes widening in panic. For a moment, he didn’t say anything. Then, he sighed heavily and sat down, burying his face in his hands.
A tired man in his kitchen | Source: Pexels
“There’s something you don’t know,” Peter looked up at me, guilt written all over his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated, his eyes darting to the floor. “When you gave birth to our first…” He paused, taking a deep breath. “My family… they pressured me to get a paternity test.”
I stared at him, trying to process what he had just said. “A paternity test?” I repeated slowly, as if saying it out loud would help me understand. “Why? Why would they—?”
A shocked woman in her kitchen | Source: Midjourney
“They thought… the timing was too close to when you ended your last relationship,” he said, his voice breaking. “And the red hair… They said the baby couldn’t be mine.”
I blinked, my head spinning. “So you took a test? Behind my back?”
Peter stood up, his hands shaking. “It wasn’t because I didn’t trust you! I never doubted you,” he said quickly. “But my family wouldn’t let it go. They were convinced something wasn’t right. They kept pushing me. I didn’t know how to make it stop.”
A shocked man looking up | Source: Pexels
“And what did the test say, Peter?” I asked, my voice rising. “What did it say?”
He swallowed hard, his eyes filled with regret. “It said… it said I wasn’t the father.”
The room felt like it was closing in on me. “What?” I whispered, struggling to breathe. “I never cheated on you! How could that—”
An upset woman in her kitchen | Source: Midjourney
Peter stepped closer, desperate to explain. “It didn’t make sense to me, either. I know the baby is mine in every way that matters. But the test… it came back negative. My family didn’t believe me when I told them it was positive. I had to confess.”
I pulled away from him, my whole body shaking. “And you’ve believed it, too? For years? And you didn’t tell me? It has to be wrong!” I cried, feeling like the ground had disappeared beneath my feet. “We have to get another test! We have to—”
A heartbroken woman at her table | Source: Midjourney
Peter’s face crumpled as he reached for my hands, but I pulled them back. “How come you don’t see it?” he said, looking deep into my eyes. “The timing… We started dating so soon after you broke up with your ex. You must’ve fallen pregnant without even realizing it. The test didn’t change how I felt about you or our son. I didn’t care if he was mine. I wanted to be with you, so I accepted him readily.”
A sad man on the kitchen floor | Source: Pexels
I shook my head, tears streaming down my face. “You should’ve trusted me,” I said, my voice trembling. “I never even suspected that he wasn’t yours. Why would I? We’ve been raising him together. You’ve been his father. We could’ve handled this together, Peter, but instead, you lied to me. You kept this secret while I was living in the dark.”
“I know,” Peter whispered, his eyes filled with regret. “I was scared. But I wanted a family with you more than anything. My parents wouldn’t let it go, but I didn’t want you to think I doubted you. I never doubted you.”
A regretful man | Source: Midjourney
I took a step back, feeling like I couldn’t breathe. “I need some air.”
Peter reached out, but I turned away, walking out of the kitchen and into the cool night. The air hit my face, but it did nothing to calm the storm inside me. How could he have done this? I thought about our son, how Peter had held him when he was born, how he’d loved him. None of that made sense with what he just told me. I felt betrayed, lost.
A crying woman | Source: Pexels
For a few minutes, I stood there, staring at the stars, trying to piece it all together. As much as I wanted to scream, to cry, I also knew Peter wasn’t a bad person. He was scared. His family had pushed him into this, and he’d made a terrible mistake by hiding it from me. But he’d still stayed by my side, by our son’s side, all these years. He had lied, but not out of cruelty.
A woman on her porch | Source: Midjourney
I wiped the tears from my eyes and took a deep breath. I had to go back inside. We couldn’t leave things like this. Not with our family on the line.
When I walked back into the kitchen, Peter was sitting at the table, his face buried in his hands again. He looked up when he heard me, his eyes red and swollen.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
A sad man sitting at the table | Source: Pexels
I took a deep breath and nodded. It would take time for me to fully heal from this, but I knew we couldn’t throw away everything we’d built. We had a family, and despite all of this, I still loved him.
“We’ll figure it out,” I whispered. “Together.”
If you liked this story, consider reading this one: When my husband said our daughter wasn’t “European” enough, I knew I had to act. I devised a plan to teach him a lesson, but as I watched his world crumble, I wondered if I’d gone too far.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
Mother Came Out of Coma After 17 Years and Took Revenge on Her Own Daughter – Story of the Day
After a difficult delivery, Olivia’s mother became comatose, but she woke up years later, not realizing how long it had been. She hated her daughter for everything that happened until she saw something on Olivia’s computer.
“Dad, can you tell me what happened back then?” Olivia asked her father once again. Heath had always been reluctant to tell his daughter this story, but she was old enough to know now.
“I met your mother the night I saw her performing for the first time. Renata was the best ballerina this town had ever seen, and I had to meet her. I thought she would reject me, but she didn’t. We started dating immediately,” Heath reminisced.
Olivia visited her mother constantly for 17 years. | Source: Shutterstock
“What happened?”
“I really wanted a child after we got married, but she would have had to give up her career. Eventually, Renata agreed, and we were so happy. When she was about 7 months pregnant, the doctors told us that she had a big spinal problem,” Olivia’s father continued.
“Oh no!”
“Yeah, honey. It was bad. They told her it would be better to induce her labor then and try to repair it. You were born premature but healthy and thriving. Unfortunately, Renata’s surgery was complicated. The doctors said she pulled through, but she never woke up,” Heath said sadly.
Doctors couldn’t explain exactly what happened. | Source: Pexels
“They didn’t explain why?” Olivia asked.
“No. They said that she could wake up any minute. That’s why we visited her so often. I’ve been waiting, but it doesn’t seem like it will happen. I’m losing hope,” her father added.
“No, dad! She’ll wake up! She’s my mom!” Olivia exclaimed. Coincidentally, the doctor called the next day, as Renata had miraculously awakened.
“How is this possible, Dr. Green?” Heath asked when they arrived at the hospital.
“There’s no explanation right now, Mr. Haney. We’ll have to run some tests, but there might never be an answer,” the physician answered.
Heath wanted to see Renata before she met Olivia. | Source: Pexels
“Honey, let me go in first. Remember, she doesn’t know that 17 years have gone by,” Heath told Olivia. She agreed and stayed back, although the teen girl was dying to talk to her mother after all these years.
Heath walked into Renata’s room. “My love! You’re here! Why am I so tired? Did the surgery go well?” she wondered and hugged Heath. He didn’t know how to answer her questions but settled on hugging her back.
“Where’s the baby? Can I see her?” Renata wondered.
“Yes, darling. But you might be a little surprised,” Heath began. “Olivia, can you come in here, please.”
Olivia greeted her mom happily. | Source: Pexels
Olivia stepped into the room, and there she was. Her mother was sitting up on the bed and smiling. She had been dying to see this after so many years of talking to her sleeping form. “Hello, Mom!” Olivia said.
“What is this, Heath? Is she the nanny? Where’s our baby?” Renata asked in confusion, frowning when Olivia called her “mom.”
“No, darling. It’s a long story,” Heath started. He explained everything to Renata slowly, and at first, she refused to believe it.
“No! You’re lying! This is a prank! That’s impossible!” Renata yelled and cried. “Get that girl out of my room and bring me my baby!”
Renata didn’t want anything to do with her daughter. | Source: Pexels
“Renata, calm down, please,” Heath said. But just then, Renata saw herself in the mirror. She saw all those 17 years on her face, and any chance to be the best ballerina in the world was gone now. She went quiet.
After a few days, the doctor cleared her to go home, but Renata refused to speak to Olivia. Olivia did everything around the house, hoping to please her mother. “Mom, what do you want for dinner?” she asked one evening.
“Don’t call me ‘mom.’ I don’t want anything from you,” she replied disdainfully and went upstairs. That night, she made Heath have dinner alone with her, while Olivia stayed in her room. Over the next few days, Renata treated her daughter worse.
Renata made messes that Olivia had to clean. | Source: Pexels
When Olivia cleaned, Renata purposely made another mess like cracking a raw egg on the kitchen table, which Olivia had to clean again. “Why are you doing this to me?” Olivia asked.
“I’m not doing anything. I just don’t want you in my house,” Renata said nonchalantly.
“I’m your daughter!” Olivia wailed.
“That’s what Heath says, but I don’t care! I don’t want you here! You need to leave now!” Renata added angrily. She walked into Olivia’s room and decided that the girl had to leave immediately. She started packing her things until she saw her computer.
She looked through Olivia’s computer and discovered heartwarming videos. | Source: Pexels
She started clicking stuff and discovered a folder named “For Mom.” It was a collection of videos Olivia made dedicated to her. She was there in the hospital on Renata’s birthday. She talked about missing her mom and how she couldn’t wait to see her wake up.
It brought tears to her eyes and she suddenly grieved all the years she had lost and how she blamed her child for it. “Mother! Why are you packing my things? Is this revenge for what happened when you got pregnant with me?” Olivia exclaimed when she entered her room.
“No, baby. I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have blamed you. None of this was your fault! Waking up from a coma and discovering everything was overwhelming. I love you!” Renata cried. They both hugged and started to build a relationship right there.
Olivia practiced ballet, and Renata was her teacher. | Source: Pexels
Eventually, Renata opened her own ballet studio, and Olivia started taking lessons directly from her mother.
What can we learn from this story?
- You can’t blame others for what happens to you. Sometimes, freak incidents happen, and there might not be someone to blame.
- Pregnancy is a serious matter. You have to research thoroughly before taking that important step because it can derail your life and plans.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a woman who refused to care for her mother in her old age.
This account is inspired by our reader’s story but written by a professional writer. All names have been changed to protect identities and ensure privacy. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life.
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