Woman Helps Single Neighbor Who Just Had a Baby, Finds Own Husband’s Photo in Her Bedroom — Story of the Day

A woman suspected her husband of cheating, but he had an explanation for everything. However, she later saw something unexpected at a neighbor's house that finally revealed the truth.

Deborah had just had dinner and looked out the window, waiting for her husband to come home. He had been late a few days that week, and it wasn't like him. She didn't want to be that wife who suspected her husband of cheating, but there she was.

He won't cheat. He can't. Right?

Unfortunately, several of her friends had recently been through cheating situations, so she was heavily suspicious. She breathed a sigh of relief when her husband's car pulled up on the driveway.

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"Honey, I'm home," Robert called out when he opened the door, and Deborah smiled but noticed his usually well-pressed white button-down shirt was disheveled. The suspicions rose again.

"Hey, dear. Why are you late?" Deborah asked, trying to sound casual but not entirely succeeding.

"I'm late?" Robert asked, frowning and raising his arm to look at his watch. "Oh, I must have lost track of time at the office, honey. I'm sorry."

"Oh, ok," Deborah said, biting her bottom lip and not pleased with that vague response. But she let it go. "Let me take your jacket."

"Thank you. Could you put it in the laundry? I'm going to start wearing the brown one. It's getting colder now," Robert said and went to their bedroom while Deborah went to the laundry room.

Acting like a common thief, she scoured through his pockets, desperate to find something that would either prove his innocence or reveal that she was not wrong to be paranoid.

Shockingly, a few receipts appeared: one from a convenience store where Robert bought diapers and baby formula and the other from a toy store where he purchased some kind of jumping game for a baby or toddler. It was expensive, and her eyes widened.

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"Oh my God! He's not just cheating on me. He made another family," she breathed and wanted to break down right there in the laundry room, but Robert started calling her. She scrambled and wanted to pretend as if nothing had happened.

But wait a minute. Why do I have to act fine? Deborah asked herself.

Suddenly, instead of wanting to cry, she got furious and stormed out of the laundry room with the receipts.

"Robert, what the hell is this?" she asked, her eyes wild and crazy. Her hand was raised with pieces of white paper in her hand.

"What?" Robert said, confused and frowning. "You went through my jacket?"

"Don't change the subject! Why are you buying baby stuff when we don't have children?" she demanded, getting angrier and angrier. That madness came from a deep place where she felt terrible that they still couldn't get pregnant.

She had tried to be patient and hope for the best, but they had been married for years—and nothing. It looked like Robert didn't care and went out and made a new family behind her back.

"I bought it for a co-worker of mine. He was busy and asked me to go by the store and do that. That's why I was late today," he explained, crossing his arms.

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"Why did you lie to me earlier, then?" Deborah asked, lowering her voice. She didn't believe him, but her anger would not make him more honest.

"I don't know. Maybe because I know you're sensitive about baby stuff," he said, shrugging.

Deborah stood straighter at that comment and looked down. "I… well… " she stammered.

"Honey, no. Please, don't cry. I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that, yeah, you're sensitive that we have not gotten pregnant yet, and I didn't want to hurt you," Robert said and approached her, wrapping his arms around her.

Deborah let her husband hug her and forgot all about that situation. Maybe, he isn't cheating. Perhaps, he doesn't have a hidden family… my husband loves me, she repeatedly thought in his arms.

***

"Hey, Deb," her friend, Darla, said when Deborah answered the phone.

"Hi, girl. What's up?"

"I was wondering. You know we have a new neighbor, right? She's on the other block, and I'm going to introduce her to my boss tonight because she needs the job. But she has a newborn, and we can't find a babysitter tonight. Can you do it? It's after work because my boss didn't have time to meet her earlier," Darla asked.

"Oh, sure. Of course. But will your friend be alright leaving her baby with a stranger?" Deborah wondered, confused.

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"Yeah. She trusts me," Darla assured and gave her the house number.

That night, Deborah showed up at the house and met Darla and her friend, Mia, who was lovely. "Thank you for doing this for a stranger," the young woman said. "I have no one to help me."

"Of course. I love babies, and I babysat all through my teens," she smiled, and her friends left.

Caring for the baby was a delight, and Deborah couldn't wait to get pregnant soon. She started thinking about going for IVF as she tended to the baby and put him to sleep.

Mia's house had only one room, and the crib was right next to the bed, so she put the baby to sleep and wanted to leave, but something caught her eye. It was a picture on the nightstand. To her utter horror, Robert was right there, the highlight of that picture. A young Robert with his arm around Mia. Other people were in the picture, but Deborah couldn't focus on anything else.

She took a pic of the portrait with her phone and tried to contain herself, waiting for Darla and Mia to return. When they did, she rushed away, dismissing their plans of having some coffee and chitchat. She didn't have time for that. Her marriage was over.

***

Robert arrived home later than ever. This time, a huge meeting at work had gone long, but he hoped Deborah would understand and still believe his story.

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However, he opened the door, and it was like a hurricane passed through his house. "Deborah! Deborah!" he called, but no one answered. He went to their bedroom and realized… his wife was gone.

Robert spent the next few hours trying to locate Deborah. He had been calling her parents, but they hung up on him many times until they finally blocked him. He couldn't call her work. It was late, and he feared he would get her in trouble. However, he drove around, trying to find her at her market or the local coffee shop. No luck.

When he went back home, he saw Darla putting out the garbage. "Darla! Darla! Have you seen Deborah? I can't find her, and she's not answering. I'm so worried," Robert asked, and the desperation in his voice made Darla frown.

"Well, yeah. She babysat for our new neighbor, Mia, but then, she ran off like a bat out of hell, and she hasn't answered my texts either," Darla said, wrapping her jacket around herself and getting closer.

"Mia?" Robert asked, surprised. His eyes darted all over their street as his brain put the pieces together.

"Yes, Mia. Do you know her?" Darla asked, tilting her head in suspicion.

But Robert hurried away, ignoring her, and returned home to try to reach his wife again.

***

"Let's get this over with quickly," Deborah started in a no-nonsense tone when Robert was finally allowed to come to her parents' house for a talk. "I already talked to a lawyer and –"

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"Mia's baby is not mine!" Robert interrupted, almost yelling. He knew Deborah would not let him speak if he didn't raise his voice.

The day after his talk with Darla, Robert visited Mia. She had no idea who Deborah was, as she had been abroad for a long time and only came back recently to raise her baby in the town where she grew up.

She and Robert were friends in high school and continued to be close through college, but they lost touch when she left for Europe. However, when she returned with a newborn, he decided to help her with the baby and some expenses.

The issue was that he was afraid to tell Deborah. He had lied to her about his late nights a few times and why he was buying baby stuff. But he had not lied to her about her sensitivity over babies. He knew she felt ashamed over not getting pregnant, although Robert never said anything. He didn't care if they never got pregnant or had children.

But he knew his wife berated herself over it. She loved babies. She dreamed of being a mom. And also, he had dated Mia for a while in high school and thought it would be better if they didn't know much about each other or that Robert was helping the new mom out. He realized now that was a little... stupid.

He rushed through this explanation, and Deborah's face went from angry, confused, outraged, disgusted, exasperated, and finally, to frustrated.

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"You're not stupid. You're an idiot, Robert! Why in the world would you lie about that? And if you've been lying so much, why would I believe you now?" she yelled.

"Let's meet Mia. Please, I'll tell you everything. She doesn't even know you're my wife," Robert suggested, and Deborah agreed. Despite her anger, she didn't want to get divorced.

Mia confirmed everything and called Robert an idiot too.

"I stupidly got pregnant in Europe, and I guess I just wanted to be back home to raise my baby. I left because my parents died, and I had nothing. But I still have some friends left. I didn't know Robert was helping me in secret. I'm so sorry," Mia added to the explanation.

And Deborah believed her. She was nice. She looked at the picture again and realized other young teens were there. So, it was nothing romantic. She had made it worse in her head because Robert had been lying and was getting home late from work.

Therefore, she forgave Robert. "But this is the last time. I don't want any more lies. Not one. Not even the tiniest things. I want the truth 100%, or I'll leave for good," she told her husband, who agreed to everything.

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Deborah returned her things to their house, and a few months later, they finally got pregnant. Robert had to work for years for Deborah's trust, which is the easiest thing to lose.

What can we learn from this story?

• Never lie to your spouse, as one tiny lie can turn into a huge misunderstanding. Robert shouldn't have lied to Deborah about the little stuff because it almost led to divorce.
• Trust is the easiest thing to lose and the hardest thing to get back. It's hard to have the same relationship with a partner after the trust is gone, so it's always best to be honest.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a woman who helped deliver her neighbor's baby and discovered that her husband was the father.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.