The day after the wedding, Elizabeth’s husband, Jake, insisted that they try for a baby.
At first, Elizabeth thought he was pressing her out of excitement at starting a new life together. His true intentions were revealed when an email notification on his laptop caught her attention.
When I was a child, my grandmother always told me that life is full of surprises and that not all surprises are pleasant.
“Never forget the good days and never let the bad get you down, Liz,” she used to say.
She probably wanted to prepare her little Elizabeth for the bitter moments of life, but I’m sure she had no idea that the worst day of my life would change my reality forever.
I’ll never forget the moment I found out what my husband Jake was planning behind my back. I met him at my new workplace and we immediately became good friends.
We had only been dating for six months when we decided to get married because our connection was intense – or so I thought.
The day after our beautiful wedding, Jake came up with the idea of ​​starting a family right away. “Liz, I think we should start trying for a baby now,” he said with a kind of urgency that surprised me.
I thought, “Okay, maybe he’s just super excited to start our new life together.”
“Are you sure? We just got married,” I replied, trying to gauge his thoughts.
“Yes, definitely,” he insisted. “There’s no better time than now. It’s the perfect way to start our journey together.”
His words were full of enthusiasm.
But something in his tone made me uneasy.
Despite my mixed emotions—confused but flattered by his eagerness—I smiled and nodded, unaware of the real reason he was so eager.
One afternoon I was cleaning the living room when a reminder rang on Jake’s laptop. He was in the shower so a persistent ping caught my attention.
I swear I wasn’t spying. I saw the screen light up with a preview message that read:
“Is she still pregnant?”
I was shocked. It was from his ex-girlfriend Claire.
My stomach turned as a chilling conversation unfolded in the email thread.
“Remember our deal, Jake. You have to get her pregnant within a year. If you don’t, you won’t be able to secure your inheritance,” Claire wrote in her email.
“Don’t worry, I’m on it. Everything is going according to plan,” my husband replied.
My heart was pounding as I read their conversation. They discussed a cold, calculated strategy where Jake would marry me and then secure an heir claim to a substantial inheritance from a distant relative.
To secure his inheritance, Jake needed to have a child within a year of marriage.
Besides, he was using me because his ex-girlfriend was infertile.
After Jake got his share, he planned to divorce me and spend his life with Claire.
“How could you?” I whispered, tears streaming down my face.
Shaken by the discovery, I knew I couldn’t face Jake without hard evidence. Over the next few days, I acted normal while secretly gathering all the evidence I could.
Whenever Jake left his laptop unattended, I transferred copies of emails to a USB drive. I also started recording his phone conversations with Claire.
I knew he talked to her whenever I went out.
One evening, pretending to leave the house, I hid in our garage and recorded him on the phone with Claire confirming their plan.
“I just need a little more time, Claire. Trust me, everything is on the right track,” I heard him say, his voice low and urgent.
With the evidence secured, I consulted a lawyer.
“This is a serious matter, Elizabeth. Well, you need to handle it carefully to make sure you are legally and financially protected,” he advised.
We strategized not only how to confront Jake, but also how to expose his deception so that he could not manipulate the situation.
The lawyer assured me that the evidence was conclusive and that Jake would be at a legal disadvantage once everything came out.
We carefully planned every step and prepared for the eventual showdown.
Jake’s family held a grand reunion every year with a few weeks to go. I planned to reveal his truth there.
It was an ideal occasion as all of his distant relatives were in attendance, including those he was eyeing to inherit.
In the following weeks, I pretended to be a loving wife who wanted to have a child with him. Meanwhile, I was feeling nervous as the day of the big event approached.
On the day of the event, I got up to make a toast after dinner.
“I want to thank everyone for the warm welcome to this wonderful family,” | began my voice firm. “And for my dear husband, who has taught me so much about trust and love, I have a special surprise!”
Eyes on me, I turned on the projector. The emails between Jake and Claire appeared on the screen, every word incriminating.
Then I played the tapes of Jake’s phone conversations.
The room fell into stunned silence. Then Jake’s grandmother stood up, her face red with anger.
“You’re a disgrace,” she said firmly, her voice echoing in the room. “You don’t get a penny of someone’s wealth!”
Claire, who I had invited as a friend plus one, stood up with a pale face. She slapped Jake across the face.
“I don’t want to see your face again!” she shouted and left.
As whispers filled the room, I looked at Jake, his face was colorless.
“And one last thing,” I added, my voice clear and strong. “I never intended to be pregnant so soon. I’ve been on birth control since I found out the truth.”
That evening, Jake’s plan was completely destroyed and he was left with nothing. His deception also voided our prenup.
Meanwhile, I left the estate with my integrity intact and a future ahead of me.
On Eliza’s 10th wedding anniversary, she hopes Tom will take her away on a romantic getaway.
But when he forgets their anniversary and needs to work, she turns it into a girls’ weekend, only for her to see that Tom’s business trip is to meet his lover.
From the moment Tom first described the seaside charm of Bellport, I envisioned us spending a romantic week there, walking hand in hand and retracing his cherished memories of his time there.
Since we’ve been married, my husband has painted such vivid pictures of Bellport that they seem woven into our marriage vows.
“It’s the most beautiful place, Eliza,” he said, sipping tea and leafing through a newspaper.
Year after year he promised we would go, but life always got in the way
-work responsibilities, family matters, and an endless parade of excuses.
“I’m sorry, dear,” he said. “It’s just that something happened at the office and I have to attend to it.
But then when Tom forgot our 10th wedding anniversary, something inside me snapped.
“I have to leave town for a week,” he said while shaving. “It’s for work. We’re looking for new clients.”
I was hoping Tom would tell me to pack my bags and get ready to celebrate our romantic milestone – but he completely missed it.
It was enough.
I didn’t want to be a footnote in my own love story.
So I called my best friend Jenny.
“We’re going away for my wedding anniversary!” I said as she answered the call.
“What?” she asked, surprised by my words, I could hear her sipping her usual smoothie.
“Tom would hate that!”
I explained to her that Tom had to be on a business trip and that I was tired of being alone.
“Pack your bags, Jen,” ​​I told her.
I went straight to the closet and started packing my bags. I needed this. I needed a moment to myself. I took my laptop and booked a hotel. This weekend was meant to be a weekend of healing, laughter, and forgetting the sting of neglect.
The hotel that Tom often raved about was our first stop.
As we entered the lobby—the place he described down to the gilded frames on the walls—my heart leaped with anticipation and a twinge of sadness.
I was glad to be here with my best friend, sure. But being with Tom would make it so much better, with memories to last a lifetime.
“Let’s check in and leave the luggage,” Jenny said. “And then get some fish and chips from that place you’ve been talking about for the last hour.
And then I heard it.
Tom’s laugh.
I turned, my heart sinking, to see Tom standing in the hall with a woman I didn’t know. They were laughing and his arm was casually draped around her shoulders. The sight was like a punch in the gut. Tom had been describing Bellport and his excitement about our anniversary plans for years only to be here with someone else.
Jenny noticed my reaction and followed my gaze. Her expression changed from curiosity to shock as she realized what was happening. I stood frozen, my anger and pain mixed with disbelief. The woman with Tom looked over, her eyes meeting mine with a mixture of surprise and discomfort.
I took a deep breath and walked towards them, my voice steady but cool. “Tom, I didn’t realize our anniversary plans included a guest. Maybe you could introduce me to your friend?”
Tom’s face turned red and he stammered, “Eliza, I… I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“No, of course not,” I replied in a hushed tone. “I guess work wasn’t the only thing you had to take care of this week.
Sensing the tension, the woman apologized and hurriedly left. Tom tried to follow him but I stopped him. “No, Tom. I came here for another reason. It’s time we had a serious conversation about where we are.”
As I left with Jenny, the gravity of the situation hit me. I came to Bellport looking for a romantic getaway, but instead, I found clarity. The place Tom promised to share with me became the backdrop for my own awakening. It wasn’t about a romantic getaway or an anniversary anymore. It was about regaining my confidence and deciding what I really deserved in my marriage.
By the end of the weekend, I had made up my mind. This trip was supposed to heal, but it also brought to light the reality of my relationship. When I left Bellport, I knew the journey ahead would involve difficult decisions, but for the first time in a long time, I felt hopeful about the future and decided to prioritize my own happiness.