It was a phone call that broke everything I thought I knew about my life.
One minute was everything normal-my ex-wife Natalie and I had a routine down, with night video calls, so I could say good night to our three-year-old son Oliver.
Then my world disintegrated. Natalie called me in tears and told me Oliver was gone. But something about her frantic news didn’t sit with me. I didn’t know yet, but I was about to find out that the truth was much twisted than I could imagine.
Greg and Natalie were divorced for a while, but shared a three -year -old son called Oliver.
When we were Natalie and I separated together after five years, there was no decision that we made easily. We were young when we first met, and when things began to disintegrate, we did not invent our efforts to repair them. Since our divorce, we have lived in different countries and the fastest way to see each other is flying.
Despite the distance, we share responsibility for the education of Oliver. Even though I spend the holidays with him, it’s never enough for me. But I didn’t want to argue about it with Natalie. Maintaining a peace relationship was more important to Oliver’s well -being and I think Natalie felt the same. We both agreed that Oliver did not deserve to live in a house where his parents were constantly fighting.
Every night, Natalie would call me with Oliver to say good night, a routine that has become a calming part of my day.
Everything was fine, until one day Natalie called me in tears.
“Greg!” She cried over the phone. “Our son is gone!”
“What?” I asked, shocked and didn’t understand what he was meant.
“Oliver is dead,” she repeated.
“What? How? What happened?” I asked and my body collapsed on the floor.
“It’s just gone, Greg,” she said, and the line fell silent.
“I’ll be there soon.” I’ll get another flight, ”I said, and my voice shakes.
“No,” Natalie replied. “We’ve already had a ceremony.” Was buried. ”
I hung up and felt crushed. How could Oliver be away? And why didn’t Natalie tell me before? If something happened to him, I should have known. And now she said he was already buried? How couldn’t she tell me, especially with my father’s role?
I immediately book the flight for the next day and spent the whole evening staring at my computer, broken and couldn’t understand what had just happened.
I hated Natalie for not telling me about the funeral. How could she let me out, especially when I was supposed to be there for my son? Why didn’t her parents nor Mike, her new husband, call me?
Then, next morning, when I packed, I got a call from Mike. “Hi, Miku,” I said. “I’ll be there tonight.”
“Wait, Greg,” he said in a soft voice. “I have to tell you something.”
What Mike said was shocked to my core.
“Natalie lost it.” She invented the whole story. Oliver is alive, Greg. ”
“What?” I asked, stunned.
“Oliver is Natalie with his parents,” Mike explained.
It turns out that while I spent the night with the sadness of my son, Natalie invented the whole story. Her goal was to get me to leave my life forever. It made sense – without Oliver, I wouldn’t have any reason to stay with her.
According to Mika, Natalie admitted that she no longer wanted me to get involved in their lives. Even though she was angry, Mike called me as soon as he found the truth.
Now that I knew Oliver was alive, I felt impressed with emotions. I was relieved that my son was not gone, but I also raged on Natalie for what she did.
Even after our divorce, I never looked for full care of Oliver. He both needed us, but Natalie went to the extremes to keep him for herself – it was hard to accept.
I packed the rest of my bags and headed for the airport. I needed to hear more and get answers directly from her.
When Natalie opened the door, her face was full of tears. She looked shaky as she let me in.
“How could you do this to me?” I asked and put the luggage down.
“I thought you would try to take Oliver from me,” she replied, her voice broke.
“Why would I do that?” I asked, confused by her justification.
“Because I’m pregnant with another child.” I was afraid that if you found it, you would like to take Oliver from me and leave him with you. I was afraid of that, ”she sobbed.
She was clearly shaken by the weight of what she did.
“Natalie,” I said quietly, noticing that Mike had entered the room.
“It changes things, but it does not justify a lie,” I continued. “You should have believed that I am open to you and honest.” I would never separate Oliver from you. He needs both of us. But the lie you said hurt me. I went for hours when I thought I lost it. ”
Natalie sat down and cried for a long time and clutched her stomach every few minutes.
Then I suddenly heard the sound of small steps.
“Daddy!” Oliver screamed, ran down the hallway and jumped into my arms.
I refused to let him go.
I assured Natalie that I wasn’t there to take Oliver from her. But I also explained that if she had ever tried something like that, I would have to take legal action. On the one hand, I understood her fear and pain of thinking that she could lose her baby. But her actions made no sense. Given the chance, I would like to welcome the idea that Oliver would become a great brother.
I insisted that Natalie and I go to advice to work through the basic questions of our divorce.
Mike was a great support for her, and I am grateful that if someone had to enter the role of Oliver’s stepfather, he was he – the one who told me the truth.
Now I have returned home, but I’m looking for a job closer to Oliver, so I can be for him.
Have you ever said a lie that threatened your life, how did you know?
In the end, the situation left me with a combination of relief and anger. I am grateful that Oliver is alive and well, but the emotional thinking tax on which I lost it is indescribable. Natalie’s actions were harmful and unforgivable, and I was left to question her judgment and our whole relationship. Despite everything, I am still determined to work with her for Oliver, and I hope that advice can help us recover because of the damage caused by the divorce and the lies that followed.
Now I focus on building a stable, loving environment for Oliver and ensuring that nothing like this has ever happened again. As for the future, I will do everything I need to stay close to my son, physically and emotionally, and protects it from the pain I have experienced. Life is unpredictable, and sometimes the lies we say about can turn our world upside down, but it depends most about how we climb over them for those we love.