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My Wife Abandoned Me with Our Blind Newborn Twins – 18 Years Later, She Returned with One Strict Demand
“You’re supposed to be a man,
building an empire.”
My jaw stiffened, but I refused to give her the satisfaction of a response.
Emma and Clara had frozen at their sewing machines, their hands stilling on the fabric. They couldn’t see her, but they could hear the venom in her voice.
“Who’s there, Dad?” Clara asked quietly.
I took a breath, trying to keep my voice steady. “It’s your… mother.”
The silence that followed was deafening.
Lauren walked further into the room, her heels clicking against our worn floor.
They couldn’t see her,
in her voice.
“Girls!” she said, her voice suddenly syrupy sweet. “Look at you. You’re so grown up.”
Emma’s face remained blank. “We can’t see, remember? We’re blind. Isn’t that why you left us?”
The bluntness made Lauren falter for just a second. “Of course,” she recovered quickly. “I meant… you’ve grown so much. I’ve thought about you every single day.”
“Funny,” Clara said, her voice ice-cold. “We haven’t thought about you at all.”
I’d never been prouder of my daughters.
Lauren cleared her throat, clearly thrown off by their hostility. “I came back for a reason. I have something for you.”
Isn’t that why you left us?”
She pulled two garment bags from behind her and laid them carefully on our couch. Then she produced a thick envelope, the kind that makes a heavy sound when it hits a surface.
My chest tightened as I watched her stage this little performance.
“These are designer gowns,” she said, unzipping one bag to reveal expensive fabric. “The kind you girls could never afford. And there’s cash here too. Enough to change your lives.”
Emma’s hands found Clara’s, and they held tight.
“Why?” I asked, my voice rough. “Why now? After 18 years?”
“Why now?
After 18 years?”
Lauren smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Because I want my daughters back. I want to give them the life they deserve.”
She pulled out a folded document and placed it on top of the envelope. “But there’s one condition.”
The room felt smaller suddenly, like the walls were closing in.
“What condition?” Emma asked, her voice trembling slightly.
Lauren’s smile widened. “It’s simple, darling. You can have all of this… the gowns, the money, everything. But you have to choose ME over your father.”
The words hung in the air like poison.
“But you have to choose
ME
over your father.”
“You have to acknowledge publicly that he failed you,” she added. “That he kept you in poverty while I was out working to build a better future. That you’re choosing to come live with me because I can ACTUALLY provide for you.”
My hands clenched into fists at my sides. “You’re insane.”
“Am I?” She turned to face me, her expression triumphant. “I’m offering them an opportunity. What have you given them? A cramped apartment and some sewing lessons? Please!”
Emma reached for the document, her fingers brushing over it uncertainly. “Dad, what does it say?”
“You have to acknowledge publicly
that he failed you.”
I took it from her, my hands shaking as I read the typed words aloud. It was a contract… stating that Emma and Clara would denounce me as an inadequate father and credit Lauren with their success and well-being.
“She wants you to sign away your relationship with me,” I said softly, my voice breaking. “In exchange for money.”
Clara’s face went pale. “That’s sick.”
