ADVERTISEMENT
I Came Home Early from a Work Trip and Found My Husband Asleep with a Newborn Baby – the Truth Was Breathtaking
Thank God I’m back home, I thought as I kicked off my shoes.
And as I stepped into the living room, I thought I was seeing things; sleeping on the couch, with his head tilted back and his arms wrapped around a bundled newborn, was my husband.
I stood frozen.
My coat bag slipped from my shoulders and pooled on the floor, but I didn’t move to pick it up. I could hardly breathe. The baby was curled against his chest, her tiny fist clinging to the fabric of his sweatshirt.
She couldn’t have been more than a few days old.
This was a baby. A real, breathing baby. This was something that we’d dreamed about, something that we’d cried for, prayed for, and now… a baby lay sleeping on my husband like she belonged to him.
A real, breathing baby.
My chest clenched, and my legs felt unsteady.
Mark had cheated. He must have. He cheated… and this was his baby.
But what about the mother? Was she still here? In our house? Was he planning to keep them hidden until I left again?
Mark had cheated.
He must have.
My husband stirred, his head lifting slightly as the baby made a soft sound against his chest. His eyes opened slowly, hazy with sleep, but the moment they found mine, everything in his face changed.
And his confusion gave way to panic.
“Talia,” he said, sitting up straighter. “Wait. I can explain.”
“Whose baby is that, Mark?” I asked, my throat feeling raw.
“Wait. I can explain.”
“I… I found her,” he said. “This morning. On the porch… someone left her there.”
I stared at him. I stared at the baby and at the blanket wrapped so neatly around her body. Her hat matched her onesie. Her cheeks were flushed and warm, not wind-chapped.
She looked loved and well cared for.
“… On the porch… someone left her there.”
I didn’t say a word. I reached into my coat pocket, pulled out my phone, and opened our security app. My hands were shaking as I scrubbed through the footage from that morning.
There she was.
A woman — calm, focused, and holding the baby. She walked straight to our front door, looked around once, and then handed the baby directly to Mark. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t look surprised.
I turned my phone to him.
There she was.
“You didn’t find her,” I said. “You accepted her.”
“You’re right. I lied, Talia,” he said, lowering his gaze. “But not because I don’t trust you.”
“Then why?” I asked, still standing like the floor might give way beneath me. “Is she yours?”
“No. And that’s exactly what I was afraid of, that you’d think the worst. That you’d think I’d cheated or gone behind your back, and I swear to you, Talia, it’s not that. It’s not even close.”
“Is she yours?”
