My Therapy Client Is Angry His Wife Won’t Let Him Take Care of Their Son and I Was Shocked When I Found out Why — Story of the Day

As a psychologist, Kate often navigates the turbulent waters of troubled relationships. But when Colin’s case takes an unexpected twist, Kate finds herself breaking protocol and stepping into uncharted territory. What secrets lie behind Colin’s fractured family, and can Kate uncover the truth?

I was waiting for a new client, feeling a familiar curiosity and readiness. The man had mentioned over the phone that he was having some problems with his wife. As a psychologist, this was something I often encountered, so it was nothing unusual.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

I glanced around my office, making sure everything was in place. The door opened, and I saw Colin, my new client. He was tall and looked a bit nervous.

“May I?” Colin asked, standing hesitantly at the door.

“Yes, of course, come in,” I said with a reassuring smile.

Colin walked in slowly, glancing around before settling on the couch opposite me. He looked nervous, his hands fidgeting in his lap.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“So, what brings you here?” I asked, hoping to put him at ease.

“I already mentioned that I have problems with my wife,” he replied in a cold, defensive tone.

I could tell this would be a tough session. “I know, but why don’t you tell me more about it?”

Colin sighed, looking away. “She won’t let me take care of our son. She insists he’s only hers.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“And how does that make you feel?” I asked, watching his reaction closely.

“It hurts. He’s my son too,” Colin said, his voice tight with emotion.

I knew that hurt often masked deeper feelings, like anger. “Does it make you angry that you can’t spend time with your son?”

“No, I said it hurts,” he snapped, his frustration evident.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

Working with men often meant navigating their reluctance to admit feelings. “Have you tried talking to her about it?”

“Yes, but she ignores me. She says she regrets marrying me,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper.

“Why do you think she says that?” I asked, trying to understand the root of their issues.

“I don’t know. She keeps saying that our son is only hers and she will never have more children with me. We just had a baby. It should have brought us closer,” Colin said, his voice filled with confusion and pain.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“Oh, so you have a newborn?” I asked, understanding more about their situation.

“Yes, he’s just a month old,” Colin replied, a hint of pride in his voice.

“I see. Some women have a hard time after childbirth and fall into a depressive phase. Could it be related?” I suggested, trying to explore all possibilities.

“No, she’s fine. She takes good care of our son,” he said, shaking his head.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“And what did you mean when you said your wife doesn’t want more children with you?” I asked, sensing a deeper issue.

“She says it’s because I’m a bad father. But she doesn’t even give me a chance to be one,” Colin said, his frustration clear.

His wife’s behavior was strange. Usually, postpartum depression causes a woman to withdraw from everyone, including the child. “I understand your feelings. Can you recall any events that led to this period in your relationship?”

“Not really. Everything was fine. Though, she has this friend, Toby. They spend a lot of time together, and at some point, I even started doubting if the child is mine,” he admitted, his voice filled with insecurity.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“Are you against their communication?” I asked, trying to gauge his feelings.

“Of course, who would like their wife spending time with another man?” he said, his anger bubbling to the surface.

“Nowadays, friendships between men and women are quite common, and if there’s no hint of betrayal, I don’t think it’s worth stressing over,” I said, hoping to calm him.

“So, you think she’s cheating on me too?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“That’s not what I meant at all,” I clarified, trying to steer the conversation back to his feelings.

“I don’t know, it all seems like cheating to me,” he muttered, more to himself than to me.

“Just because they communicate doesn’t mean she’s cheating,” I reiterated, but Colin seemed to ignore my words, twisting everything to fit his narrative. People often do that, living in illusions rather than facing the truth. However, I couldn’t understand what truth Colin was justifying.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

I glanced at the clock above the couch and realized our session was coming to an end. “Colin, I’m afraid we need to wrap up,” I said gently.

“But I haven’t covered everything. I thought one session would be enough,” Colin said, his frustration evident.

“Many think that, but it’s rarely true. Shall I book you for another session?” I offered, knowing he needed more time.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“Yes, please,” he agreed, a bit of hope in his eyes.

We scheduled our next meeting for the following week, and I saw Colin out of my office. “Take care,” I said as he left. Colin just waved goodbye, his mind clearly elsewhere.

I returned to my office and sighed heavily. Some clients drained all my energy, but I loved my job, and it was part of it. So, I sat back in my chair and prepared for the next client, ready to help them navigate their own struggles.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

A week later, Colin was due to see me again. All week, his case had lingered in my mind. I had a nagging feeling that he wasn’t telling me everything.

“Come in,” I called out when Colin knocked on my door. He entered the office, moving slowly. He sat on the couch, avoiding eye contact.

“So, how have you been?” I asked, trying to gauge his mood.

“Same as before,” he replied, sighing. “She hardly talks to me. But she was very kind when Toby, that friend I mentioned, came over.”

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

“Yes, I remember. How do you feel about that?” I asked, watching his face.

“I want to punch him,” Colin said, clenching his fists.

Anger can be useful if managed well, but I wasn’t sure Colin could handle it. “What does your wife say about it?” I asked, trying to understand more.

She says they’re just friends. But who calls just a friend to be at the birth?” he said, his voice rising

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

This was interesting. “Can you tell me more about that?” I asked, leaning forward.

“My wife went into labor, but I couldn’t take her to the hospital because my mother had an accident, and I was going to pick her up from the hospital. It was nothing serious, but she was shaken. So I told my wife to call my sister, who lives 20-25 minutes away, to take her to the hospital.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but didn’t your wife also need to go to the hospital? Why didn’t you take her and then go together to your mother?” I asked, puzzled.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

“Because my mother lives in a neighboring town, and the hospital was there too,” Colin explained, a bit irritated.

“I see. Please continue,” I urged him gently.

“Instead of calling my sister, she called Toby because he supposedly lives closer,” Colin continued, his jaw tightening.

“And that’s why he was at the birth?” I asked, trying to piece it together.

“Yes,” Colin confirmed, his eyes flashing with anger.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“How did you find out about it?” I asked.

“My sister also came to the hospital and recorded a video for me. I saw my wife holding Toby’s hand during contractions. When I brought my mother home, I asked my sister to FaceTime me. I saw Toby comforting my wife, doing everything a husband should do,” Colin said, his voice trembling.

“Why didn’t you go to the birth after taking your mother home?” I asked, sensing there was more to the story.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

“My mother said she felt unwell and asked me to stay,” Colin admitted, looking down.

So the mother comes first. That’s always a problem, I thought. When men put their mothers first, the marriage won’t last long. “And you decided to stay with her?” I asked, my tone neutral.

“Yes, and when I came the next day and visited my wife, she wouldn’t even let me hold our son. She said I didn’t deserve it,” Colin said, his voice cracking.

“How did you react?” I asked, giving him space to express his feelings.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

“I called her a cheater for having another man at our son’s birth,” Colin said, tears forming in his eyes.

“Do you think that was a good idea?” I asked softly.

“I don’t know, but it’s the truth. And she humiliated me in front of our relatives by saying I didn’t deserve to hold our son because I didn’t take her to the hospital. I’ve apologized a thousand times, but she still won’t let me near our son,” Colin said, his voice filled with despair.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

I nodded, letting Colin vent his frustrations. “I did everything for her, and she does this to me. She could have just called my sister, not Toby. Do you understand why I think she’s cheating on me? And I think that’s why she won’t let me take care of our son, because he’s not really mine,” Colin finished, his shoulders slumping.

I sat back, thinking about what Colin had shared. His pain was real, but his perception might be clouded by his anger and jealousy.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels

I still felt he wasn’t telling me everything. We discussed the situation again, but I still couldn’t understand why his wife called another man to the birth. Maybe it was some form of revenge for Colin not coming.

After our session ended, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. For the first time in my career, I decided to break protocol. I left work, got in my car, and twenty minutes later, I stood in front of Colin’s house.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

I felt nervous and unsure, knowing this was unprofessional. But I also knew I had to talk to his wife to get a better understanding.

I knocked on the door, and after a moment, a tired woman with a baby in her arms opened it. She looked at me, puzzled.

“Excuse me, are you Colin’s wife?” I asked gently.

“Yes, I’m Emily,” she replied, her brow furrowing.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“Nice to meet you. My name is Kate. I’m Colin’s psychologist, and I’d like to talk to you if you don’t mind,” I said, trying to put her at ease.

“Alright,” Emily replied, still looking confused. She led me to the living room, and we sat on the couch. The room was cozy, cluttered with baby items.

“I don’t want to beat around the bush, so I’ll get straight to the point. Colin mentioned that you won’t let him take care of your son,” I said, watching her reaction.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“Well, I have my reasons. I don’t trust him, and I can’t trust him with my son,” Emily replied firmly.

“Is it because he didn’t come to the birth?” I asked, wanting to understand her perspective.

“Yes, even though I told him how important it was for me. Instead, he wanted his sister, who hates me and always belittles me, to be there. I didn’t want her there in such a vulnerable moment, but she came anyway,” Emily said, her voice shaking with emotion.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

This information changed everything. “I understand you, but maybe you could forgive him? I can suggest a family therapy session. After all, he wasn’t just sitting at home; he was helping his mother, who had an accident.”

Emily looked at me sharply. “Is that what he told you? He was helping his ex-girlfriend move because she was relocating.”

Oh my God, what a nightmare, I thought. This was why I decided to talk to Emily; I knew Colin wasn’t telling me everything. “Colin also complained that your friend was there,” I said, trying to remain neutral.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“Toby, yes. We’ve been friends since third grade, and there’s never been anything romantic between us, but I trust him. That’s why I asked him to take me. Besides, he lives closer than Colin’s sister,” Emily explained.

“Have you tried talking to Colin about this?” I asked, feeling the tension in the room.

“I tried, but he doesn’t listen. He says he’s apologized a hundred times for not being at the birth. But he did it just to hear me say I’m not angry. I can’t trust my child to someone who doesn’t care about me. How can I know he cares about our son?” Emily said, tears welling up in her eyes.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“Have you considered leaving?” I asked, sensing her desperation.

“I have, but I don’t have a job or money. I’m financially dependent on Colin,” Emily admitted, looking down.

“Did you know his sister was on FaceTime with Colin the whole time you were in labor?” I asked, feeling the need to share this piece of information.

“What? No, that’s horrible. I didn’t even notice her,” Emily said, her face paling.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

“Emily, if you really want to leave him, I can help you,” I said, offering her a lifeline.

“Really?” she asked, her eyes widening with hope.

“Yes, you can’t raise a child in such conditions,” I said firmly.

Half an hour later, Emily and her son’s belongings were in my car. I was glad I had come to see her and heard her side. I hoped I could help them find a better path.

The drive back to my office was quiet, but I felt a sense of purpose. This was why I became a psychologist, to help people like Emily find the strength to change their lives.

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

For illustration purposes only. | Source: Midjourney

Tell us what you think about this story and share it with your friends. It might inspire them and brighten their day.

If you enjoyed this story, read this one: One evening, I agreed to look after my best friend’s son, and that night changed my life forever. What I discovered made me see my surroundings in a completely different light. How can I now cope with the revelations that have shattered my trust in those closest to me? Read the full story here.

12 People Who Were Right to Trust Their Gut Feeling

Listening to what your intuition is telling you might just keep you safe from harm or sorrow. That’s what people online found out the hard way, when trusting their gut feeling meant a completely different outcome in a serious situation. Their stories are an important reminder for us to believe in our own inner voice.

  • I would always walk down the hallway in the night without turning the lights on. One night I get to the end of the hallway and have a sudden urgent feeling that I need to turn the lights on.
    I go all the way back to my room and turn the hallway light on and go back.
    Just in front of where I had decided to turn around was a huge and deadly Taipan snake making its way from one room to another across the hallway. If it had bitten me in the dark they wouldn’t have been able to get me the correct antivenom. © risska / Reddit
  • I was mowing my backyard with a ride-on mower, and I began to get an overwhelming feeling of being watched. I started looking around and thought I saw a figure in the upstairs window. I tried ignoring this as no one was home and continued with mowing when I started to feel an unbearable sense of dread.
    This made me immediately stop. As I did so, the ground in front of me gave way forming a 15-foot wide 12 foot deep sinkhole. If I hadn’t stopped immediately I likely would have been crushed by the tractor. © MujimIsYou / Reddit
  • My wife and I rented a really nice cabin in Big Sur, California, for a few nights. She woke up panicky and crying (which she never does) over a bad dream. I had an awful feeling after waking up and told her we could go for a drive.
    The further we went, the better we felt. We ended up staying in Monterey for the night. The cabin we were at burnt down. I still get chills writing this years later. © Unknown user / Reddit
  • I asked my mother to take me home early from boy scout camp because I was afraid of bears. A bear ravaged the camp the night I left. Luckily, it didn’t hurt anyone. It just tore everything up from what I was told. © SenatusRomanus / Reddit
  • I’m a firefighter. We got called out to a tree fire started by fallen power lines. We pull up in the truck, and I’m trusting that my driver and crew leader are doing their job and have good situational awareness. We get out of the truck, and we’ve parked next to a set of power lines (not fallen). It’s a very windy night and I can see the lines swinging, so I voice my concerns to my crew leader who says it’ll be fine.
    We get our hose out (risk of the tree fire catching onto a house outweighing potential risk of arcing plus the line disconnected when it fell) and I’m on the branch ready to start putting it out with two others near me when I get a chill. I look up to see the lines swinging violently and yell, “everyone move”. As the three of us sprint and dive out of the way we hear a thwip and crack and sure enough the line we were under came loose and stayed connected to the power pole. If I hadn’t got that chill chances are we would all have died. © DYESMOD / Reddit
  • My daughter was a year and a half at the time. She had a cold, but bedtime went off without a hitch. I woke up in the middle of the night that night, really uncomfortable and anxious. Something was off, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I got up, had a midnight snack, tried to calm my nerves. I decided to check on my kids, who shared a room, before trying to go back to sleep.
    I get in there, and immediately I hear a light sound coming from her crib—wheezing. It was so quiet, there was no way to hear it outside of the room. I got her up and saw that her breathing was fast and labored. I took her to the hospital, where she ended up with an overnight stay, oxygen, and nebulizer treatments because her oxygen had dipped. She was diagnosed with Reactive Airway Disease due to the cold (which triggered an asthma attack). © Thr33wolfmoon / Reddit

I was riding my motorcycle with a friend on the back. We were going down a country road behind a truck hauling a bunch of old car tires when all of a sudden I decided we shouldn’t be there, so I slowed way down to let the truck go ahead of us. Just as I did, one of the tires fell off the truck and landed right where we would have been. © d***eyeAZ / Reddit

  • When I was two or three, I had nightmares. One night I woke up, went to my foster parents’ room, and informed them that there was a bee under my pillow. “No, there’s not, Arwen. Go back to sleep,” they said. Cue the rivers of tears. Finally, my foster mom goes into my room, switches my light on, says, “There aren’t any bees in here. Look!”
    As she picks up my pillow lo and behold, a bee flew out. My mom shooed the bee out the window as I was sobbing hysterically. She gave me the strangest look and asked how I knew the bee was there. I had no idea. My nightmare was completely unrelated. © Unkown user / Reddit
  • I was like 5 or 6 when my mom and sisters wanted to go for a drive out of town. I cried and cried because I just didn’t want to go with them for some reason, and decided to go with my other sister in her car. Turns out, my mom and other sisters ended up crashing, and they said, “If you were in the car, you would’ve had to sit in the middle, and you would’ve died.” Luckily my family was okay though. But I sure did feel really cool after that. © SnowLeopard000 / Reddit
  • I was driving on the road one night and I saw a car in the middle of the road with two people lying on the ground. My gut feeling was that something is suspicious here, and I decided to act on it by driving past the car and the two people.
    I stop to take my phone out and call the police and I look at my rearview mirror to see the two people lying on the road stand up with five other people coming out of the bushes. © Naweezy / Reddit
  • I met this cute girl on Halloween night, so I invited her to a party I was going to later. She drove with me to the party and I took her two friends too. We talk a little, but we ended up working the room and got split up. I had this sudden overwhelming urge to find her and I ended up getting a little worried.
    Some guy had moved in and had brought her outside and taken her to a semi private area underneath a patio balcony. I didn’t really care what he thought, grabbed her by the hand, acted like it was important and led her out of the party and in to the front yard. We both heard a massive crash as the very large patio collapsed above where she was standing three minutes before.
    I know most certainly that if I hadn’t grabbed her, she wouldn’t exist today. I ended up marrying her, and imagining how it almost never happened in such a dreadful way terrifies me. © Unknown user / Reddit
  • My mom tells this story a lot. She was working in an office, and she suddenly had a powerful urge to leave her cube, just to leave and be somewhere else for no reason. Not a minute later, a fifteen-foot-wide section of the ceiling collapsed, burying the floor in metal and plaster. © Kaleon
    / Reddit

We all have personal stories we’re afraid to share because they sound unbelievable. But some people feel better sharing them anonymously online. We gathered a few of those eerie stories in this article, and they prove that anyone can be deeply affected by spooky situations.

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