As a child, my grandmother used to tell me that life can be full of surprises, not all of them pleasant.
“Remember the good times and don’t let the bad ones bring you down, Liz,” she’d say.
I suppose she wanted to prepare me for life’s bitter moments, but little did she know that the worst day of my life would alter my reality forever.
I’ll never forget the moment I discovered what my husband, Jake, was scheming behind my back. We met at my workplace and quickly became close friends.
We married after just six months of dating because we felt a deep connection—or so I thought.
The day after our lovely wedding, Jake brought up the idea of starting a family right away. “Liz, I think we should try for a baby immediately,” he said, sounding more urgent than I expected.
“Are you sure? We just got married,” I replied, trying to gauge his intentions.
“Yes, absolutely,” he insisted. “There’s no better time than now. It’s the perfect way to start our journey together.”
Despite his enthusiastic words, something about his tone made me uneasy.
Confused yet flattered by his eagerness, I smiled and nodded, unaware of his true motives.
One day, while tidying up the living room, I noticed Jake’s laptop chiming with a notification. He was in the shower, so I glanced at the screen.
I wasn’t snooping, but I couldn’t ignore the message preview that read, “Is she pregnant yet?”
It was from his ex-girlfriend, Claire.
My stomach churned as I read their chilling conversation.
“Remember our agreement, Jake. You need to impregnate her within a year. Otherwise, you won’t secure your inheritance,” Claire wrote.
“Don’t worry, I’m on it. Everything is going according to plan,” Jake replied.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I processed their conversation. They discussed a cold, calculated strategy where Jake would marry me to ensure an heir for a substantial inheritance from a distant relative.
To secure the inheritance, Jake needed to father a child within a year of our wedding. Moreover, he was using me because his ex-girlfriend was infertile.
After securing his share, Jake planned to divorce me and be with Claire.
“How could you?” I whispered.
Shaken by the revelation, I knew I couldn’t confront Jake without solid evidence. So, over the next few days, I acted normally while discreetly gathering proof.
Whenever Jake left his laptop unattended, I copied the emails onto a USB drive. I also started recording his phone conversations with Claire whenever I was out.
One evening, pretending to leave the house, I hid in the garage and recorded Jake confirming their scheme on the phone.
“I just need a bit more time, Claire. Trust me, everything’s on track,” he said urgently.
With the evidence secured, I consulted a lawyer.
“This is serious, Elizabeth. We need to handle this carefully to protect you legally and financially,” he advised.
We planned every step meticulously, preparing for the inevitable confrontation.
Jake’s family hosted an annual gathering a few weeks later, providing the perfect opportunity to reveal his truth.
It was attended by all his distant relatives, including those whose inheritance he coveted.
In the weeks leading up to the event, I pretended to be a loving wife eager to start a family with Jake. But inside, I felt anxious.
During the event, I stood up to make a toast after dinner.
“I want to thank everyone for welcoming me into this wonderful family,” I began. “And to my dear husband, who has taught me so much about trust and love, I have a special surprise!”
As all eyes turned to me, I switched on the projector. The damning emails between Jake and Claire flashed on the screen, followed by recordings of their phone conversations.
The room fell silent. Then, Jake’s grandmother stood up, her face flushed with anger.
“You are a disgrace,” she declared firmly. “You won’t receive a penny of anyone’s wealth!”
Claire, whom I had invited as a friend’s plus one, stood up, her face pale. She slapped Jake across the face.
“I never want to see you again!” she exclaimed before storming out.
As whispers filled the room, I looked at Jake, his face drained of color.
“And one last thing,” I added firmly. “I never intended to get pregnant so soon. I’ve been on birth control since learning the truth.”
That evening, Jake’s plan lay in ruins, leaving him with nothing. His deception also invalidated our prenup.
Meanwhile, I walked away with my integrity intact and a bright future ahead of me.
What would you have done?
What does it symbolize when a person who passed away shows up in your dream?
Some people dream, some don’t, or at least they don’t remember doing so.
But do dreams mean anything? Well, while people are convinced dreams are a form of messages received by forces we are unable to see or feel while wide awake, some scientists claim that dreams are simply a result of neuronal processes taking place within our brain.
While we are asleep, our brains are anything but.
Sometimes, dreams happen as a reflection of the day that passed, and other times they represent our fears. But what does it mean when we dream of a deceased person?
These dreams can be seen as part of the process of grieving or a transition that takes place in our own life. According to Healthline, it has to do with the latter.
These dreams are common when we experience certain changes, such as getting a new job, moving places, or meeting someone new.
What is most important than the dream itself, however, is how it make us feel.
Rubin Naiman, who has a Ph.D. in psychology, spent years of his life studying sleep patterns and habits. According to him, “Dream interpretation is about decoding the dream. It enlightens us and expands our awareness psychologically, [offering an] expansion of consciousness.”
So, dreaming of someone who is no longer alive may be related to the changes mentioned above and how those changes affect us.
”A lot of contemporary neuroscientists believe during REM sleep, the brain is involved in maintenance tasks, and it accidentally ‘kicks up dust,’ visually. At that end, dreaming is considered totally meaningless.” On the other hand he explains, “The other end is that dreaming is more substantial than waking. And we see this in ‘dream cultures,’ such as the indigenous people of Australia, who believe dreaming is intrinsic to our spiritual existence.”
Experts place these dreams into four categories.
- First, dreaming of a deceased person may be interpreted as the brain trying to work through the pain of the loss.
- If we hadn’t made amends with the deceased person before their passing, we may feel guilt and that might be the reason why they visit us in our dreams.
- According to Lauri Loewenberg, a dream analyst, we may be dreaming of a deceased person if we see some of their behaviors, such as substance abuse or else, in ourselves.
- There are experts who believe that these dreams represent a visitation from the deceased person, especially if we see them in a good condition in our dream, meaning they are well dressed or seem happy. If we feel good about the dream, it may mean that the deceased person says ‘Hello.’
No matter what we feel about dreams, the truth is that they offer something deep and meaningful. They often give us insight into the soul and our connection with the deceased person that we see in our dreams.
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