John and Sarah don’t have much time for housework because they are so focused on their careers. John decides to hire a cleaner in order to ease their lives. However, the pair quickly discovers that drama has entered their house.
John, my spouse, and I have always placed a high value on our careers. However, our careers have taken off so much that we hardly have time to maintain our house.
As an architect, I have to travel frequently between locations, but John works remotely as long as he has access to a computer.
I have a close friendship with John. The motto “work hard, play harder” has always been appealing to us. We put in a lot of work, and when we can, we take the nicest vacations.
–Promotion–
But lately, I’ve started to doubt John despite my better judgment.
He made a big decision around six months ago when he hired Vanessa, a cleaner who was referred to him by a nearby organization.
One morning as he was drinking his coffee, he commented, “It’s just to help us around the house, Sarah.”
I wasn’t sure whether I wanted a stranger to search our house when we weren’t there, but I answered, “I think we can manage.”
John remarked, “We’ve been so behind on laundry.” “Our hours are insane.” We can carry on as usual at least with the cleaner, and having a clean house will be a plus.
In the end, I caved. I was sick of doing laundry at night and then forgetting about it, I had to admit.
Then, though, things changed.
John was a home worker, as far as I knew.
I’m just in my comfort zone, so it’s easier. Additionally, I can think more clearly when my coworkers aren’t talking,” he remarked.
Vanessa came to live with us as a cleaner, and I saw that John spent more time working from home. I dismissed it at first, figuring it was just a coincidence, but I also knew Vanessa was a really beautiful woman.
I would obsess on John’s actions at home, convinced that he was having an affair with Vanessa, rather than focusing at work.
I completed the task at hand.
One day, I left work early, knowing that John had chosen to work from home and that Vanessa would be spending the day at our house.
Silently driving back to our home, I wondered what I would do if I discovered them in compromised positions.
I told myself, You’re going to leave him. After you depart, you’ll begin a new life.
When I entered the house, I expected to see John at his desk, but his home office was unoccupied.
I assumed Vanessa would be in the kitchen when I stepped in, but it was also empty.
There was laughter coming from my room as I ascended the stairs, and there were garments all over my bedroom door threshold.
Heart thumping from the impending sight, I stormed into our bedroom. Even though it was a gut punch, it was a man I had never seen before, not John, who was sleeping on the bed with Vanessa.
I was so angry because I couldn’t believe my own family had betrayed me.
“What’s happening here?” With a voice quivering from anger and amazement, I demanded. The fact that the man wasn’t John relieved me. But why did Vanessa think it was acceptable to let someone else sleep in our bed?
Vanessa was stunned, her eyes bulging with shame, as the unidentified man struggled to put on his clothes.
“We… “Ma’am, I didn’t mean for this to happen,” she stumbled and shook her head, trying to defend her conduct.
I ordered them to leave my house or face the repercussions of their behavior, but her words were ignored.
I resisted, threatening to call the cops. After telling her partner to leave the house, Vanessa stayed back.
“Allow me to clarify,” she said.
I couldn’t think of the right words to describe why I didn’t want to look at her for another second as I gazed at her.
“All I wanted was a job,” she declared. And I was really appreciative that the agency paired me up with John and you. However, as I got to know this guy, I started to feel something for him.
“For what duration has this been ongoing?” Not wanting to hear more, I asked.
“Just a few weeks, tops,” she remarked. However, I’ve been dating Julian for some time. I asked him over as soon as I realized I would be alone at home today.
Calmly, I told her to get outside. “Just get out of my house.”
John was at the grocery store when I called him.
He said, “I just came to get some stuff for dinner.”
When I informed him what had happened, he promised to come home right away.
I made John replace our dirty bedding as soon as he got home from Vanessa and Julian’s afternoon activities.
It seems that John had naively trusted Vanessa without realizing her true intentions.
John remarked, “She became a companion.” Nothing more than someone to flirt with. Furthermore, I was unaware that she was entertaining guests.
“Why do you work from home on the days that she shows up for work? To make out? I insisted.
Sarah, not at all. Not initially. I wanted to be here while she worked since I knew you were hesitant to have a stranger in our house. However, it evolved into something a bit more,” he said, running his fingers through his hair.
“So what?” he enquired.
I said, “We report her.”
I went down to the agency the next day and reported Vanessa. Thankfully, they acknowledged the betrayal of confidence and professionalism and handled our issue with diligence.
Vanessa’s employment with the agency ended, and she was cut off from our house.
Following the entire incident, John and I reduced our work hours. We came to the conclusion that spending time together and mending our relationship’s fissures was the only way to get it back together.
I made a promise to myself that I would leave if I even suspected adultery, but eventually I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to face life without John.
We’re determined to come out stronger, so we’re starting therapy soon.
Do you have any comparable tales?
My Husband Came Home Holding a Crying Baby
When Anna’s husband walked through the door holding a crying baby, her world turned upside down. Years later, the child she raised as her own is faced with a life-altering choice.
The scent of garlic and onions filled the small kitchen as I stirred a pot of soup. It had been a long day, and I was trying to distract myself by perfecting dinner. The house felt too quiet, as it often did.
A woman tasting her dish | Source: Pexels
My husband, David, was late coming home again, but I wasn’t surprised. His work as a delivery driver sometimes ran long. I wiped my hands on a dish towel, glancing at the clock.
“Seven-thirty,” I muttered. “What else is new?”
The garage door rumbled open, and I felt a flicker of relief. David was finally home. But then I heard something strange. A baby crying.
A crying baby | Source: Pexels
I frowned, drying my hands quickly. We didn’t have kids. We tried countless times until we found out I couldn’t get pregnant.
“David?” I called out, walking toward the front door.
When I stepped into the hallway, I froze. There he was, standing in the open doorway, holding a baby bundled in a soft, gray blanket.
A man holding a baby | Source: Freepik
“Hi,” he said, his voice shaky.
“David…” My eyes darted to the tiny face peeking out from the blanket. “What is that?”
“It’s a baby,” he replied, as if I couldn’t hear the piercing cries filling the room.
“I can see that,” I snapped, taking a step closer. “But why are you holding a baby?”
A shocked blonde woman | Source: Freepik
“I found him,” David said softly, his eyes wide. “On our doorstep.”
I cut him off. “Wait. Someone left a baby on our doorstep? Like some kind of… I don’t know… a movie or something?”
“I’m serious, Anna,” he said. “There was no note, nothing. Just him.”
A man holding a baby | Source: Pexels
The baby whimpered, and David adjusted the blanket again. “He was so cold, Anna. I couldn’t leave him out there.”
“Let me see him.” My voice came out more forceful than I intended.
David hesitated but finally stepped closer. He peeled back the edge of the blanket, revealing a tiny hand. My breath caught in my throat.
A shocked woman holding a newborn baby | Source: Midjourney
“Anna, are you okay?” David asked, watching my face.
I didn’t answer. My eyes were glued to the baby’s hand. A small, crescent-shaped birthmark rested near his thumb. My knees felt weak.
“Anna,” David repeated, more urgently. “What’s wrong?”
A close-up of a newborn baby’s head | Source: Pexels
“This can’t be,” I whispered.
Six months ago, my younger sister, Lily, had stormed out of my life. The fight was stupid, but the damage it caused wasn’t. She had called me judgmental; I had called her irresponsible. Neither of us had apologized.
Two women arguing | Source: Freepik
When Lily left, she vanished completely. No calls. No messages. Nothing. I’d convinced myself she didn’t care, though I never stopped thinking about her.
But now, staring at that birthmark, the truth hit me like a wave. This baby wasn’t just any baby.
“He’s Lily’s,” I said.
A serious woman holding a baby | Source: Midjourney
David frowned. “What?”
“The birthmark,” I said, pointing to the tiny crescent shape. “Lily has the same one on her wrist. It runs in the family.”
He looked at the baby’s hand, then back at me. “You’re saying this baby is your nephew?”
I nodded, my heart pounding.
A side shot of a woman holding a baby | Source: Midjourney
“But… I didn’t even know Lily was pregnant,” David said.
“Neither did I,” I whispered.
A mix of anger and sadness surged through me. “Why didn’t she tell me? Why would she leave her baby here?”
David looked as lost as I felt. “I don’t know, Anna. But what do we do now?”
A man holding a baby on his shoulder | Source: Pexels
For a moment, neither of us spoke. The baby’s soft whimpers filled the silence. I reached out and touched his tiny hand, feeling its warmth against my skin.
I shook my head. “We should call someone. The police, maybe. Or social services.”
David’s jaw tightened. “You really think they’ll take better care of him than us? He’s family, Anna.”
A serious man | Source: Pexels
I blinked back tears, feeling torn in two. For years, I’d dreamed of holding a baby in my arms. But this wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.
The baby let out a soft cry, and David rocked him gently. “Look at him, Anna,” he said. “He’s just a baby. He didn’t ask for any of this.”
A close-up shot of a father with his baby | Source: Freepik
I took a deep breath, my mind racing. “If we do this… if we keep him… it’s not just for tonight, David. It’s for life.”
He nodded. “I know.”
I looked at the baby again, his tiny face scrunched up in sleep. My heart ached, torn between fear and something else—a small, fragile hope.
A woman holding a baby | Source: Pexels
The years had flown by, but every moment with Ethan felt like a gift. At 13, he was tall for his age, with dark curls that always seemed unruly and a grin that could light up a room. He called me “Mom,” and David “Dad,” and I never got tired of hearing it.
Our home was filled with the sounds of his laughter, his endless questions, and the occasional thud of a basketball against the garage door. He was a good kid, full of heart.
A happy teenager | Source: Pexels
“Ethan!” I called from the kitchen one afternoon. “Don’t forget your lunchbox. You left it on the counter again!”
“Got it, Mom!” he shouted back, running through the house.
David appeared behind me, sipping his coffee. “Thirteen years,” he said, shaking his head. “Feels like yesterday when we found him.”
A couple talking over breakfast | Source: Pexels
I smiled. “He’s the best thing that ever happened to us.”
David leaned in to kiss my cheek, but before he could, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it!” Ethan hollered, already halfway to the door.
I wiped my hands on a towel, following him. When Ethan opened the door, I stopped in my tracks.
A shocked woman | Source: Freepik
Lily stood there, dressed in an elegant coat, her heels clicking on the porch as she shifted her weight. Her diamond earrings sparkled, and her face—though older—was as striking as I remembered.
“Anna,” she said, her voice soft but firm. “I need to talk to you.”
A rich woman | Source: Pexels
We sat in the living room, the air thick with tension. Ethan hovered nearby, watching the woman who was his birth mother with cautious curiosity.
“Ethan,” I said gently, “why don’t you give us a moment?”
He hesitated, then nodded. “Okay, Mom,” he said, disappearing upstairs.
A teenage boy by the stairs | Source: Midjourney
Lily’s eyes followed him, a mixture of longing and guilt flashing across her face.
“Why are you here, Lily?” I asked, my voice steady but cold.
She looked at me, her eyes filling with tears. “I made a mistake, Anna. A terrible mistake. I never should have left him. I wasn’t ready then, but I am now.”
A crying woman | Source: Pexels
I felt my chest tighten. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I want my son back,” she said, her voice breaking. “I can give him everything now. A big house, the best schools, opportunities you can’t even imagine. He deserves that.”
Before I could say anything, Ethan appeared, his gaze locked on Lily.
An angry teenage boy | Source: Freepik
“You’re my birth mom, aren’t you?” he asked bluntly.
Lily blinked, startled by his question. “Yes,” she said slowly. “I am. I’ve come to take you home with me.”
Ethan didn’t flinch. “Home? This is my home.”
A woman talking to an angry teenage boy | Source: Midjourney
Her face softened, and she reached out as if to touch him. “I know this is sudden, but I can give you so much, Ethan. A better life. A bigger house, the best schools, anything you could want.”
Ethan took a step back, shaking his head. “You think I care about that? You don’t even know me.”
Lily’s hand dropped, her expression faltering. “Ethan, I—”
A close-up shot of a crying woman | Source: Pexels
“You don’t know my favorite food. You don’t know I’m terrible at spelling but great at math. You weren’t there when I broke my arm in third grade or when I got my first basketball trophy,” he said, his voice rising.
“Ethan,” I said softly, but he kept going.
A teenage boy signing a cross | Source: Freepik
“They were there,” he said, pointing at me and David. “They’ve been there every single day. You’re a stranger to me.”
Lily’s eyes glistened with tears. “I know I made mistakes, but I’m your mother, Ethan. That’s a bond that can’t be broken.”
He squared his shoulders, his voice firm. “Family isn’t about blood. It’s about love. And I already have a family. I’m not going anywhere.”
A boy with his arms crossed | Source: Midjourney
Lily’s shoulders sagged, the weight of his words sinking in. She turned to me, her expression a mixture of guilt and resignation.
“You’ve raised him well, Anna,” she said quietly. “I can see how much he loves you.”
I nodded, my voice steady but kind. “He’s happy, Lily. That’s all we’ve ever wanted for him.”
A serious woman | Source: Freepik
Lily gave Ethan one last, lingering look, then turned to leave. As the door closed behind her, Ethan let out a long breath.
“You okay?” I asked, pulling him into a hug.
“Yeah,” he said, his voice muffled against my shoulder. “I just… I don’t get how she could leave me like that.”
A woman hugging her son | Source: Midjourney
David joined us, placing a hand on Ethan’s back. “Sometimes people make mistakes they can’t undo. But you’ve got us, kiddo. Always.”
A week ago, God rewarded me with my own child. I found out that I was pregnant.
A happy woman a pregnancy test | Source: Pexels
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided as “is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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