The Neighbor’s Baby and My Wife’s Secret

My wife always said she hated children—until she suddenly fell in love with the neighbor’s baby. Every night, she stayed up late caring for him like he was her own, barely glancing at me.

When I got into a car accident and had surgery, she didn’t even visit. Didn’t call. Didn’t care.

I’d had enough.

So at the party celebrating my discharge from the hospital, I dropped the bomb.

“I want a divorce.”

Everyone went silent.

My friends and family stared at me like I’d lost my mind.

Clarissa Monroe, my wife of ten years, stood frozen for a beat—then hurled her drink in my face. “Are you out of your mind?” she snapped. “So I didn’t take care of you during your recovery. What, now you’re jealous of a six-month-old baby?”

I wiped the liquid from my face, then looked pointedly at the red mark on her neck.

“Since you love his child so much,” I said coldly, “then after we divorce, I’ll leave you to raise him together.”

——

She flinched, one hand flying up to cover her collar. Her face twisted with frustration and something unreadable. “Graham, what the hell are you saying?”

“I took care of Sabrina so I could learn how to be a mother! For our future children!” Her voice cracked with fury. “Now you want to end our marriage over something so petty? Are you insane?”

I didn’t answer. My expression stayed blank as I reached into my bag and pulled out the divorce agreement I had prepared.

“Sign it. We’ll go to the Country Clerk's Office first thing tomorrow.”

Gasps echoed through the room. No one could believe what was happening.

We’d always been the perfect couple in their eyes.

Even my mother stepped forward, her voice trembling as she picked up the agreement and scanned it.

“Graham,” she said, her face tight with disbelief, “you and Clarissa have been married for a decade. You’ve always gotten along. What happened?”

The room erupted in protests.

“You’re overreacting!”

“It’s just a baby, for God’s sake!”

“Graham, Clarissa didn’t even have a child because she didn’t want to distract you from your career. Don’t you see how much she loves you?”

“She’s helping a single father out of kindness—what’s wrong with that?”

They all thought I was cruel.

But none of them knew what it was like to be invisible in your own marriage.

I remained silent and placed the document back in Clarissa’s hands. “This marriage is over. I can’t live like this anymore.”

Just then, my father stormed in, face thunderous.

Before I could say a word, he slapped me across the face. Hard.

The sting of it blurred my vision. I tasted blood in my mouth.

“You ungrateful brat!” he roared. “You’re really going to throw away a woman like Clarissa?”

“Clarissa’s been managing the house, keeping everything together so you could chase your stupid ambitions—and this is how you repay her?”

My mother grabbed my arm, her voice pleading. “Son, calm down. Don’t be rash. You’ll regret this.”

“If you’ve found someone new, just say it,” she added, eyes narrowing. “But if you think you’ll ever meet another woman like Clari...