Steve’s day started like any other — calm, normal, predictable. He kissed his wife goodbye as he left for work, completely unaware that by the time he came home, his entire life would flip upside down.
Laura, his wife, was three months pregnant. That morning, her smile was soft and warm as always, like a quiet sunrise.
“I’ll cook when I get home,” Steve told her, giving her a gentle kiss on the forehead. “Don’t worry about dinner.”
Laura worked from home, so he knew she’d get their son, Jackson, ready for school, then probably curl up with a book and some tea before starting her work day.
At work, Steve sat through meetings, gave feedback on marketing ideas, and kept thinking about baby names. He was imagining their future—strollers, lullabies, bedtime stories. Life felt peaceful.
But peace doesn’t last forever.
Around 2 PM, his phone started buzzing. He quickly glanced at the screen—Jackson was calling. Steve was still in a meeting and assumed it was something small.
“Probably asking if he can hang out with his friends again,” Steve thought.
He ignored the call.
Seconds later, his phone buzzed again.
Another call from Jackson.
Then came a text that made Steve’s blood run cold.
Dad, please come home! It’s about Mom! I’m scared.
A deep panic hit Steve like a punch to the chest.
Without a second thought, he stood up and left the meeting.
“Emergency at home,” he mumbled, grabbing his keys with shaking hands.
He called Jackson — no answer.
He called Laura — nothing.
Steve jumped into his car and drove like a madman, heart pounding, thoughts racing. Every red light felt like torture. Every slow driver made his hands grip the wheel tighter.
His mind was spinning with terrible images. Was Laura hurt? Was she bleeding? Was the baby okay?
Finally, he turned into his street. His heart almost stopped when he saw his mother standing on his porch. She looked pale and shaken, her fists clenching and unclenching like she didn’t know what to do with them.
“What’s going on?” Steve asked breathlessly. “Is Laura okay?”
“I’m so sorry, Steve,” his mom said, her voice trembling.
Steve felt like the ground was slipping beneath him.
“No. No, no. What happened? Is it the baby? Mom, please just tell me!”
His mother looked confused for a moment, then spoke carefully.
“No, the baby’s fine… she’s fine.”
“Then why are you apologizing?” Steve asked, chest heaving.
“I didn’t want to be the one to tell you,” she said softly. “But Laura… she’s been cheating on you.”
Everything stopped. The air around him felt too thick to breathe.
His mother explained what had happened. Her apartment building had no water that day, so she decided to come over to Steve’s house to shower.
“I had a key. I didn’t want to disturb anyone,” she said. “But when I walked in… she was there. On the couch. With him.”
Steve felt like someone had stabbed him in the gut.
His mom didn’t let the man leave. She made him stay until Steve came home.
Heart racing, Steve stormed into the house. And there he was — a man, standing awkwardly in the living room, looking like he wanted to disappear. His hair was a mess, his shirt untucked. He couldn’t meet Steve’s eyes.
“Who the hell are you?” Steve growled, barely able to hear his own voice over the roaring in his ears.
The man opened his mouth, but Steve didn’t care what he had to say.
And then she walked in.
Laura.
Her eyes were red, her cheeks soaked with tears.
“Steve…” she whispered. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you.”
“Sorry?” Steve snapped. “You destroyed everything! You broke us! And you’re sorry?”
Jackson suddenly ran into the room, crying hard, his small body shaking. Seeing his son like that cut deeper than anything else.
“Come here, buddy,” Steve said gently, kneeling and opening his arms.
Jackson ran into his arms and held on tight.
“Why, Mom?” he sobbed. “Why did you do it?”
His voice was full of confusion, fear, and pain.
Steve held him closer, trying to stay strong. His mom had told Jackson the truth after he walked in on the confrontation. At first, Jackson thought something was wrong with Laura because she was crying in the bathroom. But when his grandma told him what really happened… his world cracked too.
Laura knelt beside them, reaching out to touch Jackson’s arm.
“Sometimes… people make really big mistakes,” she said softly. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t love you both.”
Steve pulled Jackson even closer.
“But it does mean things can’t go back to normal,” he said quietly, staring straight at her.
That’s when the real fear settled in. If Laura had cheated… was the baby even his?
Later that night, after things calmed down a little, Steve took Jackson out for dinner. They needed to get out of the house — out of that suffocating storm of emotion.
Sitting in a cozy booth, Steve watched his son quietly eat his burger.
“Are you gonna move out?” Jackson asked suddenly.
Steve shook his head.
“No, buddy. I’m staying for now. Your mom and I need to figure some things out, but I’m not leaving you.”
Jackson gave a little nod.
“I thought Mom was sick or something,” he said. “When I came home, Gran was trying to get her out of the bathroom. She was crying so much. I didn’t know there was another man.”
“Where was he?” Steve asked, sipping his beer.
“He was sitting on your bed. Gran told me not to go in there.”
After dinner, neither of them wanted to go back home. Everything felt… different now.
When Steve finally returned late that night, Laura was sitting on the couch. She was biting her nails — a habit she had when she was anxious.
“What now?” she asked quietly. “Tell me what to do. How do I fix this?”
She moved a book aside and patted the seat next to her.
Steve stayed standing.
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “But first, I need to know the truth. Is the baby mine?”
Laura froze. Her eyes filled with fresh tears. She closed them and took a deep breath.
“I’m not sure,” she whispered.
Silence.
In the days that followed, Laura started going to therapy.
“I need to understand why I did this,” she told Steve one morning, making tea. “I don’t recognize myself anymore. I never thought I’d be the kind of person to cheat.”
“But you did,” Steve replied flatly.
She nodded, no defense.
Eventually, Steve made a decision.
“I’m going to stay until the baby is born,” he said. “Once we do a DNA test, we’ll decide what happens with our marriage.”
He didn’t know what the future would look like. He didn’t know what that test would reveal. But one thing was clear—nothing would ever be the same again.
