During my pregnancy, my husband changed. He mocked my appearance, ignored my pain, and made me feel worthless. Then he left me for someone else, thinking he had won. But what he didn’t know was that I had a plan of my own. And when the time came, he never saw it coming.
Pregnancy. One of the most beautiful times in a woman’s life.
That is, of course, if she has a loving husband who supports her every step of the way.
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As for me, I didn’t just suffer from constant morning sickness throughout all the months of my pregnancy – I also had to deal with Arnie, who couldn’t stop reminding me how awful I was starting to look.
Before I got pregnant, we had a great relationship. Arnie practically carried me in his arms.
He made me feel like the most cherished woman in the world, always finding little ways to show me his love.
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When we decided to have a baby, he was just as excited as I was, grinning from ear to ear as he held the positive test in his hands.
But as soon as I got pregnant and my body began to change, it was like he’d been replaced by someone else.
At first, it was just small remarks.
“At the very least, you could dress better for your husband instead of walking around in pajamas all day,” he muttered once.
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It didn’t matter that I had spent the whole day hugging the toilet, throwing up at the slightest smell.
Then he started complaining.
“You lie around all day,” he grumbled one night as he took off his shoes. “This house is a mess.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“Arnie, my back hurts, and I’m nauseous all the time. I can barely stand without getting dizzy.”
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Then Arnie started coming home late, always glued to his phone, texting someone.
It made me uneasy, but whenever I asked, he brushed it off quickly. “Just work,” he’d say.
One night, I was already eight months pregnant. My belly was huge, my feet were swollen, and I could barely breathe. Arnie came home late again, reeking of women’s perfume.
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“Where have you been?” I asked. My voice came out weaker than I wanted.
Arnie didn’t even look at me. He tossed his keys on the table and shrugged.
“None of your business,” he muttered and headed straight to the kitchen.
“JESSICA!” His voice echoed through the apartment.
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“Where have you been?” I asked. My voice came out weaker than I wanted.
Arnie didn’t even look at me. He tossed his keys on the table and shrugged.
“None of your business,” he muttered and went straight to the kitchen.
“JESSICA!” His voice echoed through the apartment.
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I flinched. My heart was pounding. It took a great effort to get up from the couch.
My back hurt. My legs felt stiff. I grabbed the armrest for support and forced myself toward the kitchen.
“What is it?” I asked, breathing heavily.
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Arnie was standing by the fridge, staring at me.
“Where’s dinner?”
My stomach turned. I swallowed hard.
“I feel sick again. I tried, but every time I smell food, I run straight to the bathroom.”
Arnie rolled his eyes. He turned to the sink and let out an exaggerated sigh.
“Could you at least have done the dishes?”
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He raised his voice. “I come home exhausted and this place is a mess! No food. No clean dishes. What do you even do all day?”
Tears stung my eyes. “Arnie, I’m sorry. I wish I could, but I feel awful.” My voice cracked.
He scoffed. “All you do is sit around in pajamas.”
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I put a hand on my belly. “I’m pregnant with our daughter. My body is working hard.”
“Don’t start,” he cut me off. “My sister was pregnant. She did everything. She cooked. She cleaned. She still looked good. And she never ignored her husband in bed.”
I gasped. My chest ached like I’d been punched.
“Pregnancy isn’t the same for everyone. I didn’t expect it to be this hard either, but I’m doing this for her. For us.”
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Arnie sneered. “Stop making excuses. You’re just lazy.”
He stormed out. A second later, the front door slammed shut.
I stood there, gripping the counter, tears streaming down my face.
I sat down on a chair and buried my face in my hands. My body shook, my shoulders trembled, and my chest ached with every breath.
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How did it come to this?
How could the man who once promised to love and cherish me now treat me like I was nothing?
That night I couldn’t sleep. My thoughts spiraled in circles, tormenting me with endless questions.
Where had Arnie gone? Was he with someone else?
The hours passed, the silence in the house growing heavier, until just before dawn a message appeared on my screen.
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He’s here. He just needed space.
It was from his mother. A wave of relief washed over me, but it didn’t last long.0
At least he hadn’t gone to another woman—not that night.
But when Arnie came back, things only got worse. His gaze was full of resentment, his words sharp and cold.
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He criticized me constantly, making me feel like a complete failure.
“This place is always filthy.” “You lie around all day.” “You don’t even try to take care of yourself.”
His voice dripped with disgust, and every comment cut deeper than the last.
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One day, I told everything to my best friend. She listened, and her expression darkened with every word.
“Jessica, you need to leave him,” she said.
I shook my head, a lump in my throat.
“I can’t. I’m pregnant. I have no money, no job, nowhere to go.”
“You have people who care about you. You’re not alone,” she insisted. “You don’t deserve this.”
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I wanted to believe him, but fear held me back. No matter how much Arnie hurt me, I didn’t know how to walk away.
Then, one night, everything changed. Arnie was in the shower. His phone—something he never left unattended—lit up with a notification. My hands trembled as I picked it up and unlocked it.
A dating app. Dozens of messages. Women he had been flirting with, meeting, and sleeping with while I was home, pregnant with our daughter.
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My stomach dropped, and I clutched my belly as if to shield my baby from the pain, but in that moment, my mind cleared. I had to leave him. But I needed a plan.
The next day, I set it in motion. And very soon, just as I was about to give birth, Arnie walked through the door—with another woman.
“Who is she?” I shouted, my voice shaking with rage and disbelief.
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Arnie stood in the doorway, completely unfazed. He wrapped an arm around the young woman beside him and smiled smugly.
“This is Stacy, my girlfriend,” he said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
My stomach twisted. “WHAT?!” I screamed. I clenched my hands and breathed in sharp gasps.
“You heard me,” he said, his voice cold and detached. He pulled a folder from under his arm and tossed it on the table. “I’m leaving you. Here are the divorce papers.”
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My entire body went numb. I stared at him, then at the folder, unable to process what was happening. Instinctively, I placed a hand on my belly.
“And our daughter?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Arnie shrugged. “I don’t want either of you.”
Tears filled my eyes. “How can you do this to us? How can you be so cruel?”
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Arnie sneered. “Jessica, look at yourself! You’ve really let yourself go. There’s nothing attractive about you. You spend your days sitting around, whining. Stacy, on the other hand, is beautiful, young, and most importantly—she never says no.”
He pulled Stacy closer and kissed her in front of me. My stomach churned. My heart pounded furiously.
“YOU’RE A MONSTER!” I screamed. Without thinking, I grabbed the pen from the table and signed the papers.
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Arnie grinned in satisfaction. “At least I don’t look like you!”
I glared at him. “I’ll come get my things when you’re not home!”
“Make it quick,” he mocked. “Soon you won’t have access to this house—it’s mine!”
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I turned on my heels and slammed the door. He thought he had won. He had no idea what was coming.
I gave birth to my daughter the same day my divorce from Arnie was finalized.
It felt like one life had ended and another had just begun. I had spent a month drowning in stress, terrified it might hurt my baby, but when I finally held her in my arms, all my fears vanished.
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Riley was perfect. Her tiny fingers curled around mine, her soft cries filled the hospital room. In that moment, I knew she had saved me.
For a while, we lived with my mother. She helped with the baby, letting me rest when exhaustion took over.
My body recovered quickly, and when I looked in the mirror, I barely recognized myself. I had lost weight, but I had gained something else: strength.
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One afternoon, a knock at the door startled me. I opened it and froze. Stacy was there.
I opened the door and frowned when I saw her standing there. “What are you doing here?” I asked, folding my arms.
Stacy shifted and let out a small sigh. “It’s over. Your plan worked.”
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Relief washed over me. A slow smile spread across my face as I stepped aside. “Finally,” I said, motioning her in.
She walked past me and glanced around the house.
“Arnie signed everything without a second thought. The house. The accounts. He didn’t even read the papers. He was too busy thinking about what he’d get with me,” she said with a mocking smile.
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I shook my head. “He was never the sharpest tool in the shed. I handled all the paperwork when we got married. He never questioned anything I put in front of him.”
Stacy chuckled. “Well, congrats. It’s all yours now.”
“Thank you,” I said, wrapping her in a brief hug.
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With Arnie out of the picture, Riley and I moved back into what was rightfully ours.
The house we had built together—but now it was truly mine. Life finally felt calm for the first time in a long while.
Then one night, I heard shouting outside. Curious, I stepped out onto the porch.
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“Stacy! Come back to me! I’m begging you! I have nothing left!” Arnie’s voice was desperate, his hands outstretched toward her as he stood frozen in the doorway.
I crossed my arms and tilted my head. “Poor thing,” I said with a mocking tone.
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Arnie turned his head toward me. His face twisted in rage. “What are YOU doing here?” he yelled.
I raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t expect this, did you?” I took a step forward. “I tricked you, Arnie. You fell into my trap with Stacy.”
He frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”
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I let out a small laugh. “At some point, I got fed up with your disgusting behavior. Your lies. Your affairs. So I hired Stacy—a young, beautiful woman—to seduce you. And you, being exactly who I knew you were, didn’t even hesitate. You were so blinded by your own ego, you didn’t realize you were signing everything over to me.”
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His face turned red with fury. “Witch! You set me up!”
I shrugged. “No, Arnie. Your own lust set you up. I just gave you the perfect chance to destroy yourself.”
His anger melted into something pitiful. He looked me up and down, eyes filled with regret. “Come back to me. I’ll do better,” he begged.
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I didn’t even pause. “No.”
“You’ll never find anyone else! No man will ever want you!” he spat.
I smiled in satisfaction. “Look at me—I look great, and I’m no longer being dragged down by a dead weight. Meanwhile, you practically have no home. I think I’ll be just fine.”
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“Jessica, please,” he pleaded, his voice cracking.
I turned without saying another word and went back inside. The lock clicked behind me.
I picked Riley up in my arms, holding her close. I had her—and I didn’t need anything else.
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If you liked this story, read this one: My sister-in-law always felt entitled to everything she wanted, but nothing prepared me for her most outrageous demand—she wanted me to have a baby just so she could keep it as a gift. When she refused to take no for an answer, I decided to teach her a lesson she’d never forget. Read the full story here.
