My husband begged for a baby, then refused to help when our son was born. One morning, his mom overheard our argument and said something that changed everything.
My name’s Viki, and I’m thirty-five. I teach English online, mostly to international students, and I’ve been doing it long enough to build a decent client list.
My husband, Kevin, and I have been together for just over four years.
He’s charming when he wants to be, and he sure knows how to sell a dream. The biggest one? That he’d be the most loving, present dad in the world.
My name’s Viki, and I’m thirty-five. I teach English online, mostly to international students, and I’ve been doing it long enough to build a decent client list.
My husband, Kevin, and I have been together for just over four years.
He’s charming when he wants to be, and he sure knows how to sell a dream. The biggest one? That he’d be the most loving, present dad in the world.
We had our son, Liam, in January.
I gave birth during one of the coldest winters in recent memory.
I still remember the hospital window frosting over while I cradled this tiny bundle against my chest, thinking, We finally did it. We’re a family now.
But things started to shift.
Quietly at first.
I had to go back to work just two weeks after giving birth.
Bills don’t wait. Kevin works part-time, and we moved in with his mom, Donna, to save on rent.
Most of my students are from Asia and South America, so I work odd hours.
Usually afternoons, sometimes late at night. Kevin agreed to watch the baby during my lessons, especially the late ones.
He only asked that I never book anything past midnight. I thought that was fair.
Kevin got back on a schedule where he wants to go to bed at 11 p.m.
every night. We try to, but with a baby, sometimes…
it just does not happen. Liam sometimes will stay asleep when I put him to bed, and sometimes he wakes up screaming.
But last night… something changed.
Kevin walked out of the shower, towel slung low on his hips, hair dripping.
He rubbed his eyes and muttered, “What time’s your lesson?”
“Eleven. Same student from Korea.
I’ll try to get him down before then.”
He snorted and reached for his pajama bottoms.
“What’s your plan if Liam wakes up?” he asked, not looking at me.
“My bedtime is eleven. You know that.”
I blinked. “Well, if he does, maybe you can rock him or put him on the mat for a bit?”
Kevin stood still, arms crossed, eyes narrowing.
“My bedtime is 11 p.m., and if the baby wakes up, that’s your problem to solve.”
There was no humor in his voice.
I opened my mouth, then closed it. Liam shifted in my arms, letting out a tiny sigh. My throat felt tight.
I didn’t have the energy to argue.
I just said, “Okay,” and tried to breathe through the lump building in my chest.
By 10:58 p.m., Liam was finally asleep. I placed him gently in his cot, prayed for mercy, and slipped into the small home office to start my lesson.
I hadn’t even finished the greeting when I heard soft cries through the wall.
I froze, then continued speaking, forcing a smile while every part of me tensed. I prayed Kevin would pick him up. Just this once.
Ten minutes in, the cries got louder.
I excused myself and rushed out.
Kevin was pacing with the baby in his arms, his jaw clenched.
As soon as he saw me, he practically thrust Liam into my chest.
“He won’t settle. And I told you — I’m supposed to be in bed.”
I didn’t say anything. I just nursed him again, tears threatening to spill.
By the time I settled the baby back down, it was almost midnight.
This morning, the air between us was icy.
Kevin came out of the bathroom, dressed for work, barely glancing at me. I reached out instinctively for our usual goodbye hug.
He pulled back. His expression was flat.
“Are you still upset?” I asked softly.
“Yes.
You crossed my boundary,” he said.
“We agreed. Eleven is my bedtime. You need to manage your work around that.”
I stood there, stunned.
“He’s our baby,” I whispered. “You begged for him.”
Kevin shook his head.
“You should’ve thought about that before accepting a lesson that late.”
Just then, we heard soft footsteps from the hallway. Donna, still in her robe, stepped into the room.
Her hair was pinned loosely, her face unreadable.
“Kevin,” she said, her voice calm but firm.
“Can I say something before you go?”
Kevin paused, one hand already on the doorknob.
He hesitated, then gave a small nod.
Donna stood there, still in her robe, the morning light catching the soft lines on her face. What she said next made me gasp.
“I heard everything just now,” she began, her words measured. “And I need you to understand something.
What you told your wife…
it broke my heart.”
Kevin shifted his stance but said nothing. He looked like a schoolboy caught in a lie.
“I don’t understand, Mom…”
“Kevin, your words this morning — ‘It’s your problem to solve’ — took me straight back to a place I hoped I’d never revisit,” Donna continued. “Because I’ve been in her shoes.”
Kevin raised his head slightly, frowning.
“When you were just a baby, your father used to say the same things to me.
‘It’s your job.
You figure it out,’” she said, voice trembling now. “He never changed a single diaper. Never got up when you cried.
Never asked how I was doing. I was exhausted, and he acted like I was the problem for needing anything.”
She walked further into the room, slowly, as though she was wading through memories.
“One night,” she said, almost to herself, “I asked him to stay up a little longer while I bathed you. Just thirty minutes more.
He looked at me and said, ‘You wanted this baby, not me.’ That night, I realized I had married the wrong man.”
Kevin’s jaw clenched.
Kevin came out of the bathroom, dressed for work, barely glancing at me. I reached out instinctively for our usual goodbye hug.
He pulled back. His expression was flat.
“Are you still upset?” I asked softly.
“Yes.
You crossed my boundary,” he said.
“We agreed. Eleven is my bedtime. You need to manage your work around that.”
I stood there, stunned.
“He’s our baby,” I whispered. “You begged for him.”
Kevin shook his head.
“You should’ve thought about that before accepting a lesson that late.”
Just then, we heard soft footsteps from the hallway. Donna, still in her robe, stepped into the room.
Her hair was pinned loosely, her face unreadable.
“Kevin,” she said, her voice calm but firm.
“Can I say something before you go?”
Kevin paused, one hand already on the doorknob.
He hesitated, then gave a small nod.
Donna stood there, still in her robe, the morning light catching the soft lines on her face. What she said next made me gasp.
“I heard everything just now,” she began, her words measured. “And I need you to understand something.
What you told your wife…
it broke my heart.”
Kevin shifted his stance but said nothing. He looked like a schoolboy caught in a lie.
“I don’t understand, Mom…”
“Kevin, your words this morning — ‘It’s your problem to solve’ — took me straight back to a place I hoped I’d never revisit,” Donna continued. “Because I’ve been in her shoes.”
Kevin raised his head slightly, frowning.
“When you were just a baby, your father used to say the same things to me.
‘It’s your job.
You figure it out,’” she said, voice trembling now. “He never changed a single diaper. Never got up when you cried.
Never asked how I was doing. I was exhausted, and he acted like I was the problem for needing anything.”
She walked further into the room, slowly, as though she was wading through memories.
“One night,” she said, almost to herself, “I asked him to stay up a little longer while I bathed you. Just thirty minutes more.
He looked at me and said, ‘You wanted this baby, not me.’ That night, I realized I had married the wrong man.”
Kevin’s jaw clenched.
“I left eventually,” she said. “I couldn’t keep living like that.
I raised you the best I could, Kevin. I tried to show you love.
To be strong, for both of us. But I see now — I might not have shown you what a real partnership looks like.”
