After A Painful 20-Hour Labor, My Husband Grabbed The Birth Certificate And Said, - Reddit Stories

after a painful 20-hour labor my husband grabbed the birth certificate and said "Our baby will have my mother's name not yours. " I protested but he sneered "you don't get a say. " The nurse glanced at me and whispered "Want me to tell him the truth?

" My heart pounded as his world crumbled before him my husband Mark not his real name and I had been together for 6 years married for three i thought we had a solid relationship i was wrong i should have seen the warning signs i really should have from the moment I met Mark's mom Susan I knew she didn't like me she was the kind of woman who made every conversation about herself acted like the world owed her something and treated her son like he was the second coming of Christ at first it was small things snide comments backhanded compliments little digs at my appearance my background even my career but over time it got worse she needed to have control over everything in Mark's life when we got engaged she made a fuss because Mark proposed with a ring he picked instead of letting her choose when we bought our first house she criticized the neighborhood the layout and the color of the walls like it was her home she would drop by unannounced and act like she lived with us and every time I complained Mark dismissed it she's just like that you know how she is she means well no she didn't she wanted to be the most important woman in his life and the fact that he had chosen me made her see i thought it would get better when I got pregnant i was so so wrong the second Susan found out we were expecting she went into overdrive suddenly she had opinions on everything she hated the baby names I liked she insisted I should follow her pregnancy diet which was ridiculous she even tried to tell me what OBG to go to as if my own doctor wasn't good enough and Mark Mark just let her he was always a mama's boy but I never realized how deep it went when I was 6 months pregnant Susan made a comment that still makes my blood boil she looked me dead in the eye and said "I hope the baby looks like Mark's side of the family your features wouldn't suit a girl. " Mark was right there and said nothing that was the first time I felt a real shift in my marriage fast forward to my due date labor was brutal i was in pain for 20 hours my body felt like it was being ripped apart and Mark he was barely there i don't mean physically he was in the room but mentally emotionally checked out he played on his phone took calls from his mom left the room twice to get coffee while I was screaming in pain and then finally our daughter was born i barely had a moment to hold her before Mark took the birth certificate paperwork from the nurse's hand he didn't ask me about the name he didn't even look at me "our baby will have my mother's name," he said like it was a fact i thought he was joking he wasn't i was exhausted weak still shaking and I managed to whisper "No. " We already chose a name together he gave me a smirk a smirk you don't get a say i felt like the air had been knocked out of my chest before I could even process what was happening the nurse an older woman with sharp eyes leaned in close and whispered "Want me to tell him the truth?

" I turned my head to look at her my heart pounding i had no idea what she meant and then I saw her expression she knew something and whatever it was it was about to change everything i felt my heart hammer in my chest as I looked at the nurse she knew something mark still smirking like he had won some kind of game was too busy scribbling on the birth certificate form to notice the shift in the air i forced myself to speak my voice weak but firm what do you mean i whispered to the nurse her eyes flicked to Mark then back to me not here she muttered but trust me you need to know a chill ran down my spine i looked at Mark who was still oblivious and something inside me snapped "i had spent years being the quiet understanding wife the reasonable one the one who let things go not anymore you're not naming her after your mother," I said my voice suddenly stronger "mark stopped writing and looked at me like I had just slapped him. " "Excuse me? " "She is our daughter," I said through gritted teeth we agreed on a name "you don't get to change it without me.

" His jaw tightened "my mother I don't care i had never seen Mark truly angry at me before annoyed sure frustrated plenty of times but this was different his face twisted and in a low cold voice he said "You don't get a say. " After everything I've done for you you should be grateful I'm even letting you put your last name on the certificate i felt like I had been punched the nurse sucked in a sharp breath "oh hell no," she muttered mark wasn't done "if you don't like it maybe you shouldn't have been so difficult during the pregnancy you had one job to carry my baby you don't get to decide things that's my right something inside me shattered and then the nurse did something I never expected she snatched the clipboard right out of Mark's hands you will not speak to her like that mark's head snapped toward her shock flashing across his face "what the hell but the nurse wasn't listening. " She flipped the papers over and stared at him "you're lucky she doesn't know the whole story yet," she said coolly and just like that I knew he had been hiding something i looked at Mark he had gone pale what is she talking about nothing he said too quickly she's just lying the nurse cut in i don't think so mark's eyes flicked between us his whole body tensing then the nurse leaned down lowered her voice and whispered "You should check the insurance records it took me a second to process what she said but when I did it hit me like a train.

" Mark had been the one handling the insurance paperwork throughout my pregnancy i had trusted him to take care of it i never questioned it why would I unless I turned to him my throat dry mark what did you do his hands clenched into fists nothing but there was sweat on his forehead now his breathing had changed he was nervous the nurse exhaled sharply shaking her head i've seen this before women come in thinking everything is fine trusting their husbands to handle everything and then they find out they're not even listed as the primary parent i went cold mark shot up from his chair we're leaving i ignored him you changed my insurance records my voice was shaking i did what I had to do he snapped you don't understand then make me understand silence the nurse folded her arms do you want me to pull the records because I can right now mark's face twisted into pure rage he turned to me you're not doing this you just gave birth you're hormonal you're not thinking straight but I was thinking straight and I knew without a doubt he had screwed me over mark grabbed my wrist not hard but firm we're not doing this here i yanked my arm away you don't control me his jaw twitched and for the first time I saw it real fear not anger fear the nurse turned to me do you want to see the records i didn't hesitate yes mark let out a bitter laugh fine you want the truth you were never supposed to see them the room felt smaller the nurse gave me a look let me go get them she walked out leaving me alone with Mark i stared at him you're going to tell me what's going on right now he ran a hand through his hair you don't understand how hard this has been for me my mom your mom she wanted me to handle everything she said he stopped inhaled sharply i waited she said she knew what was best for the baby he finally admitted she said you were too emotional too soft that I had to take control i felt sick so you what took me off my own child's insurance made yourself the only legal guardian mark didn't answer that was all I needed to know the nurse came back with a folder she set it on my lap and opened it for me and there it was mark had listed himself as the sole parent my name was nowhere my entire body went cold you were planning to take her from me mark didn't deny it i thought I was going to be sick the nurse's voice was like steel you're lucky I caught this i've seen women lose custody of their own babies because of things like this mark stood up you're overreacting i shook my head i'm done he laughed an actual laugh like I was a joke what you think you can just leave you just had a baby where are you going to go the nurse put a hand on my shoulder she won't be alone mark's smirk faltered and that's when I knew his world was about to come crashing down mark's face was a mix of fury and desperation i could see the gears turning in his head he thought he could talk his way out of this that he could manipulate me like he always did not this time i turned back to the nurse what do I do now she looked at me carefully before saying "Do you have family nearby someone you trust? " I did my sister Sophie she lived about 30 minutes away and unlike Mark she actually cared about me i pulled out my phone to call her but before I could even dial Mark snatched it out of my hands you're not doing this he growled the nurse stepped between us her voice sharp give it back to her now. " He hesitated for half a second then tossed my phone onto the hospital bed "you're making a mistake," he muttered i ignored him and called Sophie she picked up on the second ring "hey how are you how's the baby?

" I opened my mouth but no words came out my throat felt tight like if I spoke I'd break down completely the nurse took the phone from me and spoke instead "hi Sophie this is nurse Clare from the hospital your sister needs you here immediately sophie didn't even hesitate i'm on my way mark let out a bitter laugh really you're running to your sister she doesn't even like me i shot him a look maybe because she saw through your [ __ ] before I did his face darkened this is ridiculous the nurse's voice was sharp no what's ridiculous is what you tried to do and trust me hospital staff talk we don't take kindly to men who try to steal their wives babies mark's fist clenched but he didn't say anything i turned back to the nurse can we change the paperwork she nodded yes and we're going to document everything if he tries anything there will be a legal trail mark stiffened you're blowing this out of proportion but he was sweating he knew he had lost control of the situation and then his phone rang at first I didn't think much of it but then I saw the name on the screen mom and just like that I knew he hadn't done this alone his mother was behind this all of it mark declined the call but I grabbed his wrist before he could put the phone away you're going to tell me the truth I said my voice shaking with rage there's nothing to tell the nurse folded her arms you can either tell her now or she'll find out when she checks the legal records either way it's over mark's eyes flicked to me then to the baby in my arms and for the first time I saw guilt i had to hear it from his own mouth what did you do silence i reached for his phone but he yanked it back fine he snapped you want the truth my mother said I had to make sure the baby was legally under my name only that way if you ever tried to leave me you wouldn't be able to take her the room's spun i tightened my grip on our daughter my whole body shaking she said she could get me a lawyer he continued his voice bitter she told me the courts wouldn't favor you because you don't make as much money that if I played it right I could get full custody my stomach twisted his mother had been planning to rip my baby away from me before she was even born the worst part Mark went along with it i felt like I was going to throw up why i whispered why would you do this to me mark rubbed a hand over his face because you never respected my mother the room went silent the nurse sucked in a sharp breath oh my god she muttered i laughed a cold hollow laugh you tried to steal my child because I didn't worship your mother mark didn't answer that was all I needed to know the nurse turned to me we're going to fix this right now she grabbed my paperwork and walked out of the room probably to get the hospital administrator involved mark moved toward me look this got out of hand we can fix it i held my daughter tighter there is no we anymore his face twisted i am her father and I am her mother i shot back and unlike you I won't use her as a weapon his jaw clenched you're making a mistake no I said my voice firm the only mistake I made was trusting you at that moment Sophie walked in she took one look at my face and knew something was wrong what the hell is going on before I could answer Mark's phone rang again this time Sophie snatched it out of his hand she looked at the screen it wasn't just his mother calling there were texts lots of them and when she unlocked the phone because of course she knew his passcode she went pale she turned the screen toward me and my world tilted again there were messages between Mark and another woman i can't wait to see you once the baby is here we can finally be together she won't have anything left she'll be stuck sophie's face turned red with rage are you [ __ ] kidding me mark's face went white i stared at the messages my vision going blurry he hadn't just tried to steal my daughter he had been planning to leave me for someone else while I was pregnant while I was carrying his child I felt a calmness settle over me a dangerous kind of calm i looked at Mark and whispered "You have no idea what you've just done. " Mark lunged for his phone but Sophie yanked it back "oh no asshole," she hissed "you're not getting out of this. " I couldn't take my eyes off the screen the text blurred together my hands shaking as I scrolled mark had been having an affair not just a fling a full-blown relationship and it wasn't just cheating it was calculated she won't have anything left she'll be stuck that one text hit me like a bullet to the chest it wasn't about love it wasn't even about me this was about control he had planned to trap me steal my baby strip me of my rights push me into a corner where I had nothing left and then he was going to leave with someone else i felt like I was drowning my heart pounded in my ears my body still weak from labor my newborn daughter asleep in my arms completely unaware that the man who was supposed to protect her had already betrayed her before she could even open her eyes i turned to Mark who is she his mouth opened but no sound came out sophie scrolled further her expression darkening then she froze oh my god she looked up at me her eyes wide you're not going to believe this she turned the phone around again and there staring back at me was a familiar name the other woman was his mother's best friend's daughter the same woman Susan had been pushing him toward for years the perfect girl the one she wanted him to marry instead of me i felt like the world had tilted sideways this wasn't just about control this wasn't even just about cheating this was planned this was arranged and Mark had gone along with it i don't know what broke inside me but I felt something snap i stood up still sore from labor and shoved the phone against Mark's chest how long my voice was deadly calm mark was still pale it's not what you think sophie laughed bitterly oh really because it looks like you and mommy dearest were planning a whole new life without my sister mark's jaw clenched she wasn't supposed to find out like this i laughed a sharp humorless sound not supposed to find out like this i repeated so I was just supposed to wake up one day and realize my husband had stolen my baby and replaced me he had the audacity to roll his eyes you're being dramatic something in me ignited i grabbed the birth certificate paperwork from the hospital tray and ripped it in half you don't control me you don't control her my voice was shaking with rage and then the door swung open and in walked Susan her eyes scanned the room landing on the shredded paperwork in my hands then she saw the phone still open to the messages she froze then her lips curled well she said smoothly i suppose there's no point in pretending now sophie let out a sound that was half laugh half disbelief are you serious you're not even going to deny it susan smirked and that was the moment I realized she wasn't even sorry this wasn't a mistake this was her plan all along i turned to Mark you let her do this mark swallowed hard he still hadn't said anything because there was nothing to say he had betrayed me completely susan stepped forward her voice eerily calm listen sweetheart you need to understand that this is what's best for the baby i tightened my hold on my daughter the best thing for my baby is to keep her as far away from you as possible susan sighed like I was a child throwing a tantrum you don't have the resources to raise her alone she said coolly be realistic mark makes more money he has stability you don't sophie snorted oh shut the hell up if you think my sister is going to roll over and let you steal her baby you're dumber than I thought susan turned to Mark handle this and that's when I saw it hesitation mark was wavering he had spent years under his mother's control he had done everything she told him to do but now now he was trapped i leaned in close and whispered if you go through with this I will destroy you he blinked you don't I will take you to court i will expose everything your fake insurance paperwork your affair your attempt to steal my child i will make sure you never see her again his eyes flicked to Susan and for the first time he didn't look sure anymore susan saw it too mark she snapped she's bluffing we have the lawyers i stared right into her eyes then I guess we'll see who wins silence then Mark cracked he turned to his mother and said "Mom I can't do this.

" Susan stiffened "excuse me? " Mark's voice was barely a whisper "i I didn't think it would get this far. " Susan's face twisted with rage "don't be stupid we talked about this.

" Mark looked at me then at the baby in my arms he took a step back "i can't," he said again susan lost it "after everything I did for you you're going to throw it all away for her.