When Caroline read the words “I’M PREGNANT” on her husband Daniel’s phone, she laughed it off as a mistake. But when another message followed, this time inviting him to dinner, she knew she had to uncover the truth. What she discovered that night was a secret Daniel had hoped to keep buried.
What would you do if you found a message from a stranger that said, “I’M PREGNANT,” on your husband’s phone? Would you laugh it off as a mistake? Or would it consume you, gnawing at your thoughts until you had to uncover the truth?
I’m Caroline, 42, and I’ve been married to Daniel for 12 years. We have two boys, ten and five, and we’ve built a messy, beautiful life together. I’ve never had a reason to distrust him. We’ve always shared everything — our phones, our plans, and our dreams.
Portrait of an emotional woman | Source: Midjourney
If his phone buzzed while he was out of reach, he’d just say, “Can you read that for me?” That’s why, when his phone pinged last Tuesday while he was rinsing dishes, I didn’t think twice.
I picked it up and saw a text from an unknown number: “I’M PREGNANT.”
At first, I laughed, calling out to him, “Wrong number, babe. Someone’s telling you they’re pregnant!” I was already reaching to show him the screen.
Daniel turned his head, water still running, and smiled briefly. “Weird,” he said, shrugging. “Just delete it.”
A shocked woman staring at a phone | Source: Midjourney
That night, as I lay in bed, the memory of his dismissive tone gnawed at me. I rolled over to face him in the darkness.
“Daniel?” I whispered. “Are you awake?”
“Mmm,” he murmured. “What’s wrong?”
“Remember that text today? It just felt… strange. The way you brushed it off.”
He reached for my hand under the covers. “Caroline, honey, you’re overthinking this. Come here.” He pulled me closer, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.
An anxious man | Source: Midjourney
“It’s just… you didn’t even look at it. Aren’t you curious who might have the wrong number?”
“It’s probably just spam,” he said, his voice thick with sleep. “Let’s not let some random text ruin our peace, okay?”
I hesitated. Something about how quickly he dismissed it felt off, but I told myself I was being paranoid. It was probably just some poor woman texting the wrong number, right?
But then, two days later, there was another message. This one made my stomach twist: “Will be waiting for you at La Bella Vita on Friday. Got a reservation at 7 p.m. See you then. Love you.”
A startled woman looking at a smartphone | Source: Midjourney
I stared at the screen, my heart pounding in my chest. This wasn’t a mistake. It couldn’t be. The first message was strange enough, but this one? It was clear. This person wasn’t texting the wrong number — they were texting MY HUSBAND.
That night, as we sat on the couch after the kids were in bed, I casually asked, “Hey, have you gotten any more weird messages from that number?”
Daniel didn’t even flinch. “No,” he said, reaching for the remote.
I pressed further. “Are you sure?”
He glanced at me briefly, his expression calm but dismissive. “Yeah! Someone’s just messing around. Forget about it, honey.”
A man lying in his bed and smiling | Source: Midjourney
I grabbed the remote from his hand and switched off the TV. The screen went dark, but my mind buzzed with suspicion. Why would Daniel lie to me?
By Friday, the message had completely consumed my thoughts. My husband claimed he had a work meeting that night and would be home late.
“I’ll just eat with the boys,” I said casually, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Sorry, babe,” he said, pulling on his jacket. “I’ll make it up to you this weekend.” He kissed the top of my head and walked out.
As soon as the door closed, I grabbed my keys and called the babysitter. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely dial the number.
“Yes, ma’am?” our regular sitter, Jenny, answered.
“Jenny, I need you to come over. Right now. It’s an emergency.”
A distressed woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
“Is everything okay?” she asked, concern evident in her voice.
I choked back a sob. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know anymore.”
La Bella Vita was one of those upscale restaurants where couples celebrate anniversaries and job promotions. It wasn’t the kind of place you went for a casual meal.
I sat in my car in the parking lot, gripping the steering wheel. My stomach churned, and for a moment, I wondered if I should just drive home. But then I thought about the texts from the stranger. If I ignored this, I’d never be able to forgive myself.
I caught my reflection in the rearview mirror. “You can do this,” I whispered to myself. “Whatever happens in there, you deserve the truth.”
At 7:30, I walked inside.
An agitated woman sitting in a car | Source: Midjourney
The hostess greeted me with a smile. “Do you have a reservation?”
“No,” I said, scanning the dining room behind her. My heart stopped when I saw Daniel sitting at a table near the window.
He wasn’t alone. His hand was on HERS.
There was a young girl, maybe 17 or 18, sitting across from him. Her face was animated, her hands gesturing as she talked. Beside her was an older woman — close to my age, but dressed in a way that screamed “trying to impress.”
And Daniel? He was smiling. The girl’s hand rested lightly on his as he listened to her.
Close-up shot of a man holding a woman’s hand | Source: Pexels
My legs felt like lead as I walked toward them. Each step felt like walking through quicksand, my chest tightening with every breath.
“So, this is your ‘work meeting’?” I hissed.
Daniel’s head snapped up, his eyes wide. “Caroline!” he said, half-standing. “Wh… what are you doing here? How did you…? WELL, I’M SO GLAD THAT YOU CAME!”
“Are you?” I asked, folding my arms.
“Please,” he said quickly, pulling out an empty chair. “Sit down. I can explain everything.”
A furious woman in a restaurant | Source: Midjourney
I glanced at the two women. The younger girl looked confused, but the older woman? She looked annoyed, like I’d just crashed something important.
“Who is she?” the older woman demanded, her eyes narrowing at Daniel. “You didn’t say anyone else was coming.”
“She’s my wife, Caroline. I didn’t know she was coming,” Daniel admitted, his voice strained. “Caroline, please, sit down.”
I sat down, my eyes never leaving Daniel. “Start explaining.”
Daniel took a deep breath. “This is… complicated. Caroline, this is my daughter, Sophie. And this is her mother, Lisa.”
His words didn’t make sense. “Your DAUGHTER?” I repeated.
An anxious man in a restaurant | Source: Midjourney
My head literally started spinning. I gripped the edge of the table to steady myself when Daniel nodded, tears slowly brimming in his eyes.
“A daughter?” I whispered. “All these years… all these years we’ve been together, and you never once mentioned —”
“Because I didn’t know!” Daniel’s voice cracked. “Caroline, look at me. I swear on our boys’ lives, I had no idea until a few weeks ago.”
“A few weeks?”
“Yes,” he said, leaning forward. “She’s 18. I didn’t know about her until a few weeks ago. Lisa and I dated in high school. We broke up, and… I had no idea she was pregnant when we broke up. She raised our child… alone.”
Grayscale shot of a pregnant woman | Source: Unsplash
I turned to Lisa, who was sitting stiffly in her chair. “You’ve known for 18 years and never thought to tell him?”
Lisa’s expression hardened. “We didn’t exactly part on good terms. And honestly, I didn’t think he’d care.”
“Didn’t think he’d care?” I snapped. “Then why now? What made you decide to contact him?”
Sophie spoke up for the first time, her voice small. “Mom always said he left us…”
A sad young girl in a restaurant | Source: Midjourney
“That’s not true,” Daniel said firmly, his eyes glistening. “Sophie, I would never have abandoned you. Never.”
Lisa’s face flushed. “Well, it doesn’t matter now, does it? We’re here because Sophie’s pregnant.”
I blinked, stunned. “She’s PREGNANT?”
Lisa nodded. “And I don’t want her to make the same mistakes I did. The man has to take responsibility, and as Sophie’s father, Daniel needs to help us… financially.”
An annoyed woman frowning | Source: Midjourney
My jaw clenched as I turned to Daniel. “Financially? You didn’t think to discuss this with me first?”
“Caroline,” Daniel started, “I was going to tell you —”
“When?” I cut him off. “Before or after you handed them a check?”
Sophie burst into tears. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I didn’t want any of this. Mom insisted…”
Lisa crossed her arms and glared at me. “This is none of your business. It’s between my daughter and her father.”
“None of my business?” I laughed bitterly. “This absolutely is my business. If Daniel’s going to support you financially, it’s coming out of OUR budget. The budget that feeds our children, pays for their school, and their future.”
A frustrated woman with her arms crossed | Source: Midjourney
“Your children?” Lisa sneered. “Sophie is his flesh and blood too!”
“Stop it!” Sophie cried out. “Just stop! I can’t take this anymore!” She pushed back from the table, her chair scraping loudly against the floor.
“Sophie, wait —” Daniel reached for her, but she pulled away.
“I never wanted money,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “I just… I just wanted to know my father. To know if he would’ve wanted me if he had known.”
A distressed young girl | Source: Midjourney
Daniel’s face crumpled. “Of course I would have wanted you. Sophie, please —”
I watched the scene unfold, something nagging at the back of my mind. Sophie’s outburst felt… rehearsed somehow. Like a performance designed to tug at our heartstrings.
Years of teaching drama to fifth graders had made me pretty good at spotting the difference between genuine emotion and acting. And something about this felt off.
A suspicious woman staring at someone | Source: Midjourney
I turned to Daniel, my voice low and steady. “If you’re going to help them, fine. But we need proof. A DNA test to confirm she’s YOUR daughter, and a medical certificate confirming the pregnancy. Until then, we’re not committing to anything.”
Lisa’s face turned red. “How dare you question us?”
“Because this affects MY family too,” I said firmly. “If you’re telling the truth, you shouldn’t have a problem proving it.”
The meeting ended awkwardly. Lisa stormed out, dragging Sophie with her, and Daniel stayed behind, his head in his hands.
A woman storming out of the room | Source: Pexels
“Caroline,” he said softly, “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to keep this from you. I just… I didn’t know how to handle it when Lisa and Sophie texted me. Lisa said she got my number from one of my college friends.”
I reached across the table and lifted his chin. “Look at me. Did you really not know about Sophie?”
His eyes met mine, filled with pain and regret. “I swear to you, I had no idea. When Lisa contacted me… it was like my whole world shifted. She told me that I have a daughter, Caroline. A daughter I never knew existed.”
“You should have started with the truth,” I said, standing up. “From now on, that’s the only thing I’m willing to accept.”
The next few days were tense. Lisa sent a few more texts asking for money, but Daniel stuck to my request for proof. When we insisted on a DNA test, the messages stopped altogether, and both their numbers were suddenly disconnected.
A woman seeing her phone | Source: Midjourney
One night, I found Daniel sitting alone in the dark, staring at his phone.
“What if she really was my daughter?” he whispered. “What if I just lost my only chance to know her?”
I wrapped my arms around him from behind. “If Sophie is your daughter, she’ll find you again.”
A week later, Daniel got a call from an old friend and was shaken to his core.
“Lisa has pulled this trick before with her ‘pregnant daughter,’” he told Daniel. “Same story, different guy, pal. Both Lisa and Sophie are running a scam. They target Lisa’s exes from high school, claiming Sophie is their long-lost child. Last year, they got ten grand from Mike — her ex before she started dating you — and disappeared from town before he figured out the truth.”
A shocked man talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
That night, as we lay in bed, Daniel finally broke down. The sobs that wracked his body were unlike anything I’d ever heard from him.
“I really thought…” he choked out. “For a moment, I really believed I had a daughter.”
I held him close. “You were naive… but don’t let anyone take advantage of your kindness again.”
Daniel hugged me tight, tears in his eyes. “Thank you for being strong when I wasn’t,” he whispered.
I kissed his cheek. “We’re a team, Daniel. But if you ever lie to me again, that team is over.”
He nodded, pulling me closer. “Never again,” he promised. “Our family is everything to me. Everything.”
A couple comforting each other | Source: Pexels
As we drifted off to sleep, I thought about how easily a few text messages had almost shattered our world. And how a stranger’s fake tears had nearly cost us not just money, but our trust in each other.
I held Daniel closer, grateful that we’d emerged stronger, wiser, and more united than before. Sometimes the hardest moments show us exactly what we’re made of and what we’re worth fighting for.
A woman smiling | Source: Midjourney
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
Dad Told Me to Take Cold Showers with the Soap He Gave Me — When My Boyfriend Walked into My Bathroom, He Started Crying
When Amelia’s father gave her a soap bar and told her to take cold showers with it, she never thought he had an evil, hidden agenda behind it. Her world turned upside down when her boyfriend told her the horrifying truth about that soap.
I’ve always been Daddy’s little girl, but now I feel like throwing up when I say those words. I’m not his little girl, and he’s not the man I always thought he was. Let me tell you why.
A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
So, I’ve always been close to my father, like REALLY close. I’m 23, and I lived with my parents up until a month ago because Dad never wanted me to move away.
He had given me the second floor of the house where I had my bedroom and a bathroom. Those two rooms of the house solely belonged to me. They were my safe space until the day Dad began to complain.
A man standing near a door | Source: Midjourney
My father is one of those people with a personality resembling a coconut. You know, hard on the outside and soft on the inside. He has these strict rules and principles that he abides by, but he also has this empathy inside that makes him the best Dad ever.
“Character is built in discomfort,” he’d always tell me. “You gotta face the worst now if you want a life full of luxuries ahead.”
But he’d also buy me chocolates and ice cream on days I didn’t feel good.
A woman holding an ice cream cone | Source: Pexels
Meanwhile, my mother has always been the typical loving mom. She’s always ready for hugs and kisses and never says no whenever I ask her to cook my favorite pasta. She has always been a sweetheart.
However, I recently felt that my parents were not the same anymore. Over the past few months, they had grown cold, and the love and care had suddenly vanished.
A woman sitting in her living room | Source: Midjourney
Honestly, I sometimes felt like I was living with two strangers in the house. It felt like we had lost the connection we always had.
Then began the unnecessary complaints and nitpicking from Dad’s side.
“You and your friends were too loud last night!”
“You’re staying out too late, Amy.”
“You’re spending too much on unnecessary things!”
Then came the complaint that really snatched my self-confidence.
A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
“You smell horrible, go take a cold shower and use the soap I gave you!”
I smell horrible? What? I thought. Where did that come from?
That was the day when Dad handed me this soap I had never seen before. It was a green, chunky soap bar that smelled a bit weird, but Dad had asked me to use it, assuring it would help get rid of the unpleasant body odor.
A woman holding a soap bar | Source: Pexels
His words made me feel so self-conscious that I had even stopped hanging out with my boyfriend, Henry.
I often found myself smelling my skin, clothes, hair, and even my breath, just to check what made my father feel so uncomfortable around me.
I followed his advice and used that soap whenever I took a shower. Or, if I may put it correctly, I took five showers a day just to use that soap and get rid of the smell that had apparently been haunting my father.
A woman taking a shower | Source: Pexels
I scrubbed my skin so hard that I stripped it of the moisture it needed. My skin had begun to look dry, scaly, and so rough.
Even then, my father said I still smelled like rotten onions.
“Did you use that soap, Amy? I don’t think you did,” he’d say. “You smell so bad.”
What shocked me even more was that my mother didn’t say a word when Dad humiliated me like that every day. She didn’t say anything in my defense or stop me from being so hard on myself.
A woman sitting on a chair, looking down | Source: Pexels
Mom and I had always been close. She was the only person I shared everything with since I was a kid. I’d always tell her about my latest crush, my new boyfriend, and even the new slang I’d learned at school.
I couldn’t believe it when she stood silently, avoiding my gaze, while Dad kept grilling me. I won’t ever forgive Mom for not being there for me when I needed her the most.
A woman looking down | Source: Pexels
I kept showering with the soap, and my clothes always clung to me because they were damp from the frequent showers.
Besides, I began avoiding my father. I’d always scurry up to my room and lock the door whenever he returned home from work. I didn’t want him to see me. Or, more specifically, smell me.
The turning point came when my boyfriend, Henry, came over. We had been dating for a few months, and he was the one bright spot in my increasingly bleak days.
A woman talking to her boyfriend | Source: Midjourney
Henry has always been the supportive boyfriend, the green flag we all look for. He’s always been kind to me, and he came over that day because he had noticed I had been avoiding him.
“Where have you been, Amy?” he asked as he held me by my arms.
“I was… I was just busy with some stuff, Henry,” I faked a smile. “I’m fine.”
“Really? You don’t look fine, babe,” he said.
“I’m okay, Henry,” I said as I held his hand. “Tell me one thing… Do I smell bad?”
A woman smiling | Source: Midjourney
He laughed, thinking I was kidding.
“No, babe. You smell fine. Why?”
“Nothing. I just…” I mumbled. “Forget it.”
“I’ll be right back,” he said before going to the bathroom.
A few minutes later, I watched him step out of the bathroom with the soap bar in his hand. I could see he wasn’t too happy about it.
“Who gave you this?! Are you taking cold showers with this?!?” he asked with eyes wide open.
A man looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
How did he know this? I thought.
“Yeah, my Dad. Why?” I asked, trying my best not to panic.
“They didn’t tell you, did they?! Baby, this isn’t soap! It’s used to strip industrial machinery of grease and grime.”
“Wait, what?” I was shocked.
“This stuff is toxic, Amy. It causes chemical burns.”
I can’t explain how betrayed and heartbroken I felt at that point. How could my father do this to me? To his daughter who he loved so much?
A woman looking straight ahead, shocked | Source: Midjourney
That’s when it all started to make sense to me. The dry, itchy skin and the weird texture of the soap bar. It also made me wonder if my mother knew about this.
“I think we need to go to the hospital to get you checked,” Henry said. “And then, we’re going to the police. This is abuse, Amy.”
I don’t know why, but I stopped him.
A man sitting in his girlfriend’s house | Source: Midjourney
I knew he was telling the truth, but I couldn’t put the words “abuse” and “Dad” together. I had never seen Dad in a negative light, and I didn’t like how those words fit in the same sentence and made so much sense.
In short, I couldn’t accept that my father had tried to hurt me.
“We can’t do that,” I told Henry. “We can’t go to the police.”
“But why?” he asked.
“I’ll explain that later,” I said. “Please just help me get out of here. I’ll confront my parents later.”
A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
He agreed, and we moved into a small apartment a few days later. It was cramped and barely furnished, but it felt like a safe haven compared to what I had endured.
Then, it was time for me to confront my parents. I drove back to their house the next day.
When I arrived, Dad was in his usual spot, watching TV in the living room, and Mom was in the kitchen. I walked in with the soap bar in my hand and stood in front of my dad.
A man holding a remote | Source: Pexels
“I never thought you’d do this to me, Dad,” I said as I held the soap bar high enough for him to see. “This is toxic. It’s poison. It ruined my skin. Why did you do this?”
“Oh, so you finally found what it is, huh?” he smirked. “You needed to learn a lesson.”
“A lesson?” I laughed. “You nearly killed me. For what? Because you thought I smelled bad?”
“Please stop this!” My mother finally intervened. “Amy, yo—”
“You knew, Mom, didn’t you?” I cut her off. “You were a part of this ridiculous plan, right?”
A woman in her parents’ living room | Source: Midjourney
I watched tears trickle down her cheeks, but she didn’t say a word.
“Why did you do this to me, Dad?” I confronted my father. “I need to know!”
I wasn’t ready for his response. I had no idea it would turn my world upside down.
“You want to know why?” he said, almost to himself. “Fine. When your mother and I went on that vacation last year, we had a little too much to drink. We ended up in a crowd, where a fortune teller told me that your mother had been unfaithful.”
A man looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
“What are you talking about?” I asked as my heart flipped.
“That’s true,” he continued. “When I confronted your mother the next morning, she told me the truth. She told me you weren’t mine. You’re the result of an affair she had while I was working hard for us in another country.”
I looked at my mom, who couldn’t meet my gaze. Then, I looked back at Dad as he continued to speak.
A sad woman looking down | Source: Pexels
“Your mother begged me not to leave her because she didn’t want to break our family apart,” he shook his head. “So, I agreed. But on one condition. I had to make her pay, and you too. Because YOU ARE NOT MY DAUGHTER!”
My heart shattered into a million pieces that day. I couldn’t believe my father had this evil side. The evil personality that was so hungry for unjust revenge.
A close-up shot of a woman, shocked | Source: Midjourney
“You mean you gave me that toxic soap because you were angry at Mom? Because you thought I was not your daughter?” I asked as the tears in my eyes blurred my vision.
“You’re not my daughter,” he said and turned around. “You’re not my blood.”
For the next few seconds, I stared at his back in silence, wondering why he punished me for something that wasn’t my fault.
“Alright, I’m done with you,” I said as I wiped away my tears. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.”
A woman about to leave her parents’ house | Source: Midjourney
And with that, I stepped out of the house that was once my haven. Over the next few days, I visited the hospital multiple times for my skin treatment and talked to my lawyer regarding how I could file a case against my parents.
Soon, my father received a notice of the restraining order and the impending lawsuit. With that, his smug confidence was shattered, and his reputation was in ruins. His entire circle was disgusted by his actions.
A man reading a legal notice | Source: Midjourney
Meanwhile, Mom tried to get in touch with me, but I didn’t reply to any of her calls or texts. If she couldn’t take a stand for me, why should I even bother talking to her? I was done.
Now, living with Henry, I feel a sense of peace that had been missing from my life for ages. I don’t remember the last time I had laughed this much in my own house. I can’t thank fate enough for blessing me with a man like Henry. I have no idea what I’d do without him.
A man sitting in his apartment | Source: Midjourney
If you enjoyed reading this story, here’s another one you might like: Bobby discovered a hidden stash of expensive gifts in his teenage daughter’s closet, along with a photo of an unknown older man and a note about a café meeting. He discreetly followed her to the café, unaware he’d uncover a secret that would tear his family apart.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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