A wife who has known her veteran husband to be a stoic, cold-hearted man is stunned when she spots him with a little girl. She follows him to figure out what he’s up to, only to discover he has kept secrets from her and that their marriage is far from perfect.
It was a sunny day. The bus door hissed open as it arrived at the crowded stop. Betty swiftly boarded the bus with the crowd and was fortunate enough to get a window seat. She was in a rush to get to a meeting and didn’t want to be late.
As the bus crammed with passengers began moving, Betty looked out the window. The gentle caressing of the breeze on her face provided some relief from the crowded environment and brushing of the bodies inside.
Little could the woman have guessed that the bus ride would change her life forever.
As the bus passed by a park, Betty was shocked to see her husband with a little girl. She couldn’t have been more than four years old, and Jack was holding her hand and walking her to the park.
Betty lost sight of her husband and the girl as the bus driver took a sharp turn at the next crossing. But she had observed Jack helping the petite girl onto the swings and then taking a seat across from her on the bench.
Trust and faith are the cornerstones of a relationship.
Betty had noticed how sympathetic his eyes were when he looked at the child. She felt a pang of jealousy, wondering who this little girl was and why Jack was so devoted to her.
Betty and Jack had been married for over twenty years and share two boys. Jack had always been a tough and stoic man, and his 25 years of military service had left him terribly cold and unsympathetic toward his own family.
Over the years, Betty had come to realize that Jack wasn’t capable of loving anyone. He had even raised their boys as if they were not their flesh and blood but soldiers in the army. But with this little girl, Jack had been different.
He seemed calm and happy and affectionate; something he’d never been with her or their children. Who was this little girl with Jack?
A part of Betty wanted to yell at the driver to stop the bus so she could hurry over to the park and confront her husband, but she was getting late for the meeting, which was urgent.
Betty closed her eyes and took a deep breath, telling herself it was probably nothing. But she knew in her heart that she was deceiving herself. Jack had never been affectionate with children, but he was so caring and loving with this young girl, as if he’d known her for ages, as if the little girl had a special connection with him.
Betty couldn’t concentrate on her work or get her thoughts off Jack and the little girl all day. She knew if she confronted Jack, he would probably make up a story and never tell her the truth. That’s how he was.
He’d never been comfortable sharing things about his life, profession, or friends. For Betty, each revelation of Jack’s life felt like a secret Santa game in which she had no idea who secret Santa was and what hidden surprise Santa had in store for her.
That night at home, Betty decided she would find out what was going on, and she would do it soon enough. So the next day, she took a day off from work and secretly followed Jack in her car, careful enough not to get noticed.
A couple of minutes after following him, Betty saw Jack stop by a small apartment building. He hesitated for a moment before entering, and she could see the tension in his body—he was shakily wiping sweat off his forehead and restlessly brushing through his beard. It was as if he wasn’t sure if he should do it.
Seconds later, Jack disappeared inside the building, but Betty remained in her car, waiting for him. When he came out, she noticed the little girl with him again. Betty realized something was not right.
When Jack and the little girl disappeared down the street, Betty got out of the car and hurried inside the apartment building. She checked the lift and found the floor Jack had visited.
As Betty entered the lift and pressed the button for the 4th floor, she could feel her heart racing in her chest. After a few minutes, the lift door opened, and she found herself on a floor with three flats.
Betty took a wild guess and pressed the doorbell of the first flat from the lift. A woman in her late 40s opened the door.
“Yes?” she asked Betty.
“Hi, I’m Betty,” Betty said. “I was wondering if…I mean, I’m sorry if Jack bothered you again,” she lied as if she knew Jack had visited her. “I keep telling him that I can look after her. Who doesn’t love hanging out with a little girl, after all?”
Betty noticed the woman’s surprised expression when she mentioned Jack and the little girl. “You know about Layla? Jack told you everything!?” she panicked.
Betty’s heart sank. “I can’t believe this…” she whispered. “So he came to see you! Who the hell are you? Why was my husband here, and who was that little girl with him!? I’ve caught y’all red-handed, so you better not lie!”
Betty was furious and couldn’t control her anger. “You lied?” the woman asked. “I…I don’t know if you’d be willing to know the truth, Betty, but it’s not what you think. Please. Jack and I…”
“Are you two having an affair? After twenty years of marriage and two boys, he is sleeping with you behind my back?” Betty fumed.
The woman gasped. “God, no, no!” she cried. “No, it’s not like that!”
“My name is Miriam,” the woman revealed. “Please come inside. I’ll tell you everything.”
Miriam disappeared inside, and Betty followed her. She made Betty some tea and began telling her story. Betty couldn’t believe Jack had kept secrets from her.
Miriam revealed that Layla was Jack’s late colleague’s daughter. Peter and Jack had been comrades and friends in the army days, and they had sworn to look after one another’s families if something happened to them in the line of duty.
“And that’s it,” Miriam said. “Jack is a wonderful man who would never cheat on you, Betty.”
Betty was shocked. She couldn’t believe Jack was looking after his late comrade’s daughter. Why did he never treat his own boys like that? Why did he never love his children or wife the way he loved Layla? And why did he never mention Peter if they were so close?
A child is nowhere to be blamed for their parents’ past.
“I have to go,” Betty said abruptly. “And yeah, don’t tell Jack I was here.”
Betty was not convinced by Miriam’s story. Maybe he wasn’t having an affair, but looking after a young girl couldn’t be as simple as keeping a commitment to a late friend. She’d known Jack for so long, and he didn’t care about his own family, so caring for a friend’s daughter was out of the question.
At that point, Betty realized she didn’t have a choice but to ask Jack what was going on. So that day, when he returned home, she mustered the courage to confront him.
“I know about Layla, Jack,” she confessed. “I met Miriam, and she told me a story I refuse to believe. I know you’ve never been so affectionate as to look after a friend’s daughter. I want to know what’s going on.”
Jack was stunned. “Did you follow me?” he blurted out. “How did you get Miriam’s address?”
“Is that the most important thing right now?” she asked, her eyes welling up. “As a wife, do I not have the right to know why my husband is spending time with a little girl and looking after her while he was never so concerned about his wife and children…? I—I love you, Jack!
“And I’ve never doubted you once in our marriage, no matter how distant you’ve always felt all these years until… I saw this little girl with you on my way to work, and I have to say, I was jealous. So jealous of all the love you’re showering on her… you took her to the park like she were your daughter!”
“Oh, Betty!” Jack sighed. “I wanted to tell you everything, but—”
“I want to know the truth from you, Jack. And I’ll take your word for it. At the very least, I believe I am entitled to the truth. I don’t trust Miriam, but I trust you!”
“SHE’S MY GRANDDAUGHTER,” Jack admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “And that’s the truth.”
“Your, what?” Betty gasped. “But…how—how is that possible? Our boys are not…They don’t have children, and—”
Jack sighed and held Betty’s hands in his. “I’m sorry, Betty,” he said. “It all happened years ago before we met…”
Jack took a deep breath and told Betty a story that left her heartbroken. He revealed that he had a brief romance with a woman with whom he was in love. After a month of dating, they realized she was pregnant, but she refused to let Jack be a part of their child’s life. As a result, Jack never met his daughter.
Years later, Jack’s daughter gave birth to Layla. When Jack found out about his granddaughter, he wanted to meet her, but his daughter forbade him. Then a couple of months later, Jack learned Layla’s father was in the military too.
He tried to track him down, but it took years, and he was too late by the time he did. Layla’s father had died in combat, and Jack’s daughter couldn’t bear the shock and left for her heavenly home soon.
Layla was barely three years old when it all happened, and her aunt Miriam stepped in to look after her. When Jack learned Miriam was looking for a nanny for Layla so she could return to work, Jack met her and said he would help her in Layla’s upbringing.
“We made a story up because I didn’t want you to know about my illegitimate daughter. But that’s that, darling. That’s the truth you wanted to know.”
Betty didn’t know how to react. She got up from the couch and locked herself in their bedroom. “I didn’t mean to hurt you!” Jack said, standing outside the bedroom door. “But I apologize for not telling you the truth, Betty. It was my fault.”
Jack returned to the couch and was alone for hours before Betty came out of the bedroom. “Where is Layla?” she asked him.
“She’s with Miriam,” Jack said. “But why—”
“I’m not sure if I can forgive you right away, Jack. But that little girl, Layla…she’s nowhere to be blamed for what happened,” she said. “And I know you love this little girl, even though you’ve never been that nice to our children, and I would hate to see her grow up without a family when she has a grandfather and grandmother, and aunt! I’d like to meet her…”
Betty’s thoughtfulness brought tears to Jack’s eyes. “I appreciate that,” he said. “Thank you for everything you’re doing for Layla, Betty. Thank you very much.”
“I haven’t forgiven you, though,” she said. “Keep that in mind.”
But deep down, Betty decided to forget the past and move on and knew she and Jack could get through this together.
Betty was struck by Jack’s selflessness and devotion to Layla. She realized she had underestimated her husband and that he was capable of so much more than she had ever imagined. He might have been a cold-hearted man all these years, but he was now changing. And Betty had wanted to see this change in Jack for so long.
The next day, Jack took Betty to Layla, who was a shy but curious little girl. When Betty held Layla’s tiny hand in hers and smiled at her, she felt a surge of emotions—love, affection, and acceptance. She didn’t see Layla as a part of her husband’s past but as the little granddaughter God had blessed her with.
So Betty forgot who Layla was and where she came from. All that mattered to her was that the tiny girl had shown her a side of Jack that had been buried deep within him all these years—he was a gentle and kind grandfather who adored his granddaughter.
As they left the apartment building that day after meeting Layla, Betty felt something—a renewed sense of love and respect for her husband. She knew they would still have to work through it, but she was willing to do so for the sake of their family.
The new Jack was more capable of loving, of adoring his family, of caring for his wife and children, and of being kinder and warmer. Betty clutched Jack’s hands gently as they drove home, knowing they had a brighter future ahead. She knew Layla, too, was a part of the brighter future and that her family had blossomed with the little girl’s existence.
What can we learn from this story?
Trust and faith are the cornerstones of a relationship. Betty was hurt that Jack had kept the truth about Layla from her all these years. If he had been honest with her, they could’ve gladly accepted Layla sooner and given her the love she deserved.
A child is nowhere to be blamed for their parents’ past. Keeping that in mind, Betty decided to let go of the past and embraced Layla.
This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only.
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