After reading his terrifying New Years’ resolutions, Emma knew she had to do something drastic because her husband had been lying to her for years
Emma had been married to her husband Daniël for 7 years. Even though their relationship went quickly, she was very much in love with him and their relationship felt like a fairytale. Years had gone by without a scratch in the sky, but then one morning everything fell apart. When Emma decided to read her husband’s New Year’s resolution list, her heart skipped a beat and she immediately called the police. What did she just read?! Emma couldn’t believe what he put on his list. Her husband had been lying to her for years, and the thing he was lying about made her lose her faith in humanity.
Where it all began
Emma met Daniël when she was just 23 years old. He was 28 when she met him, so there was a little bit of an age gap but it wasn’t a big deal for her. Moreover, Emma had always been attracted to older men so she quite liked it. She had some older friends as well so he fitted perfectly into her mature lifestyle.
They met at a small birthday party of a friend of hers. The party was a little bit lame and they both went outside to catch some air. Daniel offered her a cigarette and even though she never smoked, she took it and shared the cigarette with him. Emma had no idea how much impact that small moment would have on her life.
He was different
From that moment on they saw each other every week. Emma was not used to guys being this committed to her and she loved it. In the past, she had been hurt by guys who didn’t want to be in a committed relationship, so this was something different. Daniël was the one who took the lead in this relationship and that showed her what a good guy he was. He took her on dates and he sent her flowers with sweet messages attached to them.
After just 6 weeks he asked her to be his girlfriend and she said yes because, if it feels good, why wait? Looking back at it, he changed her life for good…
The perfect son-in-law
Those first weeks into their relationship were amazing. They went out a lot and were practically together 24/7. Daniel had met all her friends and they loved him. When they went to her parent’s house, he even brought some flowers and a bottle of wine. Emma’s mother was immediately sold. Her father was usually a tough nut to crack but after a few jokes and good conversations, Daniel managed to win his heart as well.
Afterward, her parents told Emma that he was the perfect son-in-law. That was just another confirmation to Emma of how great he was. If only they knew his true colors…
A big change
After a while, things started to change. At first, Emma didn’t notice anything and they enjoyed their fresh, new relationship to the fullest. They went on cute dates where they did little picnics in the park or they went out and had dinner with her friends. Sometimes Daniël would bring one of his mates but most of the time he would hang out with Emma’s friends.
He told her he likes hanging out with them because they were so driven, and that motivated him to work on his goals. Emma agreed, her friends were indeed very driven and future-orientated so she liked the fact that they had this effect on Daniël. It was only years later that Emma realized why he wanted to hang out with them this much.
Honeymoon phase
Later, Emma would describe those first months of the relationship as the honeymoon phase. That’s because they never realized what was going on and how quickly things could change. It’s not that they didn’t like the surprise that was happening, but they simply just didn’t see it coming.
It was Emma who suddenly started to notice it. One morning she woke up and she felt something was off.
Something was off…
Emma immediately got out of bed and ran to the toilet. With both hands, she grabbed her hair and started throwing up. At first, she thought it was just the change of the seasons and she was getting a little bit sick. However, after a few hours, she realized what was going on. How could she be so ignorant? She had already missed her period for a while and had noticed some pain in her breasts.
Emma discussed her worries with Daniël and he immediately went to the store and bought her a pregnancy test. Emma was scared to find out if her worries were valid because she didn’t know what to do if it was true. She had always wanted to be a mother and she would have loved to be a young mother, but she didn’t know how Daniël would react. They were only together for a couple of months so she was scared that he would be disappointed.
Shocking outcome
After what felt like hours, the result finally came in. Emma took a deep breath and then looked at the little stick in front of her. When she saw the result, her heart skipped a beat. She blinked her eyes a few times and looked at it again. It was true, she was pregnant. Excitement and nerves rushed through her body. Emma got out of the bathroom and faced Daniël who was nervously standing in front of her, waiting for the result. “And? Do you know already?”, he asked.
Emma took his hands and asked him if they could sit down. Then when they sat down on the sofa she told him the big news. At first, he didn’t say a word, he just looked at her like he was in shock. Then he opened his mouth like he was going to say something but then he closed it again. After a few seconds, he opened it once more to say the words Emma would have never thought her beloved Daniël was capable of.
Disbelief
She looked at him with great disbelief. “Can you please repeat that?”, was what she said to him with a trembling voice. Daniël looked her deep in the eyes and then said “Emma, I can repeat it as much as you want, but I’m just so happy about this and I love that there will soon be a little mini us walking around.”, “I have never really cared much about kids, but with you, I can not wait!”. A tear flew down her face and then they both started crying and hugging each other. It was the best feeling ever and Emma felt so loved and wonderful.
She had no idea how much impact this decision would have had on Daniël and how much change it would cause.
Change
After that one morning in November, their whole life quickly started to change. Daniel was even more committed than she was. He was telling her all kinds of stuff he had read about what would be bad for the baby and the pregnancy. There were things about deli meats, milk, and so on. Emma had drastically changed her life, yet she didn’t mind. All she cared about was the little human growing in her body.
She would do anything if her baby could be healthy, so when Daniël convinced her to make a decision that caused her to barely see her friends and family anymore, she did it.
Life-changing decision
Daniël told her they had to find a place where they could move in together so they could raise the baby properly. He said the climate wasn’t good where they lived and he wanted to raise their child in the countryside. Daniël was persuasive so that’s what they did. Her heart broke a little bit at the thought of not getting to see her friends and family regularly anymore. The place they moved in together was at least a 4-hour drive away.
The fact that they didn’t know anyone in the little village where they moved to, scared her a little bit. She thought Daniël would have a hard time as well but he seemed fine. That’s because she didn’t know the dark secret Daniel was running away from.
The ultrasound
Even though it was hard at first, Emma was getting used to life in the countryside. She loved going for long walks in beautiful nature. It all felt so peaceful there. She had little to no stress. Her belly was growing bigger, and every month she and Daniël went to the hospital for regular checkups.
After a few months, the ultrasound could tell them they were expecting a girl. Emma was over the moon, but Daniël was not so much. Although he tried to hide it and you could barely hear it, his first reaction was ‘no’. Later, Emma tried to confront him many times but Daniël persisted that she didn’t hear him correctly and she might have had some pregnancy hallucinations. Of course, she believed him because what else can you do from the man you love and trust?
Lucy
After a few months, the day finally arrived. Emma delivered her beautiful baby girl and they called her Lucy. Lucy truly was the sunshine in their life and their relationship went uphill again. Daniël was the perfect father for her, she loved how seriously he took the fathership and how well he treated her. Seeing Lucy growing up, she felt thankful for how life had been treating her.
Daniël and Emma captured every moment and every little change that was going on in Lucy’s life. Her first steps, sentences, growth, crafts, and so on. Then one morning Daniël and Lucy did something that Emma could never forget…
A very romantic question
This particular morning, Lucy gave Emma a coloring page she had made herself. On the paper, Emma could see some scribbling that should represent her and Daniël. She was wearing a long yellow princess gown and he was wearing a blue suit. On top of the page, she recognized Daniel’s perfect handwriting, saying: “Will you marry me?”.
Of course, she said yes. She was so happy and started planning the wedding immediately. They would marry around the big hayfield in front of their house. Lucy would of course carry and bring them their rings and they would invite a small group of people. That’s how Daniël liked it because he wanted their wedding to be more intimate. For that reason, they only invited some of their new friends, some of Emma’s old friends, and her parents. Daniëls said his parents couldn’t come because of the long drive so they would visit them later when they were already married. If only she knew, that day would never come.
The perfect wedding
Looking back at it, their wedding was wonderful and exactly how they pictured it. There was music, drinks, some guests, and of course, there was a lot of good food.
Still, there were days when Emma would wake up and she had to pinch herself to check if she was not dreaming. She was a married woman now and to whom? Daniel seemed like the perfect husband and she thought they had the perfect marriage. Unfortunately, that’s the thing with good liars, they pretend to be someone they are not until you find out…
