Obsessed with the Neighbor’s Baby
He didn't just ignore me; when I got into a car accident and needed surgery, he was nowhere to be found.
Id had enough. At the party to celebrate me coming home from the hospital, I asked for a divorce.
Our friends and family looked at me like I was crazy, saying the accident must have scrambled my brains.
Eddie, my husband, slammed his glass down and threw his drink in my face, his voice shaking with rage.
"Just because I didn't visit you in the hospital, you're going to do this? Are you really this jealous of a six-month-old baby?"
Slowly, I wiped the sticky liquid from my skin. My eyes fixed on the faint, damning blush of a hickey on his neck. My voice was ice.
"Since you love her child so much," I said, "after the divorce, you two can be together forever. I'll even make it happen."
1
A storm of emotions crossed Eddie's face. He instinctively pulled his collar up, trying to hide his neck. His eyes were red with fury as he roared, "Leigh, what the hell are you talking about?"
"I was looking after Lily to learn! To practice for when we have our own kids!" he shouted, his voice cracking. "And now you want to divorce me for a stupid reason like this? Have you lost your mind?"
I ignored his outburst, my expression a perfect, calm mask. I reached into my purse, pulled out the divorce papers Id already prepared, and slid them across the table to him.
"Sign them. I'll see you at the courthouse tomorrow morning."
A collective gasp went through the room. Every eye was on me, burning with shock and judgment. I didn't care anymore. I left the papers on the table and turned to leave. They couldn't wrap their heads around itthe couple everyone envied, suddenly imploding.
Eddie stared, utterly stunned. He never imagined I'd have divorce papers ready.
Seeing the unyielding set of my jaw, my mother finally realized I wasn't joking. She was the first to speak, her voice trembling.
"Leigh, are you serious? You and Eddie have been married for ten years, you've always been so happy. What happened?"
My dad snatched the papers from the table, his face turning darker with every line he read. One of Eddies friends chimed in, trying to play peacemaker.
"Yeah, Leigh, come on. Ten years together... don't throw it all away over the neighbor's baby."
"He was just helping out a single mom, for God's sake," another added. "He felt sorry for the kid. You don't have to be so possessive."
"He put off having kids because he didn't want to mess up your career! Can't you see how much he's sacrificed for you?"
The chorus of accusations grew, painting me as the heartless one. I said nothing. I just pushed the papers back in front of Eddie.
"This marriage is over. I can't take it anymore."
That's when my father, who had rushed over when he heard the commotion, slapped me. Hard. A sharp, stinging pain exploded across my cheek.
I clutched my face as he bellowed, "You ungrateful brat! How dare you divorce a man as good as Eddie? I'll kill you!"
"He's the one who's managed this household for years so you could build your career! Have you no shame?"
My mother rushed in, grabbing my arm, her voice pleading. "Honey, whatever it is, just talk it out. Don't use the word 'divorce'."
"You'll never find another man this good! If you're doing this because you found someone else, I swear, I'll never forgive you!"
I slowly lifted my head, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth. The room buzzed with whispers. True to form, Eddie was instantly by my side, dabbing at my split lip with a napkin, his touch so gentle. Always the perfect, caring husband in public. Only I knew the cold truth of our life together.
"Leigh," he murmured, his voice laced with manufactured pain. "I know you've probably found someone else. But I'm the only one who truly cares about you."
"We grew up together. We've been married ten years. How could you let something so small tear us apart?" he whispered, for all to hear. "I don't care about your flings. Just come home. I'll forgive you."
With just a few words, he'd flipped the entire narrative. I was the cheater. The room erupted again.
The stares felt like knives. My father, incensed, swung again, his fist catching my shoulder. "So that's it! You've been seeing someone else! How could I have raised such a disgrace!"
"You ungrateful child, stop this nonsense before you put your father in the hospital! Go home and make things right with Eddie!"
Everyone was pleading, begging me to see reason. Eddie was now on his knees, tears streaming down his face, begging me to stay.
My gaze was glacial. I shoved him away. "Let go of me. I don't love you anymore."
He didn't know it, but our marriage had been dead since the day he started caring for the neighbor's baby.
Eddie stared at me, his face a mask of disbelief. His lips trembled. "What... what did you just say?"
2
The entire room fell silent. Eddies sobs grew louder, but I just turned to walk away.
He lunged, wrapping his arms around me from behind, his grip desperate. "Don't go, Leigh, please don't go. It's my fault, it's all my fault."
"Just give me one more chance, I'll change, I swear. Please don't leave me."
His friend blocked my path. "Leigh, what is wrong with you? Apologize to Eddie right now!"
"He's been by your side for so long. How can you hurt him like this? Have you forgotten how much you two loved each other?"
"You were together from high school through college! Eight years before you even got married! Does none of that mean anything to you?"
"You monster! Are you saying you don't even want the baby you're carrying? You'd rather he grew up without a father?"
At that, my parents grabbed me, their words a frantic torrent, trying to shock me back to my senses.
"Leigh, you're pregnant! And you still want a divorce? Do you have a conscience?"
I fought against their hold, my voice ringing with a cold fury that shocked them all. "My child is my child. I'll raise him myself. This divorce is happening."
My mother looked at me as if I were a stranger. "Leigh, you've always wanted a child more than anything. Now that you're pregnant, why are you doing this?"
Her words were a punch to the gut. It was true. For ten years, from the time I was twenty until I turned thirty, I had yearned for a baby with Eddie. A decade of hope, dashed every single time. I couldn't live that life anymore. All I wanted now was to be free of him.
The shouting attracted our neighbor, Vanessa. She stood in the doorway, holding her baby, ready to hand her over to Eddie for the evening shift. It was their daily routine; she'd go to work, and he would babysit.
The moment Eddie saw her, he forgot all about the drama. He rushed over and took the baby from her arms.
The look on his facea tenderness so profound, so paternalwas one I had never seen before. It was as if he were looking at his own flesh and blood.
A sharp pain, like a shard of ice, pierced my heart. I swayed on my feet. Wed had a child once, too. But a convenient "accident" had taken care of that.
Vanessa put on a show of concern. "Leigh, I heard the shouting. I had no idea you were upset about Eddie helping me with the baby."
"I'll find a new place today," she said, her voice dripping with false sincerity. "Lily and I will leave immediately. I don't want to cause any trouble between you two."
Eddie's brow furrowed, a flicker of panic in his eyes. "No, don't be ridiculous. It's not a big deal, just helping with a baby."
He turned back to me, his eyes wet with tears. "Leigh, don't take this out on other people. You just got out of the hospital. Can you please stop making a scene?"
His performance was flawless. The crowd's anger shifted entirely onto me.
My father's face was purple with rage. He grabbed my arm, his voice a hoarse whisper. "Listen to me. Stop this. Break it off with whoever you're seeing and go home with Eddie. That's all that matters."
"You have a child on the way. If you dare go through with this divorce, I swear I'll break your legs."
I remained impassive, my face a stone mask.
"This divorce is final." With that, I walked out.
My father's parting shot echoed behind me. "If you walk out that door, you are no longer my daughter!"
Eddie didn't try to stop me this time. His voice was cold. "Fine, Leigh. You want to leave? Then you leave with nothing. Not a single penny."
"You want to throw me away for someone new? Then don't blame me for what comes next."
The next day, I filed for divorce. As evidence, I submitted the videos I had taken from inside my neighbor Vanessa's house.
3
That night, I tried to check into a hotel, only to find all my bank cards had been frozen.
I remembered thenfor years, I had handed my entire salary over to Eddie, keeping almost nothing for myself. Id worked myself to the bone to build our perfect little life, believing our long courtship would lead to a happy family.
What a joke. From the very beginning, I had been completely alone.
After borrowing money from a friend, I finally got a hotel room. I opened my phone and saw it. Someone had secretly recorded the argument at the party and posted it online. It was already trending.
The comment section was a cesspool of hate, all directed at me. People were threatening to dox me, to ruin my life.
"She's divorcing her husband just because he helped a neighbor with a baby? Is she even human?"
"I bet she's the one who cheated and is just using this as a ridiculous excuse. What a shameless bitch."
The story spread like wildfire. The next morning, even the room service attendant gave me a look of pure disgust.
I opened my laptop, and a searing pain shot through me. I watched the videos again, hundreds of them. The intimate moments between them stole the air from my lungs.
Every night, after he put Vanessa's daughter, Lily, to sleep, he would slip into Vanessa's bedroom.
Id discovered it on Eddie's phone. He had connected to her home security cameras. I saw everything. While he slept, I linked the feed to my own phone. And since then, every night, I watched them.
The way Eddie looked at Vanessa was with a gentleness I had never, ever received. He was the perfect, doting husband in public, but only I knew the icy reality of our marriage. Years ago, he had told me, flat out, that he never wanted children. He warned me not to get any ideas.
But then, an accident happened. I got pregnant. I begged him to let me keep it. Without a moment's hesitation, he made me get rid of it.
That day became the defining pain of my life. From that day on, he refused to touch me.
And now, right under my nose, he was playing father to another woman's child.
"Ms. Reed, the court date is set for three days from now. I've prepared all the documents you requested."
My secretary's call came early the next morning. The public backlash was already affecting my company; investors were pulling out.
When I got to the office, Eddie was already there, blocking the entrance. "Leigh, don't go in. The reporters are everywhere."
I shoved him aside. He stumbled and fell, a look of pure shock on his face. He never expected me to be so forceful.
The cameras swarmed.
"Leigh, how can you be so cruel?" he cried from the ground. "Can't you show me even a little bit of compassion?"
Vanessa was there too, of course, rushing to help him up. The scene was a media circus. Cameras flashed, and angry netizens who had shown up started shouting at me, calling me heartless.
"It's not her fault," Eddie sobbed into Vanessa's shoulder. "I lost my balance. Please, don't blame her."
Seeing his phony act, I almost threw up.
"If you don't want this divorce," I said, my voice carrying over the din, "then I'll see you in court."
The mask dropped. Eddie scrambled to his feet, his face contorted with rage. "Fine," he spat, right into the reporters' microphones. "You want to play hardball? Then don't blame me when I leave you with nothing."
4
"My child doesn't need a father like you. Fine. I'll see you in court."
It was almost funny. He had no idea. He thought I was still in the dark, completely oblivious.
I ignored him, went inside, delegated my work, and began preparing for the hearing.
After today's media frenzy, the story exploded online. I was now a universally hated villain, while Eddie had successfully cemented his image as the long-suffering victim.
The rumors were insane. People said I'd had multiple abortions to keep seeing my secret lover, that I'd drained our finances to support him. Others claimed the car accident had left me with brain damage, that I was mentally unstable.
The hate was overwhelming. Even my own parents called to disown me.
"You've gone too far," my father's voice crackled over the phone. "From this day on, I don't have a daughter."
"After all the filthy things you've done, I'm too ashamed to even call you my child."
Through it all, I remained silent. I didn't surface again until three days later, in court.
The courtroom was packed. Friends, family, and a horde of online gawkers were all there, waiting for the show. They were all waiting to see me fall, to see the law punish me.
Before the proceedings began, Eddie leaned over to me. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he whispered.
"For the sake of everything we had, I'll give you one last chance. Apologize to me, right now, and we can pretend none of this ever happened."
His voice dripped with condescension. "You have no chance of winning. The entire country knows what you've done. How can you even show your face?"
Beside him, Vanessa gave me a smug, triumphant smile. My own parents wouldn't even look at me, their expressions making it clear they hoped I'd be locked away for the shame I'd brought them.
I didn't flinch. I just waited for the judge to begin.
Eddie had hired the best lawyer in the city. He was determined to win. His attorney laid out a laundry list of my supposed sins during our marriage, building a case for why I deserved to be left with nothing.
"Simply helping a neighbor with childcare in the evenings does not constitute marital misconduct on the part of the husband," the judge stated.
"Based on the current evidence, you, Ms. Reed, appear to be the party at fault."
"If you cannot provide new evidence, this court will grant the divorce and rule accordingly, with you as the at-fault party."
A wave of cheers erupted from the gallery. Eddie and Vanessa embraced, triumphant. The crowd was buzzing, muttering that I got what I deserved. They were already celebrating their victory.
I remained calm. I addressed the judge. "Your Honor, I have new evidence."
"I have the surveillance footage from my neighbor, Vanessa's, home."
"And I have the results of a DNA paternity test for Eddie and the child, Lily."
In an instant, the courtroom went dead silent. Every face was frozen, the celebratory mood evaporating into thick, heavy tension.
Eddie's face went white. I knew the real show was about to begin.
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