While My Husband Was Away on a Business Trip, a Voicemail Revealed the Real Reason He Left — Story of the Day

While my husband was away on a business trip, our landline rang for the first time in months. I almost ignored it — until I heard the voicemail. A strange woman’s voice, a desperate message, and one sentence that made my heart stop. That was the moment everything in my life changed.

Do you have that one thing in your house that no one’s used in years? I’m pretty sure everyone has more than just one — for us, it was the landline.

It even became a bit of a joke between me and my husband. The only people who ever called it were telemarketers or scammers, and we’d always mess with them for fun.

Our marriage, in general, was full of laughter. Peter and I had both done amateur comedy in college, so teasing each other was just part of daily life — and I loved it. I’d married my best friend, someone I adored completely.

Everything between us felt perfect. Even though Peter could be a bit immature sometimes, I’d gotten used to that and would just take on a little more responsibility when needed. It was fine. All of it was fine — except one thing.

We couldn’t get pregnant.

No matter how hard we tried, it just never happened. Both Peter and I had been to countless doctors, done more tests than I could count. Every single one came back the same — we were both perfectly healthy.

After a while, I started to think the universe simply didn’t want me to be a mother. That I didn’t deserve it.

Peter, though, never lost hope. He kept telling me things would work out, that we’d get there.

But the last test hit differently. Peter had gone on a work trip — which was strange, since traveling wasn’t even part of his job.

He told me it was some kind of new policy, and that he’d be traveling more often now.

It felt incredibly mistimed. Because when I took another test and saw that damn single line again, I was completely alone.

Peter had been gone two days and wasn’t coming back for three more. I decided to numb the pain with a tub of ice cream and some cheesy ’90s rom-com.

I walked into the kitchen to grab the ice cream, and that stupid landline started ringing again.

Another scammer, probably. I wasn’t in the mood for jokes. I picked it up, lowered my voice as much as I could, and growled, “Go to hell!” before slamming the receiver down.

Then I noticed something strange. The voicemail light was blinking. I pressed the button.

“Peter, hi. I know you told me not to call your house, but I haven’t been able to reach you. You were supposed to be here yesterday, and now you’re just ignoring me. He’s waiting for you.”

“What the hell?” I said out loud.

I redialed the number, and a woman answered almost immediately. “Peter? Is that you? Why didn’t you come?” she blurted out.

“Who are you?” I asked sharply.

“Oh… I’m sorry,” she stammered and hung up.

I called back, but she didn’t pick up again. If she hadn’t reacted so weirdly, I might’ve believed she was just someone from Peter’s work. But now? I had to find out what the hell was going on with my husband.

I jotted the number down on a piece of paper and opened my laptop. Every woman has a little stalker instinct in her — we can find out anything about anyone.

Within minutes, I’d found out who the number belonged to. Her name was Olivia. I also found her social media.

I scrolled through her photos, trying to spot Peter. He wasn’t in any of them. It was just her and a little boy, maybe three years old. Her son, Hunter.

Olivia didn’t look familiar — because she wasn’t. But Hunter… something about him felt oddly familiar, though I couldn’t put my finger on it.

She worked as a florist in a town four hours away. If she didn’t want to talk on the phone, fine. We’d talk in person.

Just to be sure something truly shady was happening, I called Peter’s boss and asked about the trip. As expected — there was no business trip.

I packed a few things, not knowing how long I’d be gone, and hit the road.

I reached the flower shop just as she was closing. I stayed in the car and watched. When she finally locked the doors, I got out and walked over.

“Olivia, hi. You called my house. I need to know who you are,” I said. Her face turned pale with panic.

“I’m sorry, you must have the wrong person,” she said quickly and tried to walk away.

“Please. I really need to know. Think of it woman to woman — how would you feel?” I called after her, and she froze.

She turned around and walked back. “I don’t want drama. I have a child. I already regret dragging him into this,” Olivia said quietly.

“No drama, I promise. Just tell me the truth,” I said, and she nodded slowly.

She invited me to her home. We drove there in my car. When we walked in, I saw Hunter with a woman who turned out to be the nanny. Olivia led me into the kitchen and shut the door behind us.

“God, I don’t even know how to begin this,” she muttered. “I mean, you’re his wife… and I…”

“Just say it,” I said. “Trust me, after years of negative pregnancy tests, I’m not easy to break.”

“Oh God, that makes me feel even worse,” she whispered. “Okay. Um. Peter is Hunter’s father.”

“What the…”

“But we never dated, never had a relationship. It was just one night. I just wanted Hunter to know who his dad is,” she explained.

“You got pregnant from one night?” I asked, stunned.

“I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t know he was married. He took off his ring. Only told me the truth when I said I was pregnant,” Olivia confessed.

“He abandoned his son?” I demanded.

“I... I tried to get them to meet. But he kept avoiding it. Then he said he was ready, but disappeared again. And now I’ve already told Hunter about him, and I hate myself for that,” she said, her voice trembling.

“Does he not know what responsibility means? What a jerk!” I yelled.

“I never asked for money. I just wanted Hunter to have a dad,” Olivia said softly.

“What? Oh no. We’re gonna make that idiot pay for everything and finally step up,” I snapped.

“I really don’t want any drama or fights,” she said nervously.

I grabbed her hand. “You’re not alone now. We’ll deal with it,” I promised, and she nodded, unsure.

Suddenly, Hunter walked into the kitchen. He looked up at Olivia with wide, trusting eyes.

“Daddy’s not coming?” he asked.

I saw how much it hurt Olivia to hear that, how lost she was for words. So I stepped in, hoping I wasn’t crossing a line.

“Unfortunately, no. But he’s going to buy you so many toys you won’t know what to do with them all,” I smiled.

“Yay!” Hunter cheered and ran off.

“Thank you,” Olivia whispered. I nodded.

Three days later, Peter came home. I was already waiting, ready to give him my surprise.

“How was the trip?” I asked as he walked into the bedroom.

“All good,” Peter replied casually.

“You didn’t cancel any meetings or anything?” I pressed.

“Nope, everything went according to plan,” he shrugged.

“Oh really? Then maybe you can explain how we’ve been trying to get pregnant for over a year with no luck — but some woman got pregnant from one night with you?” I snapped.

“What? How do you—” he stammered, panic flashing across his face.

“That’s not important. What matters is, I’ve seen him. I saw your son. Unlike you. And he’s wonderful, thank God he didn’t take after you,” I muttered.

“I can explain,” Peter pleaded.

“Oh, can you? What are you going to explain first? The cheating? Or how you abandoned your own child?” I yelled.

“I didn’t cheat that much! Just a couple of times,” Peter said defensively.

“So there were others?!” I shouted.

“Uhh…”

“You really are a jerk,” I hissed.

“What was I supposed to do? Bring the kid here?” he shot back.

“Yes! That’s exactly what you should’ve done! Come clean! Take responsibility for once in your damn life!” I screamed.

It was like I got hit by lightning.

“You did what?...” I whispered, stunned.

“You wanted a kid so badly, and I didn’t, so I just... didn’t know what else to do,” he muttered.

“You knew how much I wanted a child. How I hated myself for not being able to get pregnant. And all this time — it was because of you?” I choked out, tears streaming down my face.

“I didn’t want to lose you,” Peter whispered.

“You didn’t want to lose me? So you cheated? Lied? Drugged me? Mocked me?” I shouted. “I thought I knew you. But I was wrong. Turns out I’ve been living with a stranger all this time.”

“Come on, Vanessa, we can fix this,” he begged.

“It’s too late for fixing,” I said coldly. “I filed for divorce. And I’ll make sure you end up with nothing. Oh — and I convinced Olivia to file for child support. So buckle up, asshole. Your life’s about to turn into hell.”

“You can’t do this to me!” Peter screamed.

“You did it to yourself,” I snapped. “Now get out, or I’ll call the cops.”

“And what are you gonna tell them?” he sneered. “I’m still your husband.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a vivid imagination. One way or another, you’re spending the night in a cell,” I said calmly.

I could see it in his eyes — the anger, the humiliation, the urge to yell, to lash out. But for the first time in his life, Peter made the right choice and walked away. The door clicked shut behind him. Silence returned.

I collapsed onto the bed, exhaling so hard it felt like my lungs had been holding that breath for years. He was going to get exactly what he deserved.

And I — I was finally going to do the one thing he never could. I was going to show up. For Olivia. For Hunter. For myself.

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