My Husband Got into a Car Crash with Another Woman, Now I Have to Adopt Her Child – Story of the Day

Life is full of unexpected twists and turns. I realized it the day my husband got in a car crash, and I had to adopt his mistress’s child.

I used to be a famous gymnast when I was young. But unfortunately, I met with a major accident one day, which ended my profession and rendered me infertile. That news was devastating for me, to say the least, but when I told my husband Josh about it, he was very supportive and told me not to worry as we could always adopt a child.

I can’t tell you how relieved I felt when Josh said that. However, as time passed, his words lost their meaning. Every time I asked Josh about adopting a child, he simply shrugged. “I can’t wait for it too, honey, but I think we should be better prepared for this,” he would say.

I always thought he was anxious about becoming a dad and couldn’t make up his mind. After all, you know how these new parents are; they’re always worried that they won’t be able to care for their child properly. But several years passed like that, and Josh put off adoption in every possible way.

Slowly, I began thinking that Josh never wanted a kid in the first place, and he had agreed just because I always wanted us to have a child. But after a while, I realized that wasn’t the case.

One day, I got a call informing me that my husband and his lover had died in a car accident. Yes, Josh had cheated on me. He wasn’t a faithful husband. But my heart sank when I heard the news. I couldn’t stop crying.

However, just as I was about to disconnect the call, the man told me something that left me shocked. “Ma’am, you’re lucky that their kid survived. She’s been rushed to the hospital and we hope she’ll recover soon.”

“What did you say just now?” I inquired, anxious. “A child?!”

“Yes, ma’am,” the man continued. “They had their daughter with them, but she survived.”

I felt disoriented for a moment and clutched the ends of a table tightly. “Are you sure you called the right number?” I asked the man.

I just wanted him to tell me that everything had been a mistake, none of this was true, and he had dialed the wrong number. But unfortunately, the man’s response dashed all my hopes.

“Yes, ma’am. It's the right number,” he answered. “We got this number from the victim’s phone. It was there in the emergency contact list, so we called you.”

I was heartbroken. Josh and I had been together for five years, and there wasn’t a single moment when I suspected he wasn’t happy with me. Why did you do this, Josh? Why didn’t you just tell me you wanted to leave me? Cheating was definitely not something I expected from you! I thought to myself and collapsed on the bed, crying.

The next morning, I was awakened by a call from the city hospital. “Hello, ma’am, we’ve received word that you’re a relative of the child who was brought to the hospital after the vehicle accident yesterday. The child, unfortunately, is not doing well,” a doctor told me.

“Who gives a damn?” I retorted. “Anyway, I’m not her relative, so it doesn’t matter to me. Please don’t call me again,” I added and was about to hang up when the doctor cut me off.

“She’s just a little girl, ma’am,” the doctor continued. “And she doesn’t have anyone to look after her. I am not forcing you to take care of her, but please give it a thought.”

I don’t know why, but I couldn’t sleep a wink that night. Every time I closed my eyes, my thoughts would return to the girl. I had told the doctor firmly that I didn’t care about the child, but on the inside, I kept worrying about her after what the doctor told me. So I decided to visit her the next day.

I went to the hospital and completed the formalities. I even agreed that I would pay for the kid’s treatment. However, I decided I would send her to an orphanage after she recovered. Otherwise, she would remind me of my husband who had cheated on me, and I would be unable to bear it. But fate is fate, and no matter how hard we try, we can’t change it.

I was about to leave the hospital when I saw the girl’s ward door slightly ajar. Her tiny body was bandaged, and she appeared to be quite lonely. I decided to sit next to her for a few minutes and then leave, but I didn’t realize how quickly the time passed. I ended up staying for several hours, but things didn’t end there.

I began visiting that girl every day. I changed her bedding, clothes and even read her stories at night. I was hoping she’d recover soon. Fortunately, the treatment was also effective. But just when everything seemed to be falling in place, there came a new problem knocking at my door: I had depleted my savings because the treatment was expensive.

My friends advised me to stop paying attention to the child and look for a new job instead. Well, I didn’t have any other option. I went to the hospital and informed them I couldn’t afford the child’s treatment anymore. After that, I went to see the girl and sat with her for hours, holding her hands and crying for not being able to care for her.

“I’m so sorry,” I said as I sobbed. “I hope you’ll find someone to look after you.”

Suddenly, the girl opened her eyes. “Mom, why are you crying?” she asked me in a low voice.

I was stunned. I didn’t know how to react.

The girl spoke again. “Mom, are you okay?”

At this point, I couldn’t hold back my tears. I had dreamed about this all my life. I always wanted a child, and it felt like that dream was finally coming true.

I took her hand in mine. “Don’t worry, sweetie, I’m here,” I assured her.

She gave me a pleasant smile. “I’m so happy to see you, mom. I want to go home.”

You won’t believe me, but that woman in me who was bent on sending that kid to an orphanage transformed into a person who wanted to keep her forever. So, yes, I decided to adopt her.

After she recovered, I began all the paperwork, and within a few months, everything was finalized.

I call her Claire, and I’m really happy to have her in my life. But I have decided that when Claire turns 18, I’ll tell her everything about how we met and who her birth parents were. I don’t want to hide anything from my daughter.

What can we learn from this story?

• You can’t put a label on children whose parents were bad people. I hated Claire just because she was my husband’s mistress’s kid. It wasn’t right of me to do so.
• Children are innocent, and they are moved by anyone kind to them. When Claire woke up, she didn’t realize I wasn’t her mom. She just saw me beside her, holding her hands and crying, and thought I was her mom.

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This account is inspired by our reader's story but written by a professional writer. All names have been changed to protect identities and ensure privacy. Share your story with us, maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.