‘Put the Twins in Foster Care!’ Man Says to Dying Wife, 37 Years Later He Begs His Kids for Help — Story of the Day

A man tells his terminally ill wife to put their infant twins in an orphanage and vanishes. Decades later, he returns to beg the children he abandoned for help.

When she first realized she was pregnant, Emilia Bennett thought all her dreams were finally coming true. She was happily married to her wonderful Kyle, and after eight years of trying, she was going to have a baby!

From the beginning of the pregnancy, Emilia felt very tired. She had morning sickness that seemed to last all day, and instead of putting on weight, she became thinner.

"At least I won't be a blob!" Emilia told Kyle, but her mom, Alice, who'd had five children of her own, was worried.

"What does the doctor say?" Alice asked her daughter.

"We're having our first sonogram Monday," Emilia said. "I'll ask him for vitamins and supplements, OK, Mom? Stop worrying!"

A mother will do anything for her children.

The first sonogram turned out to be a big surprise! "Twins!" the doctor said. "Congratulations!"

"Twins!" gasped Emilia and squeezed Kyle's hand tight. "That's wonderful!"

She forgot to tell the doctor about how tired she felt or feeling sick all the time. All she could think about was the babies. That night, she broke the news to her mom. "Twins, mom, can you believe it? That's probably why I feel so tired!"

Alice was relieved. "Yes, honey!" she said. "That certainly makes sense. Two babies will be placing a lot more demands on your body!"

But as the months went by, Emilia grew thinner and thinner and more and more exhausted. One day, she said to Alice, "Mom, did your breasts hurt?"

"Yes!" Alice said. "They were tender and sore; I even leaked milk!"

Emilia frowned. "No milk," she remarked. "But sometimes my bra is stained with a pinkish liquid..."

Alice was horrified. She took her daughter to the doctor that very day, and the rest of that week was a blur to Emilia. She had a mammogram and a biopsy, and an MRI.

Emilia kept asking, "Will these tests hurt my babies?" The doctor kept telling her 'no', but he looked very worried. Finally, he sat down opposite Emilia and Kyle, and he broke the news.

"Mrs. Bennet," he said gently. "I'm afraid you have breast cancer. Unfortunately, it is very advanced..."

"I'm going to die?" asked Emilia.

"Let's not give up hope..." the doctor said.

"Will I live long enough for my babies to survive?" she asked.

"Yes," the doctor said. "We hope that we can start chemotherapy when you reach the third trimester..."

"All I care about are my babies and my husband," Emilia said, taking Kyle's hand in hers. Kyle seemed to be in shock. He didn't say a word, not even on the long drive home.

"Kyle," Emilia said to him that night. "We have to talk, make plans for you and the babies..."

"Me and the babies?" Kyle asked. "What do you mean?"

"You'll be raising the children on your own," Emilia said. "My mom will help, of course, but you'll be a single dad..."

Kyle jumped to his feet. "No, I won't!" he cried. "Having a baby was YOUR idea; you're not dumping this on me!"

Emilia was stunned. "Kyle," she whispered. "I'm dying. The doctor...he didn't say it straight out, but I won't survive this. I need you to be there for our children."

"No," Kyle said coldly. "Look, one thing is having a baby with you. I thought you'd be there to take care of it. I was already upset about the twin story, but raising two kids alone? No way!

"I'm thirty-five years old, and I'm not about to flush my professional and personal life down the toilet for your kids!"

"They are your babies, too!" said Emilia. "What do you expect me to do?"

"‘Put the twins in foster fare or something! I don't care," Kyle screamed. "I'm out of here!"

The last four months of Emilia's pregnancy were also the last months of her life. She was devastated by Kyle's abandonment. Alice was her rock.

"What am I going to do, mom?" Emilia asked her. "What's going to happen to my babies?"

"I'll raise them," Alice said. "I raised you and your brothers and sisters; two more won't make a difference."

But Emilia was worried. Even though she was healthy and energetic, Alice was nearly seventy.

"I'll do right by your babies, Emilia," Alice vowed. "I promise."

Emilia gave birth to her baby girls, and two months later, she passed away. Alice kept her promise. She raised Deena and Donna the way Emilia would have wanted.

The girls were bright and beautiful and grew quickly. Alice was nearly ninety when the girls went to college and ninety-seven when they finished their medical degrees.

Donna became an obstetrician, and Deena chose oncology. Alice was very proud of her girls until the very last day of her life, and Deena and Donna grieved for their beloved grandmother.

The years passed, and Emilia's girls became wives and mothers. Thirty-seven years after her death, the twins had a huge surprise. A man came to Deena's office and introduced himself as her father.

"I'm your daddy!" Kyle said. He looked terrible. He was thin and dirty and looked like he'd been sleeping on the streets. "I just wanted to see my beautiful girls, meet my grandchildren..."

Deena listened to him, then phoned Donna. Within half an hour, Kyle was face to face with both women. "What do you want?" asked Donna.

"I want to know my daughters..." Kyle said, forcing a smile that showed decayed teeth.

"Where have you been?" asked Deena. "It's been thirty-seven years."

Kyle looked embarrassed. "Life hasn't been easy," he said. "Since your dear mother passed away, things fell apart... my business collapsed... I was married, but...

"The truth is, I only ever loved your mom..."

"Right!" Deena said. "That's why you walked out on her when she was dying and abandoned us before we were born?"

"Don't talk to me like that!" Kyle whined. "I'm still your dad! You wouldn't be alive if it weren't for me. I need some money, and you've got plenty to spare...Emilia..."

"We don't owe you a thing, " Donna said. "You wanted mom to put us in care. You didn't even phone once to find out if we were OK. Whatever we are or have is no thanks to you."

"Get out," Deena said. "Before we call security. And don't you ever talk about our mother again! Every breath she took was for love of us; all you ever cared about was yourself!"

What can we learn from this story?

• A mother will do anything for her children. Alice promised her daughter she'd raise her grandchildren, and she did, even though she was very old and frail.
• You can't expect to receive love when you've never given it. Kyle wanted to extort money from his daughters after he'd abandoned them, but they gave him exactly what he deserved — nothing.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a homeless teen mom who abandons her newborn twin babies so they can have a better future. But years later, she comes back into their lives.

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