Husband Learns His Wife Was Infertile Because of Him – Story of the Day

Andrew spent years hiding the terrible steps he took to cover up a mistake he made as a teenager. When his adopted daughter stumbles across his secret, Andrew realizes he can’t hide from the past forever.

Andrew sighed and placed a box of bubble-wrapped ornaments near the front door of his late mother's home. He hadn't realized how much work it would take to sort through Mom's possessions. Secretly, he wished he could sell her house as it was and let the buyers deal with the furniture, decorations, and house plants.

"Dad?" Andrew's adopted daughter, Louise, yelled down the hall. "I've found something really weird in here."

Andrew hurried to his mother's bedroom. Louise was sitting cross-legged on the bare mattress with a folder. She wrinkled her nose and furrowed her brow as she studied the pages within.

"I thought you were packing up clothes," Andrew said as he sat on the edge of the bed. "What's this?"

Louise waved her hand at several trash bags near the door. "I'm done with the clothes and this is way more important. It's about Mom."

Andrew's breath hitched in his lungs. If that folder was what he thought it was... Fear set his heart knocking in his chest and spread ice through his veins. He faked a smile and held out his hand to take the folder.

"If those are medical records from Mom's gynecology practice then they need to be burned, Louise. Hand it over."

"Didn't you hear me? This is about Mom, and there's something strange going on here, look," Louise pointed to a note on the first page, "it says Mom is infertile, but you've always told me that the reason you adopted me is because you're infertile, Dad."

Andrew shrugged and wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans. "It must be a mistake. We all make mistakes, Louise, but now you really must give that to me. Even if it's about Nina, patient-doctor confidentiality still applies."

"I don't know, Dad." Louise chewed at her lower lip. "I think we should show this to Mom and ask her—"

"No! You can't do that. I mean, it's just a mistake, right? No need to upset her over a mistake."

"Dad..." Louise hugged the folder to her chest and frowned at Andrew.

"Are you hiding this from Mom?"

"Of course not!" Andrew tried to laugh casually and failed. "What would I be hiding?"

Louise looked him up and down, then shrugged. "If you're not hiding something, then I'm showing this to Mom."

Andrew ran his fingers through his hair. It was clear nothing he said would dissuade Louise from showing the folder to Nina, except maybe the truth.

"Nina can never see what's in that folder, Louise." Andrew looked at his adopted daughter. "You're right, I am hiding something, but I hope you'll understand why after I explain."

Forty Years Earlier

The house party was in full swing when sixteen-year-old Andrew and his friends arrived. They'd had to wait for Tommy to sneak out, and then they'd gotten lost looking for Washington Street, but they were finally here.

Once Andrew spotted Nina dancing, he couldn't take his eyes off her. Everything about her was perfect, from how her legs looked through the netting of her ruffle skirt to the sexy pout of her bright pink lips. It took three drinks before he had the nerve to approach her.

She smiled brightly when he asked her to dance, and afterward, she took him by the hand and led him to the sofa. They talked for hours and drank a lot of beer in between. Both Nina and Andrew were very drunk by the time they headed upstairs.

"Are you sure about this?" Andrew asked as he stumbled down the hallway with her.

"Aren't you?" Nina put her arms around his neck and leaned in close. "You only live once, baby, and I want to make the most of every minute I have in this world."

Andrew kissed her then. They slipped into the first bedroom they found that wasn't already occupied and stayed there until the end of the party.

Regrets crashed down on Andrew like a tidal wave the following day. He'd had an amazing night with Nina, but he'd made a colossal mistake. He turned to the one person he knew would be able to help him.

"Mom, I...uh, I need your help." Andrew didn't dare to look his mother in the eye while he spoke, so he toyed with his cereal instead. "I went to a party last night—"

"You snuck out of the house?" Mom's spoon clanged as she set it down on the table.

Andrew nodded. "I'm sorry, but this isn't about that. I met this really great girl and we...we, well, you know." He hunched his shoulders. "We did it, but I didn't use protection and now...what if she gets pregnant, Mom?"

"How could you be so stupid?"

Mom slapped her palm down on the table. "Didn't I teach you about the risks of underage sex? You don't know where that girl has been."

Andrew shook his head and dared to look at Mom for the first time since he started the conversation. "Nina isn't like that. She's a nice girl."

Mom huffed and rolled her eyes. "And I thought you were a good son, but clearly, I was wrong. You're going to have an STD test, and I'm going to give you something for the girl to ensure she doesn't get pregnant." Mom leaned across the table and pointed her finger in Andrew's face. "You make sure she takes all of it, understand?"

The following week of Andrew's life was hell. His gynecologist Mom lectured him daily and urged him to abstain from sex until he completed medical school.

"I will not let you flush your medical career down the toilet for a few minutes pleasure," Mom said. "You have a bright future ahead of you and having a child now would do nothing but drag you down."

"Yes, Mom." Andrew sat at the table and stared at his hands.

"No contraceptive method is one hundred percent foolproof," she continued, "and pregnancy is not the only possible side effect from having sex either."

She set a stack of leaflets on the table before Andrew. He barely had a moment to scan the title and realize it was about STDs before she flipped it open. A horrifying illustration covered the page.

"Okay, I get it," Andrew covered his eyes with one hand.

"Good. Now, when are you going to see that girl? Time is running out, Andrew. The sooner we fix your problem, the better."

"I have a date with her this weekend," he replied.

Andrew took Nina to the movies. He walked her to their seats and then told her to wait while he bought snacks and drinks for them. On his way back to the theatre, he stopped to slip the crushed pills Mom had given him into Nina's drink.

Andrew felt guilty about giving Nina the pills without her knowing, but Mom said it needed to be done. There was no way Andrew would risk doing anything to make Mom even angrier with him.

Near the end of the movie, Nina leaned over and asked Andrew to take her home.

"I'm not feeling well," she whispered. "I think I'm going to ralph."

When Andrew got home and reported this to Mom, she gave him a stern nod.

"It sounds like everything has worked according to plan," she said. Then she fixed Andrew with a sharp glare. "Now, I hope you've learned from this experience. And you'd better not even think of stepping out of line again."

Present Day

"How could you do such a thing, Dad?" Louise rose to kneel on the bed and pointed accusingly at him. "You never even gave her a choice! Why would you be such a jerk to a girl you loved?"

Andrew hung his head. "I didn't love Nina then...not that it makes what I did right, and I didn't continue dating her after that night."

"Urgh! I don't understand! If you didn't carry on dating then how did you get married? And none of this tells me why I found Mom's tests in a shoebox in Grandma's closet."

"You need to let me finish explaining, Louise." He looked her in the eyes. "I promise, you'll have answers to all your questions when I'm finished, but I must warn you the story doesn't get better. Are you sure you want to know the rest?"

Louise met his gaze and nodded. "I want to know everything."

Thirty-two Years ago

Andrew was doing his residency when a familiar face stopped him in his tracks. Nina was reading a magazine in the waiting room, but she looked up suddenly as though she'd felt Andrew looking at her.

"I know you." Her cheeks flushed pink, and she smiled coyly.

"We went on a few dates in high school. Your name is Andrew, right?"

Andrew nodded. "And you're Nina. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see the doctor." Nina laughed. "Judging by that coat and stethoscope, I guess that means I'm here to see you."

Andrew explained that he was doing his residency as he escorted Nina to the doctor's exam room and told her he didn't have to examine her if it made her uncomfortable.

"It's part of my job as a resident, but since we know each other..." Andrew looked down as he trailed off.

"I don't mind." Nina hopped up onto the exam table. "I'm here for an eye infection, nothing embarrassing."

Nina and Andrew chatted while he examined her eye. Nina made him laugh and put him at ease in a way he'd rarely experienced. At the end of the exam, he asked if she'd meet him for coffee sometime. His heart turned a somersault when she agreed.

They went on a few dates, and Andrew soon realized he'd fallen head-over-heels in love with Nina. She was spontaneous and fun-loving but also deeply loyal and soft-hearted. When they were together, Andrew felt like he'd found the one person in the world who completed him.

Mom had some reservations when he told her he planned to marry Nina, but he refused to back down. They were engaged for only six months before getting married on a secluded beach a few miles from the city.

Married life was bliss until they decided to start a family. After several months of trying, Nina and Andrew agreed to consult with a doctor.

"I'll ask Mom if she can help us out," Andrew told Nina. "After all, she is one of the top gynecologists in this city."

Nina nodded. She'd become increasingly withdrawn over the past while, and although she hadn't said anything, Andrew knew she was worried.

"I did have some kind of pelvic infection when I was younger," Nina told Mom when they saw her. "I had a really high fever and had to be admitted to the hospital for a while, but that's all I really remember."

Mom nodded as she made a note on Nina's file. "How old were you at the time?"

"Sixteen." She turned to Andrew. "It was a little while after that bad second date we went on...the one where I had to leave early because I was sick, remember?"

Andrew nodded and glanced at Mom, but she was the epitome of calm. Andrew didn't understand it.

How could she be so composed when Nina had just told them she got an infection after they gave her those pills to ensure she didn't fall pregnant?

"I'd like to give you an exam now if you don't mind." Mom smiled warmly at Nina. "I might be your mother-in-law, but I'm also a consummate professional."

"It's fine." Nina giggled nervously. "Still less awkward than a male gynecologist, right?"

After the exam, Mom told them they'd need to return in a few days for blood tests. She also promised to discuss getting Andrew tested with a urologist she was friends with. However, it turned out to be nothing more than lies.

That evening, Mom paged Andrew and asked him to come to her home in secret. Andrew told Nina he was going to the store and raced to his mother's home.

"I've got bad news," she said when she answered the door. "I didn't want to say anything in front of Nina because...well, because it's our fault she can't fall pregnant."

Andrew sat silently while Mom explained that Nina likely picked up an infection after Andrew gave her the abortion-inducing pills. This caused scarring and long-term damage that couldn't be repaired.

"It sometimes happens after using these drugs to induce an abortion but we gave it to her as a precautionary measure so I didn't think it would matter." Mom crossed her arms. "It's up to you to decide how we proceed."

"Oh, I get to decide when things go wrong?" Andrew threw his arms in the air. "It was never my idea to give her those pills, but now I have to deal with the consequences?"

"Grow up, Andrew," Mom snapped. "I did what was right for you because you were too young and stupid to do it for yourself, but you're a man now, so act like one."

Act like a man? Andrew put his head in his hands and clenched his jaw. All he wanted to do was cry, but that would only aggravate Mom more. She was right; he needed to decide the best way forward.

If he insisted Mom tell Nina the truth about her infertility...Andrew couldn't even think beyond that point. The news would crush Nina, and she'd blame herself for being infertile. He couldn't watch her go through that pain.

"That urologist you mentioned...do you think he...would he lie if we asked him to?"

Mom arched her eyebrows.

"You want to pretend you're the one who's infertile, don't you?"

"It's the only way I can make up for what we did to her, Mom. I can't let her think she's to blame for being infertile, which is exactly what she'll do if we tell her this news, but I also can't tell her the truth. She'd leave me, rightly so, but I can't live without her, Mom. Nina is my everything."

"Then I'll speak to Kevin, the urologist, and see if he's open to this arrangement." Mom set her hands on her hips. "You will need to ensure she continues coming to see me for any gynecological needs. If she ever decides to get a second opinion, this whole plan will come crashing down around us."

Andrew thought it would bring Nina peace if he shouldered the blame for their inability to have children, but he was wrong. Nina set her heart on trying in vitro fertilization, and Mom and Kevin had to concoct a reason why this would not work.

“I just want to be a mother,” Nina sobbed when she and Andrew were in bed one night. “I know it’s not your fault, baby, but I wish there was something we could do…I would give anything…”

Nina burst into tears then and curled in on herself. Andrew put his arms around her and held her while she cried. It was his fault, all of the pain she was suffering now was his fault, and it fell to him to make it right.

“I’ve been thinking,” he whispered as he gently combed her hair away from her face, “maybe we should consider adoption.”

“Adoption?” Nina sniffed and twisted around to face him. “I don’t think it would be the same. I’ll never feel that baby kick inside me, or hear them cry for the first time.”

“But there’s so much more you will experience, my love, like their first day of school, their first steps.” Andrew kissed the tip of Nina’s nose. “I know you’d love to be pregnant, but that’s only one small part of motherhood. Will you think about it?”

“I already am.” Nina cuddled into Andrew’s embrace. “Do you think we could adopt a girl? I’ve always wanted a daughter.”

Present Day

"Mom helped me lie to Nina for years," Andrew said. His hands were clenched together on his lap. "But the day you entered our lives, Louise, was the day Nina found peace. I know I did everything wrong up to that point, but it felt like all my options were wrong. No matter what I did, Nina would've gotten hurt."

Andrew straightened up and looked Louise in the eye. "It would've broken Nina to find out the truth, and she didn't deserve to suffer like that. She didn't deserve any of the suffering I caused her. The only fair solution I could think of was for me to shoulder the blame by letting her think I was infertile."

Louise stared down at the folder in her arms and said nothing. Her jaw was tight, and tears filled her eyes.

"If I could go back to being sixteen, I would've done everything differently. I wouldn't have drank so much at that party or had unprotected sex."

He bit his lip to hold back the tears that threatened to overcome him. "I would never, ever have given her those pills."

"But I can't change the past, Louise," Andrew continued. "I did something terrible, and my victim came to mean the world to me. All I wanted to do was protect her from what I did. I don't know if I did the right thing...maybe I should've told her the truth, but that wouldn't have solved her problem. What do you think I should've done?"

The only sign Louise heard his question was a subtle arching of her eyebrows. Her jaw worked as she scanned the medical reports in the folder again.

"I know it sounds like I acted selfishly, but wouldn't it also have been selfish to tell her the truth when there was nothing I could do to make amends for it?" Andrew said.

Louise glanced at him and sighed. She carefully aligned the pages in the folder and then shut it.

Andrew put his head in his hands. Was this the end of everything? If Louise insisted on showing that folder to Nina and telling her his secret...there was nothing he could do to stop her without compounding the bad deeds he'd already committed to uphold his lie.

Louise set the folder down beside him. Andrew looked up in shock and watched his daughter walk over to the untidy stack of Mom's framed medical diplomas on the dressing table.

Louise lifted the first diploma, studied it for a moment, then hurled it onto the floor. Andrew flinched when the glass broke with a loud crack.

"I want to go home now, Dad." Louise stomped on the diploma. "And I never want to step foot in this house again."

What can we learn from this story?

• Doing the wrong thing for the right reason won’t make anyone happy. Even in the most difficult situation, it’s better to be honest and admit to your mistakes because otherwise they will burden you forever.
• Don’t let anyone bully you into doing something you know is wrong. Andrew should’ve taken responsibility for his actions and spoken to Nina about emergency birth control instead of giving her medication without her consent.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a woman who believes her husband is having a mid-life crisis after discovering he's sterile, but the truth is far stranger.

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