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The day I was supposed to bring my daughters home from the hospital was one of the happiest days of my life. My smile couldn’t have been bigger. I felt like the luckiest man alive, ready to start this new chapter with my family. I waved to the nurses at the station as I hurried to Suzie’s room. But when I pushed through the door, everything changed.
My daughters were peacefully sleeping in their bassinets, but Suzie was gone. At first, I thought she might have stepped outside for a little fresh air, but then I noticed a note on the bed. My heart stopped as I tore it open, my hands shaking with fear and confusion.
“Goodbye. Take care of them. Ask your mother WHY she did this to me.”
I could barely process what I was reading. What did it mean? Where was Suzie? And why had she left without telling me?
Just then, a nurse entered with a clipboard, smiling as she spoke. “Good morning, sir, here’s the discharge—”
“Where’s my wife?” I interrupted, my voice a mix of panic and disbelief.
The nurse hesitated, clearly unsure how to respond. “She checked out this morning. She said you knew.”
My mind raced. “She… she went home already? She didn’t say anything else? Was she upset?” I waved the note in front of her, desperate for answers.
The nurse frowned and bit her lip. “She seemed fine, just… quiet. Are you saying you didn’t know?”
I couldn’t focus. My head was spinning. I left the hospital in a daze, holding my daughters in my arms. The note was crumpled in my fist, and the more I thought about it, the more it didn’t make sense. Suzie had just… disappeared. She’d left without a single word to me. All I had were my two tiny daughters, the note, and a whole lot of questions.
When I reached home, my mom, Mandy, was waiting on the porch, holding a casserole dish. She gave me a concerned look as I stepped out of the car, holding my daughters close.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her brow furrowing as she saw the look on my face.
I didn’t have any more words left. I handed her the note. “This is what’s wrong! What did you do to Suzie?”
Mom’s face faltered, confusion clouding her expression. “Ben, I don’t know what this is about. She’s… she’s always been emotional. Maybe she—”
“Don’t lie to me!” I interrupted, my voice rising in frustration. “What did you do? She’s gone, Mom! And she left me this—this horrible message!”
Mom blinked back tears, looking genuinely hurt. “Ben, you’ve never liked her. You’ve always found ways to criticize her, to undermine her…” Her voice cracked as she spoke. “I’ve only ever tried to help! She’s my daughter-in-law, I only want what’s best for you!”
I stood frozen for a moment. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How could she say that to me? I tried to help Suzie, not tear her down. But the more I thought about it, the more I remembered those little comments my mom would make about Suzie, those jabs that seemed harmless at the time but must have hurt Suzie deeply. I thought back to every family gathering where my mom would say something cutting, maybe in a joking tone, but I could see now, too late, how they must have chipped away at Suzie’s confidence.
That night, I was restless. I kept thinking about the note and about Suzie. And then I found something. In the guest room, I came across a letter in my mother’s handwriting. It was addressed to Suzie. I read the words slowly, each one hitting me harder than the last.
“Suzie, you’ll never be good enough for my son. You’ve trapped him with this pregnancy, but don’t think for a second you can fool me. If you care about them, you’ll leave before you ruin their lives.”
My heart sank. I felt a deep, bitter anger bubble up. My own mother had been writing this to Suzie, tearing her down for years, and I hadn’t even noticed. I wasn’t sure if I was more angry at her or myself for not seeing the signs sooner.
Without thinking, I stormed down the hall to my mom’s room. It was nearly midnight, but I didn’t care. I banged on the door until she opened it, her tired eyes meeting mine with a look of surprise.
“How could you?” I demanded, my voice shaking with fury. “How could you do this to her?”
Mom blinked, trying to calm me down. “Ben, listen—”
“No!” I cut her off, my hands shaking with emotion. “I thought you were just being overbearing, but no, you’ve been bullying Suzie for years, haven’t you? All this time, you’ve been tearing her apart, and I never saw it.”
Mom’s face drained of color as she glanced at the letter in my hands. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
I didn’t want to hear her excuses anymore. “You’ve hurt her more than you’ll ever know, Mom. And now, I have no idea where she is. All because of you.”
Mom’s face crumpled, and for the first time, I saw real regret in her eyes. She opened her mouth to apologize, but I turned and walked away. I couldn’t stand to be near her anymore. Not until I figured out what had happened to Suzie and tried to fix everything.
But the truth was, I didn’t know how. Suzie was gone, and I was left with my two daughters, trying to pick up the pieces of the life we were supposed to have. And all I had was that note. The one that would haunt me forever.
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