Matthew filed for divorce from Anne when she couldn’t bear him a son, yet he continued to reside in their home. One day, Anne crossed paths with Harry, a former school friend, and soon realized how much better life was without Matthew. Years later, she unexpectedly encountered her ex-husband but couldn’t recognize him.
“Wow! Harry! What a wonderful surprise!” Anne exclaimed as she bumped into her old schoolmate on the street. She had left her five daughters with her mother, a rare moment of freedom, and was heading out to grab a coffee in downtown Seattle.
“Anne, it’s great to see you too! How about we grab a coffee and catch up?” Harry suggested, and she immediately agreed. They entered the café and chatted away until Harry asked about her children.
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“Oh… that’s a tough topic,” she admitted.
“Well, managing five kids is challenging for anyone,” Harry remarked, having some insight from social media and other sources.
“Matthew? What are you doing here?” she asked, eyeing his uniform and the tray of pretzels.
“Yeah, I get that. It’s definitely tough. But it goes deeper than that,” Anne went on. “Matthew changed after our twins were born. They’re nine now and barely talk to him. Honestly, I think they’re afraid of him.”
“I don’t get it,” Harry said.
“Matthew wanted a son, and we kept hoping, but we ended up with two wonderful daughters instead. That’s why we kept trying, but each time, we had another girl. After our fifth daughter arrived, Matthew completely changed. He filed for divorce, and now I have no idea what to do,” Anne admitted, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
“Wow. That’s tough. But look at it this way—you’re probably better off without him, right? If he wasn’t even speaking to your oldest daughters, he couldn’t have been a great father to the others. You’ve already raised them mostly on your own,” Harry reassured her. “And now that I’m settled in Seattle for good, I could help. You could live with me.”
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Anne’s eyes widened in surprise. She hadn’t expected such a gesture from Harry, especially after just reconnecting after so many years. But she remembered from school how he had always been infatuated with her. Even so, his offer felt far too kind and generous. She couldn’t bring herself to accept it. Instead, she steered the conversation in a new direction, and they talked about his successful career.
Back at her home, things continued to deteriorate over the following weeks. Although they were getting divorced, Matthew still stayed with her, acting as though he were single. He partied late into the night, making noise that disturbed the girls, waking them up, and generally being a nuisance to everyone in the house.
Anne kept in touch with Harry constantly, and his offer remained open. But when Matthew had the audacity to bring another woman into their marital home, Anne had enough. She called Harry, packed up, and left with all her daughters.
Their divorce became even messier when Anne took Matthew to court to reclaim their family home. Even though she was staying at Harry’s place, she knew her soon-to-be ex didn’t deserve to keep the house. The judge ruled in her favor, citing Matthew’s disgraceful behavior, and granted her full custody without hesitation.
In time, Anne and Harry fell in love, and he purchased a larger home to accommodate their growing family. When she and the girls moved in with him, she put her old house up for rent and put thoughts of Matthew behind her for many years.
One year after marrying Harry, Anne gave birth to their son, Alan, who was the most precious little boy, adored by his five big sisters every single day. Anne was filled with happiness like never before.
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As time went on, one afternoon, she picked Alan up from preschool and decided to stop by the mall for a new pair of shoes. With the girls occupied with their activities, it was just the two of them—mother and son.
Anne never expected to cross paths with Matthew there. He was handing out free samples at a pretzel shop in the mall, and before she could stop him, Alan ran straight toward him, reaching for a sample.
“Alan, don’t run off like that,” she gently scolded before her eyes landed on Matthew’s shocked expression.
“Anne?”
“Matthew? What are you doing here?” she asked, staring at his uniform and the tray of pretzels. It didn’t make sense. Matthew had worked as an executive in an office, earning a good salary. He was supposed to pay hefty child support, but he never did, and Anne had long stopped caring. She had more than enough for her girls. But there was no way he could meet his obligations working a minimum-wage job at the mall.
“I work here now,” he replied, then glanced at the boy in her arms, nibbling on a pretzel. “Is this your son?”
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“Yes, this is Alan,” Anne replied, a deep sense of pride swelling within her—she had a son, and he wasn’t Matthew’s. “He’s Harry’s child.”
“Oh, nice to meet you, Alan,” Matthew muttered, glancing down at the boy with an odd expression. Deep down, he probably knew the truth—Anne was never to blame for having daughters. It was the sperm that determined the gender, a basic fact everyone understood. Yet, for years, he had chosen to hold her responsible, walking away from their marriage just because he wanted a son, as if that truly mattered.
Fortunately, the girls now had a real father figure. Harry had cherished them from the very beginning, stepping into the role Matthew had abandoned. They didn’t need their biological father, and Anne had no reason to ever see him again.
“Anne, I didn’t plan to bring this up now. I was hoping to take you for coffee or something. But I’m desperate. I lost everything because of my choices, and I was wondering if we could sell our old house,” Matthew said, his head lowered in embarrassment.
“Well… it’s being rented right now,” Anne replied. “But I’ll consider it.” She paused and then added, “We need to go now. I’ll reach out to you about the house.”
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She gripped Alan’s hand firmly and walked away from the man who had never realized what he had lost. But she chose to be the bigger person. Even though she had every legal right to keep the house, she sold it and gave him half of its value. Something in her heart told her it was the right thing to do.
Eventually, Matthew reached out, wanting to see the girls, but none of them were interested. The twins, now teenagers, had grown to despise him, and the younger ones followed their older sisters’ lead. Over time, Matthew stopped asking, then stopped calling altogether.
They never saw him again. He was no longer family.