When I found out I was pregnant after years of trying, I was over the moon. My husband was also incredibly happy and treated me like a princess.
Sadly, my fairy tale world began to crumble when it came to the gender of the baby.
My husband declared that I had no right to have a girl. Even more, he threatened to leave me if I didn’t give him a son. He said, “I want a boy! That’s why I married you!”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. All these years, I thought he would simply be happy to start a family.
When he explained why he needed a son first, I realized why my parents were against our marriage. Let me explain:
My name is Claire. My husband, Josh, and I had been trying to conceive for two years. When I finally saw those two lines on the pregnancy test, I was ecstatic.
I called him immediately, and he sounded just as thrilled. “I’ll finish work early and be home soon,” he promised. “After all, I have to dote on my pregnant wife!”
From that day on, Josh was attentive to my every need. He served me breakfast, wouldn’t let me carry anything heavy, and accompanied me to all my doctor’s appointments.
It was a complete turnaround from his usual workaholic behavior, and I thought my parents had been wrong. You see, when we got married three years ago, they were against our relationship due to our financial differences.
My parents assumed Josh, coming from a wealthy family, was just a rich jerk who’d abandon me if I didn’t follow his demands.
But blinded by love, I chose to cut them off to be with him, believing he’d never do such a thing. How wrong I was.
The day everything changed, we were at the hospital for some tests. Surprisingly, Josh’s mother, Rosaline, joined us, which was completely out of character for her.
As we waited for the results, Rosaline said to the nurse, “I hope everything went well and my grandson is healthy.”
The nurse replied that we’d have to wait for the reports to determine the gender. That’s when Rosaline dropped the bomb: “The child has to be a boy; otherwise, you won’t get a single penny of the money!”
Before I could process this, Josh chimed in, “Don’t worry, mom. It’ll be a son. There’s no chance my first child is going to be a daughter.”
I was stunned. “Josh, what are you saying? How does it matter if our child is a son or daughter?”
His response shattered my world. “No, Claire! I want a son. That’s why I married you!”
It turned out that Josh had married me because boys were always born first in my family. He needed a son to become the next heir to his family fortune.
Rosaline added, “Don’t overthink, girl. My son fed you for so many years and looked after you, so don’t even think about having a daughter! It’ll be a disgrace to our family, and your husband will lose all the money!”
As if I could control the gender somehow! Also, why did he need a son for the inheritance? He was a man, too. Didn’t that count?
When I asked, Josh explained that his two big brothers all had girls. He was the third son, and according to his family’s tradition, he would only get around 20% of the inheritance.
However, if he had a firstborn boy, his grandfather would switch his will to give him the majority. It was an antiquated tradition and horrible. But Josh and his mother saw nothing wrong with it.
I thought about reaching out to my parents for help, but I didn’t I could do that after everything. So, I had to keep living like this.
After the doctor’s appointment, Josh became obsessed with ensuring we’d have a son, imposing ridiculous rituals and dangerous diet regimens on me.
One day, he came home excited about a new “method” to guarantee a boy.
“Start eating two pounds of raw beef every day, followed by a cup of hot spicy tea!” he insisted. “Oh, and when you’re having dinner, you should ignite some special herbs!”
Despite my protests about the health risks, Josh forced me to follow this regimen. Predictably, I ended up in the hospital with severe food poisoning.
As I lay there, ill and scared, Josh dared to berate me. “I can’t believe you’re so weak, Claire! I don’t think you’ll ever give birth to a healthy child, so I’m leaving you!”
Just then, my doctor walked in with the news that changed everything, “There’s nothing to worry about, Claire. You and your son are healthy!”
Suddenly, Josh’s eyes went wide, and he began to apologize and promised to take care of me. But I’d had enough. I realized I couldn’t let my child grow up around someone so selfish and manipulative.
I left him that day and returned to my parents after begging them for forgiveness for not listening to their worries.
A few months later, I gave birth to my beautiful son, Donato, a name meaning a “gift from God.” Now, we’re happy and thriving without Josh’s toxic presence in our lives.
I’m grateful for the strength this ordeal gave me and for my son, who truly is the greatest gift I could have received!
Each woman in these stories found the strength to stand up for herself, whether through a modeling career, a new love, or single motherhood. And, in the end, their husbands learned a valuable lesson.
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