“You tricked me!” Instead of celebrating our newborn twin daughters, my husband lashed out and accused me of cheating on him. With venomous words and a cruel exit, Mark shattered our family. Now, I’m going to make him pay the price for abandoning us.
I lay in the sterile white hospital bed, my heart full though my body ached. I was exhausted, but it all felt worthwhile as I stared down at the beautiful twin girls pressed to each of my sides.
A woman holding her newborn twin girls | Source: Midjourney
The babies cooed softly and tears of joy spilled down my face. After years of infertility and a long, difficult pregnancy, I was finally a mom. It was the best feeling in the world!
I reached for my phone and typed a message to Mark, my husband: They’re here. Two beautiful girls. Can’t wait for you to meet them.
I hit send, a contented smile creeping across my face as I imagined his excitement.
A cell phone | Source: Pexels
This was supposed to be one of the happiest moments of our lives, and I never could’ve imagined how swiftly it would turn into the worst.
A while later, the door clicked open, and there he was. But instead of joy, Mark’s expression was unreadable — stony, like a man called into a meeting he didn’t want to attend.
“Hey,” I said softly, mustering a smile. “Aren’t they beautiful?”
A woman with her newborn twins | Source: Midjourney
Mark finally looked at the twins, his jaw tightening. Disappointment flickered across his face before his lips curled in disgust.
“What the hell is this?” he muttered, more to himself than to me.
Confusion welled inside me, pressing heavily against my ribs. “What do you mean? They’re our daughters! What’s going on with you, Mark?”
His gaze turned sharp.
A man standing in a hospital room | Source: Midjourney
I could see the anger simmering beneath the surface, ready to explode. And when it did, it was like a dam breaking.
“I’ll tell you what’s going on: you tricked me!” he snarled. “You didn’t tell me you were having girls!”
I blinked, stunned. “What does it matter? They’re healthy. They’re perfect!”
I reached for his hand, desperate to tether him to this moment. But he yanked it away, disgust etched across his face like a bad tattoo.
An angry man | Source: Midjourney
“It matters a lot! This isn’t what I wanted, Lindsey! I thought we were having boys!” His voice rose, bouncing off the cold walls, and I felt every syllable slice through me. “This whole family was supposed to carry on my name!”
My heart sank. “You’re serious? You’re angry because… they’re girls?”
“Darn right, I am!” He stepped back like the sight of the babies physically repelled him. “Everyone knows only boys can carry on a legacy! You… you cheated on me, didn’t you? These can’t be mine.”
A man gesturing angrily | Source: Midjourney
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. Air escaped my lungs as if he’d knocked it clean out of me.
“How could you even say that?” I whispered, tears blurring my vision. “You’re really accusing me of cheating because I had daughters?”
But he was already pacing toward the door, his hands clenching and unclenching in frustration.
“I’m not raising someone else’s kids,” he spat, his voice thick with finality. “I’m out.”
A man yelling in a hospital room | Source: Midjourney
Before I could respond — before I could beg or scream or cry — he was gone. The door slammed shut behind him with a deafening thud. And just like that, everything I thought I knew unraveled.
I looked down at my daughters, cradled in my arms, their tiny faces serene.
“It’s okay, sweethearts,” I whispered, though my heart felt anything but okay.
And for the first time since they were born, I began to cry.
An upset woman with her twin daughters | Source: Midjourney
Mark disappeared. No calls. No messages. The only word I got of him was a rumor filtering through mutual friends that he was on vacation somewhere sunny, drinking cocktails with the same guys who toasted us at our wedding.
That’s right; he dumped me and went on vacation. It wasn’t just the betrayal. It was the ease with which he walked away, as though our life together had been a minor inconvenience.
But the worst was yet to come.
Close up of a woman’s face | Source: Midjourney
I was back at home, settling into a routine with the girls, when I got the first message from Mark’s mother, Sharon.
I was so relieved! Sharon was a stern woman, and I knew Mark would have to come around if his mother was on my side.
My fingers shook with anticipation as I played Sharon’s voicemail. Her voice dripped through my phone like venom.
A woman holding a phone | Source: Pexels
“You ruined everything,” Sharon snarled. “Mark deserved sons, everyone knows that. How could you do this to him? To our family? How could you betray my son like this?”
I was so shocked, and I dropped my phone. Her words cut deeper than any insult. To them, I hadn’t just had daughters, but I had failed. And they wanted to punish me for it.
I stared down at my phone, trying to process this new avenue of attack.
A woman staring | Source: Midjourney
I jumped when my phone started ringing. It was Sharon. I let it ring and watched as a new voicemail notification popped up after the ringing stopped.
Then the text messages started rolling in, each one more vicious than the last. Sharon called me every name under the sun as she lambasted me for cheating on Mark, for giving birth to daughters, for not being a good wife… it went on and on.
Mark’s entire family had turned against me. I was all alone.
Message notifications on a cell phone | Source: Pexels
I tried to keep it together, but the nursery became my sanctuary and prison at night. I’d sit in the rocking chair, holding my daughters close, whispering promises I wasn’t sure I could keep.
“I’ll keep you safe,” I murmured repeatedly, the words as much for me as for them. “We’ll be okay. Everything is going to turn out just fine, you’ll see.”
But there were nights I wasn’t so sure. Some nights, the weight of loneliness and fear pressed down so hard I thought I might break.
An emotional woman | Source: Midjourney
On one of those nights, I found myself weeping as I fed the girls. It all felt like too much to bear.
“I can’t keep doing this,” I sobbed. “It’s too hard. I can’t keep waiting…”
And that’s when it hit me. All this time, I’d been waiting for Mark to come around and to see sense, but he’d done nothing to make me believe that might happen. He hadn’t even called.
I looked down at my girls and knew it was time I stood up for them and myself.
A woman holding a baby | Source: Pexels
A lawyer gave me the first glimmer of hope.
“With Mark’s abandonment,” she said, tapping a pen thoughtfully on her desk, “you have a strong case. Full custody. Child support. We’ll take care of visitation on your terms.”
Her words were a balm to my shattered spirit. Finally, I had some control and something to fight with. And I wasn’t going to stop there.
Mark wanted out? Fine. I was happy to divorce the jerk, but he wouldn’t get to walk away unscathed.
Divorce papers | Source: Pexels
I created a new social media profile, one carefully curated to tell the story I wanted people to see.
Post after post showed my daughters’ milestones: tiny hands grasping for toys, gummy smiles, and their first giggles. Each photo was a slice of happiness, and in every caption, there was an undeniable truth: Mark wasn’t part of it.
Friends shared the posts, family members left comments, and soon, the updates spread like wildfire through our circle. Mark might have left, but I was building something beautiful without him.
A woman scrolling on her phone | Source: Midjourney
The open house was my final act of defiance. I invited everyone. The only person not welcome was Mark. And just to twist the knife, I made sure the invite said so.
My house brimmed with warmth and laughter on the big day. The twins wore matching outfits with tiny bows perched on their soft heads. Guests gushed over how beautiful they were.
Then the door flew open, and there was Mark, furious and wild-eyed. The room fell silent.
A furious man | Source: Midjourney
“What the hell is this?” he barked. “You’ve turned everyone against me!”
I stood, my heart pounding but steady. “You abandoned us, Mark, because you didn’t want daughters. You made your choice.”
“You robbed me of my chance to pass down my family legacy!” He retorted, eyes blazing.
“You’re not welcome here,” I said, my voice calm and almost pitying. “We don’t want or need a man like you in our family. This is my life now.”
A woman yelling | Source: Midjourney
Friends closed ranks around me, their presence a silent but powerful force. Defeated and humiliated, Mark turned on his heel and stormed out, the door slamming behind him.
Weeks later, Mark received the court papers detailing the child support, custody, and visitation arrangements. There was no escape. He’d still have to accept the responsibility of being a father, even if he was never going to be a dad to our girls.
Then came Sharon’s final message — an apology, maybe, or more bitter words. It didn’t matter. I deleted it without reading it.
A woman glancing at her phone | Source: Midjourney
I was done with their family and done with the past.
And as I rocked my daughters that night, the future stretched wide open before us: bright, untouchable, and ours alone.
Here’s another story: After a week away, I came home to the strange and unsettling sight of my kids sleeping on the cold hallway floor. Heart pounding, I searched for answers, only to find my husband missing and odd noises coming from the kids’ room. What I uncovered next left me furious — and ready for a fight!
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
Matthew Perry has reportedly died. The “Friends” actor was 54
Actor Matthew Perry, famously known for the role of Chandler Bing in the iconic show Friends, was found dead Saturday in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home, law enforcement has reported.
Spokesperson of the LA Fire Department reported that first responders arrived at Perry’s home at about 4 p.m. regarding a “water emergency” of an unknown type, but did not name the actor. Sadly, upon arrival, they discovered Perry’s unresponsive body. According to them, there were no drugs of any type at the scene. At the time being, no foul play is suspected.
A representative of the actor hasn’t issued any comments regarding the tragic incident.
The investigation over Perry’s passing is still ongoing and the cause of death remains unknown. It will be determined by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office at a later date.
“We are devastated by the passing of our dear friend Matthew Perry,” Warner Bros. Television Group, which produced “Friends,” said in a statement to The Times. “Matthew was an incredibly gifted actor and an indelible part of the Warner Bros. Television Group family. The impact of his comedic genius was felt around the world, and his legacy will live on in the hearts of so many. This is a heartbreaking day, and we send our love to his family, his loved ones, and all of his devoted fans.”
“We are incredibly saddened by the too soon passing of Matthew Perry,” NBC, which aired the series for all 10 seasons, said in its own statement to The Times. “He brought so much joy to hundreds of millions of people around the world with his pitch perfect comedic timing and wry wit. His legacy will live on through countless generations.”
Saturday evening yellow-and-black LAPD crime scene tape blocked off the entrance to Blue Sail Drive, a tony street just off the Pacific Coast Highway at the crest of a hill with sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean.
Shortly after 7 p.m., as multiple helicopters whirred overhead, Perry’s mother, Suzanne, and her husband, broadcaster Keith Morrison, joined the journalists and LAPD officers on the scene. Morrison declined to comment. An LAPD officer at the scene said he had no information and that he did not know when any would be forthcoming.
Peter, a neighbor of Perry’s on Bluesail Drive who declined to give his last name Saturday evening, said he only spoke to the actor once, for five minutes, and that he was “very pleasant” and a “nice guy.”
“It’s shocking,” Peter said as he waited for the LAPD, who had barred journalists from passing the police tape, to approve him for entry. “He’s been redoing this house forever and he seemed fine. It’s very sad.”
Leo, another neighbor who declined to give his full name, said he was home when an ambulance arrived at Perry’s house Saturday afternoon. He declined to say whether paramedics tried to revive Perry or if a body was removed from the premises.
“I was shocked,” he said. “It was very disturbing and sad after all these years.”
Perry was one of his favorite actors, Leo said, and the funniest member of the “Friends” cast.
“I encountered him once and he was very, very friendly. More so than I thought,” Leo said. “It’s definitely a tragedy, especially at such a young age,” he added. “I was very heartbroken to see what happened.”
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Perry, the son of actor John Bennett Perry and Suzanne Marie Langford, onetime press secretary of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was born in 1969 and grew up between Montreal and Los Angeles after his parents separated when Perry was 1.
He got his start as a child actor, landing guest spots on “Charles in Charge” and “Beverly Hills 90210” and playing opposite River Phoenix in the film “A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon” in the 1980s and early 1990s.
But his big break came when he was cast in “Friends” — originally titled “Friends Like Us” — a sitcom about six single New Yorkers navigating adulthood that premiered on NBC in 1994.
The series soon became a juggernaut, the anchor of the network’s vaunted Thursday-night “Must-See TV” lineup, and turned Perry and his castmates Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer into mega-stars almost overnight. At its high-water mark — for a 1996 Super Bowl episode and the 2004 series finale — the series could notch more than 50 million live viewers; by its end, cast members were earning more than $1 million an episode.
As Chandler Bing, the handsome, wisecracking roommate of LeBlanc’s Joey Tribbiani and, later, love interest of Cox’s fastidious Monica Geller, Perry distinguished himself in a crackling ensemble cast. With his dry delivery he created a catchphrase with a mere turn of inflection, based on banter he’d shared with childhood friends: Could he be any more Chandler?
Soon, he was attached to major stars like Julia Roberts and appearing in prominent films such as 1997 rom-com “Fools Rush In,” opposite Salma Hayek, and 2000 ensemble mob comedy “The Whole Nine Yards” with Bruce Willis.
There was a dark side to the life of one of television’s most beloved funnymen, however. In his 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” Perry recounted his lifelong struggle with addiction to alcohol and opioids. He wrote that he had his first drink at 14, but didn’t recognize the signs of alcoholism until 21. Since then, he estimated, he’d spent more than $7 million on efforts to get sober, including multiple stints in rehab. His substance abuse also led to a number of serious health issues, including a five-month hospitalization in 2018 following a colon rupture that left him, he wrote, with a 2% chance to live through the night.
And it was fueled, he acknowledged during a “Friends” reunion special in 2021, by the pressure to land the joke in front of a live studio audience night after night.
(NBC / NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
“Nobody wanted to be famous more than me,” Perry told The Times in April, discussing “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” at the Festival of Books. “I was convinced it was the answer. I was 25, it was the second year of ‘Friends,’ and eight months into it, I realized the American dream is not making me happy, not filling the holes in my life. I couldn’t get enough attention. … Fame does not do what you think it’s going to do. It was all a trick.”
Perry was remembered on Saturday by friends and collaborators such as Selma Blair, Paget Brewster, Morgan Fairchild and Mira Sorvino as a singular comic talent and kind soul.
Perry’s “Friends” co-star Maggie Wheeler, who played his on-again, off-again girlfriend Janice on the hit show, shared a sweet tribute on Instagram.
“What a loss. The world will miss you Mathew Perry,” she wrote. “The joy you brought to so many in your too short lifetime will live on. I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared.”
He was also memorialized by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Pierre’s son and one of Perry’s childhood friends.
“Matthew Perry’s passing is shocking and saddening,” Trudeau wrote on X. “I’ll never forget the schoolyard games we used to play, and I know people around the world are never going to forget the joy he brought them. Thanks for all the laughs, Matthew. You were loved — and you will be missed.”
Though Perry estimated he had relapsed “60 or 70 times” since first getting sober in 2001, he maintained a steady presence on American television, playing key parts in backstage dramedy “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” and therapy sitcom “Go On,” and making a steady stream of guest appearances on acclaimed shows such as “The West Wing” and “The Good Wife.”
Since his near-death experience in 2018, Perry had found solace in friends, frequent games of pickleball and, especially, writing. Though producing “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” had forced him to relive his darkest moments, it also connected him to “all the sufferers out there”: “I had a story to tell, a story that could really help people,” he wrote. “And helping others had become the answer for me.”
Indeed, for all his success as an actor and, more recently, as a bestselling memoirist, Perry told The Times in April that his work was not the center of what he hoped would be his legacy.
Pressed to name how he’d like to be remembered, he said: “As a guy who lived life, loved well, lived well and helped people. That running into me was a good thing, and not something bad.”
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