The birth of my babies should have been one of the happiest moments of my life. And at first, everything seemed perfect. But it quickly turned into a nightmare.
After three days in hospital following a difficult delivery, I was finally discharged and ready to go home with my twin daughters, Ella and Sophie.
However, out of nowhere, a phone call changed everything…
‘Hello, sweetheart,’ my husband Derek said in a tense voice. ‘I’m very sorry, but I won’t be able to pick you up as planned.’
‘What? Why?’ I asked, grabbing the phone.
‘It’s my mother,’ he interrupted. ‘She’s very ill. She’s having severe chest pains. I need to take her to the nearest hospital.’
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to suppress my disappointment and annoyance. Instead, I simply replied:
‘All right. I’ll take a taxi.’
The nightmare began
When the taxi pulled up to our house, my stomach knotted.
My suitcases, the children’s bags, and even the mattress for the cot were piled on the lawn and by the front door.
Confused, I walked to the door and tried to unlock it. The key wouldn’t turn. I tried again. Nothing.
Then I noticed a folded piece of paper taped to one of the bags. My hands trembled as I unfolded it, and the words on the page made my blood run cold:
‘Get out of here with your little parasites! I know everything. — Derek.’
My heart pounded. I grabbed my phone and immediately dialled Derek’s number.
It went straight to voicemail.
I called again. Nothing.
In a panic, Ella started crying, followed by Sophie. My hands were shaking as I dialled the number.
‘Mum…’ I whispered.
She answered on the first ring.
‘Jenna? What’s wrong? Are the babies okay?’
‘Derek… He changed the locks. He threw out my things. And he left a horrible note.’
The wait for Mum seemed endless. When she arrived, her eyes narrowed when she saw what was happening. Her face filled with rage.
‘This is ridiculous! Derek would never do this! He loves you and the girls!’
But when she hugged me and whispered that everything would be okay, I knew something was terribly wrong.
‘Let’s go to my house until we talk to him, okay?’
Revealing the truth
The next morning, I knew I needed answers. I took my mum’s car and drove back to the house.
My things were gone. The yard was clean.
I walked around to the back of the house and looked in the window. My blood ran cold.
Lorraine, Derek’s mother, was sitting at the dining room table, calmly sipping her tea.
I knocked on the door. She looked up in alarm and almost spilled her cup. But when she saw me, she smiled.
‘Where’s Derek?’ I demanded. ‘Why is he…’
‘He’s in the hospital in my town,’ she replied calmly. ‘He’s taking care of his sick mother.’
My breath caught in my throat.
‘You lied to him, didn’t you? You pretended to be sick!’
She crossed her arms, looking smug.
‘I told Derek from the beginning that our family needed a son to carry on the family line. But you? You gave us two girls. Useless girls.’
My vision blurred.
She set it all up. She tricked Derek into leaving, changed the locks, stole his phone and kicked me out… All because she didn’t approve of my daughters.
I felt sick.
‘You’re out of your mind!’
I always knew that Lorraine didn’t like me, but I never thought she could be so cruel. From the very beginning, she said that Derek deserved someone richer and more beautiful than me.
The final confrontation
I rushed to the hospital.
Derek was standing in the reception area, his eyes full of concern.
‘Your mother took your phone,’ I said, my voice trembling with anger. ‘She faked her illness and locked me in the house!’
He frowned, confused.
‘What? Why would she do that?’
I clenched my fists.
Because our daughters aren’t boys.
Derek was silent for a moment. Then his expression hardened. He grabbed his keys and left, and I followed him.
When we got home, Lorraine was standing where I had left her: she was still drinking her tea and looked completely distraught.
‘Derek, dear…’ she began. ‘I just wanted to protect you. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way…’
He interrupted her angrily:
“Protect me? From my wife and children? Who told you I wanted sons? Who told you my daughters weren’t good enough for me? That’s your problem, not mine! And if you want sons, I suggest you have some yourself!
She was speechless.
Jenna is my wife! These are my daughters! If you can’t respect them, then you have no place in our lives!
This time, Lorraine had nothing to say. Her face flushed with anger, and she stomped upstairs to pack her things, slamming doors on her way.
Derek turned to me, his eyes full of regret.
‘I’m so sorry…’
Rebuilding our lives
It wasn’t easy, but it took months to rebuild our lives without Lorraine.
Every day, Derek proved to me that he was on our side.
And our daughters, whom Lorraine had so cruelly rejected, grew up surrounded by love and warmth.
In the end, I realised that family is not just about blood, but also about respect, support and unconditional love.
And that is what Derek and I were determined to give Ella and Sophie.
