My husband’s mother never liked me, but after our baby was born, things took a turn I never saw coming. When they questioned my loyalty, I agreed to the DNA test… but not without leveling the playing field.
I’ve been loyal to Ben since day one, through two layoffs, helping him build his business from scratch, and putting up with his mom, Karen, treating me like an outsider every time we showed up at a family event.She never came out and said it, but I always knew she didn’t think I was good enough.I wasn’t from a “professional” family. I didn’t grow up around country clubs or brunches with mimosa fountains.
When I told Ben I wanted to elope instead of throwing a huge wedding, she almost lost it. I remember the night I brought it up, we were sitting in bed, legs tangled up, just talking about the future, and he seemed into the idea.But when Karen found out? She made it clear it was one more reason I didn’t belong.Still, I figured once I gave birth to our son, things would change. He came out with dark hair, dark eyes, and that same little cleft in his chin that Ben has. I thought maybe now, finally, I’d feel like part of the family.
But instead, I got blindsided.
Karen visited the house once after I gave birth. She held him in our living room, smiled, and cooed like the perfect grandma. Then she vanished. Weeks went by. No calls, no texts, no asking how we were doing or if I needed help.I started feeling that old ache again, that quiet loneliness in your own house when you know someone out there is silently judging you.I started feeling that old ache again, that quiet loneliness in your own house when you know someone out there is silently judging you.One night, after we’d put our son down in his crib and the house was quiet, I curled up on the sofa with a book. Ben walked in from the hallway, sat down beside me, and I immediately felt something was off.
He didn’t say anything right away. Just stared at the floor, then at his hands.
Finally, he said it.
“Babe… my mom thinks we should get a DNA test… Actually Dad thinks it’s a good idea too.”I waited for him to smile. To say, “Just kidding,” or “Can you believe they said that?” But he didn’t.Instead, he explained that she’d finally called and asked him to do it, just in case. She’d been reading about women who trick men into raising other guys’ babies.
When he was done explaining, I asked, real quiet, “Do you think we should?”
He wouldn’t meet my eyes. He just rubbed his palms together and said, “It wouldn’t hurt to get some clarity, right? I mean, it would shut her up, and we’d have the proof.”I didn’t yell. I didn’t cry. But something inside me cracked.”Sure,” I said, setting my book down on the coffee table. “Let’s do it. But only on one condition.”
He blinked and looked up. “What?”
“You test your mom, too,” I said. “Do a DNA test between you and your dad.”
“Why?” he said, leaning back, eyebrows drawn tight.
I stood up and paced the room, crossing my arms.If your mom can throw around cheating accusations based on nothing, then I’d like to know if she’s so sure about her own past,” I said. “Fair’s fair, yeah?”Ben didn’t say anything at first. He just stared at me. But then—slowly—he nodded.
“Okay,” he said, frowning. “You got a point. I’ll do it. But we keep it between us first.”
And that was that.
Getting the test for our son was easy. We booked a quick appointment at a local lab, and I held him while they swabbed his cheek. He was too busy trying to eat the tech’s glove to even notice.Getting Ben’s dad’s DNA was trickier. We had to be a little creative
We invited his parents over for dinner around a week later. Karen brought her usual pie and plopped it on the counter, like some kind of maternal effort.
Ben’s dad settled into the living room, talking about his golf game like everything was perfectly normal.As the evening wrapped up, Ben casually handed his dad a toothbrush from some wellness product line he claimed to be exploring for the business.”Hey, Dad, try this out for me?” he said. “I’m thinking of selling it through the startup.”
His dad shrugged, took it to the bathroom, and brushed without a second thought.
When he came back out, he said the toothbrush wasn’t any different from his own. Ben gave me a look and told his dad to just leave it in the bathroomHe nodded, and we continued our evening. Mission complete.A few weeks later, our son turned one. We kept the birthday party small, with just close family. I decorated the living room with blue and silver balloons.
The cake sat on the dining table, and we played some games until it was time to cut the cake. We all sang and took turns trying to get him to blow out the candle.
My son got tired right after eating his cake, so I put him to bed.When I got back, everyone was talking, so I nodded at Ben and pulled an envelope from the kitchen drawer.
“We have a little surprise for everyone,” I said with a smile.
All eyes turned to me.
“Since some folks had doubts,” I said, looking right at Karen, “Ben and I decided to get a DNA test for our son.”
Everyone looked confused, since my kid obviously looked like Ben.
But Karen was sitting in the armchair with a smug little smile.She must’ve been sure I was some horrible woman.I opened the envelope and produced the documents. “And guess what?” I said. “He’s 100% Ben’s kid.”
Karen’s little smile faded.
“But that’s not all,” Ben chimed in, standing from the couch and getting another envelope from his desk drawer.
“Since we were doing DNA tests anyway,” I explained, “we figured we’d check if Ben’s related to his dad too.”Karen’s face turned ghost-white while her jaw dropped. “What?!” she gasped after a second.”Seemed only fair,” I said. “Under the circumstances, right?”
The room went quiet as Ben opened the second envelope. He stared at the paper way longer than I expected, blinking a bunch.
“Dad…” he said, gulping. “Turns out, I’m not your son.”
Gasps echoed across the room. Karen stood up so fast that the chair nearly tipped over.
“You had NO RIGHT—” she yelled, coming at me.But Ben stood between with one hand up to stop her.”You accused my wife of cheating, Mom,” he snapped. “Turns out, you were projecting.”
Karen looked around at everyone staring, then burst into tears and dropped back into her chair, sobbing.
That was the only sound for a minute, then Ben’s dad slowly stood up. He didn’t say a word. Just walked to the table, grabbed his keys, and left.Karen called for days afterward. Morning, afternoon, sometimes late at night. We didn’t answer. I didn’t want to hear the crying, or the excuses, or whatever version of the truth she was ready to spin this time.
But the silence wasn’t easy either. And now that the DNA thing was over, the real problem surfaced: our marriage.
It wasn’t just Karen who’d hurt me. Ben had asked for the test too.He hadn’t stood up to her. He hadn’t said, “No, Mom, don’t be ridiculous.” That part stung the most.He felt awful about it, though. He’d apologized more times than I could count, and not in that rushed, guilty way, but like he really meant it.”I don’t know what I was thinking,” he said one night. “I just… didn’t want to fight her. Didn’t want to believe she’d say that without a reason. I was stupid.”Even though I know others would’ve walked, I decided on therapy. For several weeks, we sat in a little office with beige walls and a box of tissues on the table between us, saying the hard stuff.”It’s not just the DNA test,” I told him. “It’s the lack of trust. You didn’t believe me, even though I’d never given you a reason to doubt me.”
He nodded, eyes wet. “I know. I messed up. I’ll never doubt you again.”
He’s kept that promise, so far. I had to give him that.It didn’t happen overnight, but over time, we worked through it. He listened more. He defended me. He shut down comments from his mom’s family, who were trying to get us to talk to her.I forgave him, not because I forgot, but because he owned up to it.
But the relationship with Karen is almost completely broken. I tried listening to a voicemail, and it was full of lazy excuses and guilt trips.I deleted it before the end, and we’ve blocked her on our phones.Ben’s dad filed for divorce not long after the party. I don’t know what was said between them, but he stopped speaking to Karen, too.
He still visits, and nothing’s changed between him and Ben. Luckily.
Our son kept growing, laughing, babbling, and learning to walk by gripping the edge of the coffee table.
The DNA paperwork, both results, are still in a drawer somewhere. We haven’t looked at them again.Here’s another story: My mother-in-law’s obsession with proving my son wasn’t part of her family led her to secretly take a DNA test. What she discovered that day didn’t just shake our family. It completely shattered everything she thought she knew about herself.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.
