“If you go through with this, you’re no longer my daughter.” Those were the last words my father said to me three years ago, before slamming the door on our relationship. I thought I’d never hear from him again—until his black car pulled into my driveway.
I didn’t plan for life to turn out this way. If you had told me three years ago that I’d be sitting here writing this, estranged from the man who raised me, I’d have laughed in your face. Back then, my world was simple. Or so I thought.
Young woman in deep thoughts | Source: Midjourney
It all started with two pink lines. Two tiny lines that changed my life forever. I was 25, working as a junior architect in the city, and in love with Lucas, a soft-spoken carpenter from a small village just outside of town.
Lucas wasn’t the type to sweep you off your feet with grand gestures. His charm was quieter—thoughtful notes tucked into my lunch, the way he remembered every little thing I said, the warmth in his eyes when he looked at me. He was my peace in a world of chaos. And I was sure my dad would hate him.
I wasn’t wrong.
A happy young couple | Source: Midjourney
When I told my dad I was pregnant and wanted to marry Lucas, I could feel my heart pounding like it wanted to escape.
For a moment, the world seemed to stop. My father, a tall, imposing man with silver hair and sharp, calculating eyes, just stared at me. No shouting, no slammed doors. Just a long, heavy silence. His expression was unreadable, which somehow made it worse.
Wealthy man seated in his living room | Source: Midjourney
Finally, he spoke, his voice calm but colder than I’d ever heard. “If you go through with this, you’re no longer my daughter.”
I blinked, unsure if I’d heard him correctly. “What? Dad, you don’t mean that—”
“I do.” His words were like ice. “You’re making a mistake, Lily. That boy has nothing to offer you. No money, no future. You’re throwing your life away.”
“He’s not ‘that boy.’” My voice cracked, but I pressed on. “Lucas is kind. He’s hardworking. He loves me, Dad. Isn’t that enough?”
Father and daughter having a serious conversation | Source: Midjourney
My father’s gaze hardened. “Love doesn’t pay bills. It doesn’t secure a legacy. I raised you better than this.”
I felt the sting of tears but refused to cry. “You raised me to stand up for myself. To fight for what matters. Lucas and I are starting a family, Dad. I wish you could see that.”
He didn’t respond. Instead, he turned, walked to his office, and shut the door. That was it. No goodbye. No “I’ll miss you.” Just silence.
That night, I packed my things, left the house that had been my home since I was born, and moved in with Lucas. As for my dad, he cut all ties.
Woman leaving her home | Source: Midjourney
For months, anger consumed me. How could he? How could my father, the man who used to tuck me in every night and braid my hair before school, abandon me just because I fell in love with someone he deemed unworthy?
I cried myself to sleep more times than I can count, but life didn’t wait for me to heal. Life with Lucas demanded every ounce of strength I had.
His tiny house felt like a shoebox, especially once my belly began to swell. “I know it’s not much,” Lucas would say, his voice laced with guilt. “But we’ll make it work.”
Struggling couple inside their modest home | Source: Midjourney
And we tried. He took on every job he could find, from fixing fences to building kitchen cabinets. I did what I could, though being pregnant with twins—or so we thought—left me exhausted most days.
When the twins turned out to be triplets, I nearly fainted in the delivery room. Lucas looked equally terrified but managed to whisper, “Guess we’re overachievers.”
Newborn triplets | Source: Midjourney
Sleepless nights became our norm. We shared every fear—how we’d afford diapers if the electricity would stay on if we were failing as parents. There were fights, too, born out of exhaustion and stress, but Lucas never wavered. He’d rock one baby while soothing another and still manage to kiss my forehead.
Slowly, things shifted. Lucas’ skill with carpentry caught the eye of a local business owner who commissioned a massive project. Word spread, and soon, we couldn’t keep up with the orders.
A young male carpenter working | Source: Midjourney
I started managing the books and finances. By the time the triplets were two, our once-shoebox life had transformed. We bought a modest home, and a secondhand car, and for the first time, I felt like we were breathing.
Then came the call.
Close up of a smartphone | Source: Pexels
“Lily,” my father’s voice cut through the static. It was sharper than I remembered. “I hear you have children now.”
My throat tightened. “Yes. Three of them.”
“I’ll be there tomorrow,” he said flatly. “You and the children deserve a better life. I’m giving you one chance to come back. If you say no… this is goodbye for good.”
When I hung up the phone, I felt a mix of dread and anticipation. My father was coming. The man who had turned his back on me, who hadn’t so much as called in three years, was suddenly inserting himself into my life. Why now?
Woman on phone | Source: Midjourney
The next morning, his sleek black car pulled into our gravel driveway, looking out of place against the backdrop of our modest home. He stepped out wearing a tailored suit, the kind I used to see him wear when I was little. The sight of him brought a lump to my throat, but I swallowed it down. This wasn’t the time for weakness.
“Dad,” I said, forcing a polite tone as I opened the door.
“Lily,” he replied, his voice as formal as ever. No warmth, no acknowledgment of the years lost.
Lucas appeared at my side, his hand resting lightly on my back, a silent show of support. My father’s eyes flicked to him, barely pausing before shifting to the house behind us.
Senior man paying her daughter and husband a visit | Source: Midjourney
“May I come in?” he asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.
I stepped aside, letting him walk through the door. He moved slowly, inspecting everything as though he were a judge on some reality show. His gaze lingered on the hardwood floors Lucas had installed, the family photos lining the walls, and the corner where the triplets’ toys were neatly stacked. His face was unreadable, but his silence was deafening.
Then he turned to me, shaking his head. “Oh, no! What have you done?” His voice cracked, his despair unmistakable. “You’re not struggling!”
Dad paying his daughter a visit | Source: Midjourney
I blinked, caught off guard. “No, we’re not,” I replied, my tone steady. “We’ve built a good life here.”
He stared at me, his jaw tightening. “You could’ve had more. You still can. Come with me, Lily. Bring the children. I can give them opportunities you’ll never be able to.”
Lucas’ hand tensed on my back, but I held my ground. “They already have everything they need. Love, stability, and parents who worked hard to build a home for them. We don’t need anything else.”
My father’s face hardened. “You’ll regret this,” he said coldly. But there was something else there too—pain.
Man and his daughter having a conversation | Source: Midjourney
My father’s face darkened as my words hung in the air. Without another word, he turned on his heel and stormed out. I stood frozen, watching him march to his car. He yanked the door open and sank into the driver’s seat, slamming it shut.
I waited for the engine to roar to life, for him to peel out of the driveway and disappear again. But the car didn’t move. Minutes passed, then an hour, and then another. From the window, I could see him through the windshield, his head in his hands. He wasn’t angry. He looked… broken.
Sad senior man in deep thoughts | Source: Midjourney
“What’s he doing?” Lucas asked softly, standing beside me with one of the triplets perched on his hip.
“I don’t know,” I whispered.
The sun dipped lower, casting a golden glow over the yard. Finally, after three long hours, my father stepped out of the car. He moved slowly, his shoulders slumped in a way I’d never seen before. When he reached the door, he hesitated, his hand hovering over the wood before finally knocking.
I opened the door to a man who looked nothing like the father I’d grown up with. His face was streaked with tears, his eyes red and raw.
Father and daughter having an emotional conversation | Source: Midjourney
“I was wrong,” he said, his voice trembling. “I thought I was protecting you, but all I did was push you away.”
I swallowed hard, my own tears threatening to spill. “Dad…”
“I thought you were throwing your life away,” he continued, his voice breaking. “But I was blind. You’ve built something beautiful, something I should have been proud of from the start.”
And then he broke. The man who had always seemed larger than life crumbled before me, sobbing in a way I’d never imagined. Without thinking, I reached for him, pulling him into a hug.
“I missed you,” I whispered.
Senior man hugging his daughter | Source: Midjourney
For the first time in years, we talked. Really talked. He apologized—over and over—for his pride, his mistakes, the years we’d lost. And I forgave him.
As the triplets toddled in, giggling and curious, he knelt down, his eyes wide with wonder. “Hi there,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.
“Grandpa?” one of them asked, and he nodded, tears falling freely.
“Yes,” he choked out, smiling through the sobs. “Grandpa’s here now.”
Senior man hugging bonding with his grandchildren | Source: Midjourney
Loved this story? You won’t want to miss this one: My Dad Had Dozens of Affairs, Thinking Our Mom Would Never Leave Him – What She Did to Him Stunned Everyone.
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.
Husband Returns from Business Trip and Sees Newborn Baby on Table with Two Notes beside — Story of the Day
A man is accused of being the father of a baby abandoned on his doorstep and it costs him his marriage and his way of life.
Kyle Greenbecker had spent a year working on an oil pipeline in Alaska, but finally, he was on his way home to his beautiful wife. He and Lisa met in high school, and Kyle had never regretted marrying her at nineteen.
Maybe he was old-fashioned, but Kyle was proud that Lisa was the only woman he’d been intimate with in his life. He didn’t need and didn’t want anyone else. It never occurred to him that Lisa would ever doubt him — and with good reason.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
When his plane landed, Kyle collected his luggage and walked out with the other passengers, scanning the crowd for Lisa’s beloved face, but she wasn’t there to pick him up.
Probably, Kyle thought, she’d been held up at work with some emergency. He sent her a quick text telling her he was on his way home but got no reply. He hopped into an Uber and in an hour he was walking up to his front door.
The lights were on in the lounge, but Lisa wasn’t there. He made his way to the kitchen and stopped in the doorway, stunned. Resting on top of the kitchen table was a bassinet, and Kyle could see a small arm waving aimlessly.
He took a step closer. There was a bassinet with a baby on his kitchen table! The child was looking back at Kyle with that astonished look babies have, and Kyle stared back just as astonished.
Then he saw a folded paper on the table next to the bassinet. He picked it up and unfolded it. Inside was another sheet of paper with a message in a handwriting he didn’t recognize: “You had your fun, now take responsibility for your child.”
Meanwhile, the note addressed to him in Lisa’s elegant script read:
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
“Kyle, yesterday I found this child on our doorstep with that note attached. I always suspected you cheated on me during your business trips, but I didn’t hold a grudge on you for that — after all, I had plenty of flings while you were away — but saddling me with someone else’s child is too much. I’ve filed for a divorce, and I earnestly hope I will never see you again.
“P.S. And about the baby, don’t worry, I only left when I saw you walk up the drive. Enjoy your life, Kyle, I certainly intend to enjoy mine.”
Kyle sat down and dropped his head in his hands. He couldn’t believe this was happening to him. This child wasn’t his, he’d never cheated on Lisa, ever! A soft cooing sound made him raise his head.
The baby was waving its little hand in the air, so Kyle brought his own hand closer and to his surprise, the child grabbed onto his index finger with incredible strength.
“Well, baby,” Kyle said. “I guess it’s just us two, and I don’t know what to do with you!”
The baby cooed again and gurgled, then screwed up his face in an alarming way and turned bright red. “Oh my God!” cried Kyle. “What’s happening?” A certain smell quickly elucidated him.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
Yep, it was diaper time. But was there even a diaper? On the floor next to the table was a large backpack with several snap pockets that he’d never seen before. Kyle found a bewildering array of items inside and the diapers.
He quickly googled diaper change and watched carefully as a woman on YouTube demonstrated on a life-like doll how to change a diaper.
Kyle started following her instructions but things didn’t run that smoothly. The woman’s life-like doll didn’t move its legs, or sink its kicking heels in the stinking and unmentionable contents of the dirty diaper! After wiping the baby clean, Kyle realized it was a girl, and he didn’t know anything about girls!
“I won’t be giving you dating advice,” he told the baby solemnly. “But I can teach you how to ride a bike.”
Kyle realized in that moment that he intended to keep this baby.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
He picked up the freshly diapered baby and said, “You need me, and I guess I need you too. So how about it, kid?”
Kyle once again consulted the YouTube baby-guru to prepare the formula and settled the baby in the crook of his arm for her feed.
“You need a name, you know that? How about… Celeste? Do you like that? Or Lily…”
If anyone had told Kyle that he would settle into fatherhood so easily and so smoothly he would never have believed it. Lily had her moments and her tantrums, but somehow things worked out.
Kyle registered Lily as his child and enrolled her in daycare. For him, her birthday was on the day he’d found her. But it was on Lily’s second birthday that Kyle’s world fell apart.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
A woman knocked on her door. “I’ve come for my baby,” she said. Kyle just looked at her. She was tall, blonde, and thin, with huge breasts that were obviously a product of a plastic surgeon’s art.
“Your what?” Kyle asked.
A real parent is the one who loves and cherishes the child.
“My baby,” she snapped. “I left her here two years ago? Sorry about that, but I was a bit stoned and my boyfriend lives on the next block over and I got confused. You know how it is!”
“Sorry, I don’t know how that is because I’ve never abandoned a child on anyone’s doorstep,” Kyle said coldly. “I’d get a move on if I were you, or I’ll call the police.”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
“Now look here,” the woman said sharply. “I figured I made a mistake about a week later when Burt didn’t take my calls, but now I need that baby!”
“You need her?” asked Kyle angrily. “What do you need her for?”
“Burt just got himself a Major League contract,” the woman said. “And that baby’s gone make sure some of those millions land in my bank account!”
Kyle ran the woman off, but he had a feeling he hadn’t seen the last of her. He was right. A week later he was summoned to family court. A Miss Cherish Vegas was contesting his adoption of baby Lily.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
Suddenly, Kyle was showered with injunctions, was visited by Social Services at odd hours of the day or night, and his friends and co-workers were being questioned. Cherish really meant to get her hands on those millions!
Finally, the day of the hearing arrived. Kyle nervously handed over Lily to the social worker for the duration of the hearing and walked in. Cherish was there, of course, and a tall man with Lily’s blue eyes was on her side of the court. This could only be the famous Burt!
Cherish cried and sniveled and told the judge how much she loved and missed her baby, and how her wild college days (now long past and deeply regretted) had led her to place her in Kyle’s care.
The judge looked down at the papers in front of her. “By in his care, you mean on his porch, isn’t that right, Miss Vegas?” asked the judge.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
Cherish flushed red. “Well, I’m still her mama! No one can deny that!” she screamed.
The judge looked at Burt. “You sir, you are the father?”
Burt lumbered to his feet and said, “I guess I must be…”
The judge fixed him with a flinty eye. “Are you prepared and able to take on the parental responsibilities for this child?”
Cherish screamed, “You bet he is, judge, he just signed a three million dollar contract to play ball…”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
“Oh!” cried the judge. “Finally, the truth is out! Tell me, Miss Vegas, what name did you give your daughter?”
“Name?” asked Cherish, confused. “Why, she’ll have her daddy’s name., since he’ll be paying child support!”
Kyle stood up. “Your honor,” he said. “May I address the court?”
“Yes, Mr. Greenbecker,” said the judge. “Please do.”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
“Ma’am, my daughter’s name is Lily, and she does have her father’s name — mine. Since the moment that child came into my life I’ve loved her, and she loves me.”
At that moment, Lily, who had been playing with the social worker’s necklace noticed that Kyle was standing up. “Daddy!” she cried and stretched out her arms.
“Well, ladies and gentlemen, it seems to me that the case has been decided by the principal party,” the judge said. “I hereby overturn all claims of custody of the child Lily Grennbecker and confirm Kyle Greenbecker’s custody and adoption.
That night, Kyle celebrated his victory in court and he and Lily spent the evening catching lightning bugs in the garden. “Stars!” cried Lily. But for Kyle, the brightest star of all was his little girl.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
What can we learn from this story?
- A real parent is one who loves and cherishes the child. Kyle took care of Lily and loved her as if she were his own.
- A heartless woman will use anyone, even her child, for profit. Cherish didn’t want Lily, she just wanted Burt’s money.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a man who taught his son how to be the best husband in the world.
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