Even though my husband was not aware that there was a camera in the room, I was horrified to watch what he was doing with our daughter while I was away.
Lately, my husband has been acting oddly. He became irritable, distant, and hardly spoke to me. When he started avoiding our two-year-old daughter and came home late for weak excuses, I became especially worried. He used to love her, but now he could walk by her without even looking at her.
But there was something confusing about it. He insisted on spending every weekend with our daughter when I had to go to work. He went on, “Don’t worry, don’t call mom, don’t bother the family.” Everything will be all right. I’ll take care of her. He almost begged her to remain, even though it seemed like he didn’t want to see her throughout the week. That sounded suspicious.
After those weekends, my daughter was a totally different person. She was not interested in eating, playing, or crying a lot. Most importantly, she refused to go see her father. She turned her face away, curled up, and squatted behind me. I could feel her anxiety. But why?
For a month, I tried to convince myself that it was a phase, a crisis that only two-year-olds go through. Until I decided to do something about it. Before I departed for work, I installed a secret camera in her room. I had to know the truth, even if I was afraid.
When I watched the footage that night, I was devastated. At first, everything seemed to be quiet: my daughter was playing on the floor, and my husband was busy using his phone. But then I saw something awful.
Then someone knocked on the door. A woman came in as my husband opened the door. Young, well-dressed, and confidently grinning. Suddenly, my daughter stopped talking. He said, “Go to your room,” and then he locked the door.
Over the next hour, I could hear my daughter’s desperate cries on the video: “Mom! “Mom!” She sobbed, called me, and knocked on the door.
Meanwhile, my husband sat in our bedroom with his lover, sipping wine and joking. when the residence was occupied by our family. Behind the locked door, their own terrified daughter was alone.
There are no words to describe the agony and pain I was going through at the time. Tears fell spontaneously. I felt deceived, hollow, and misinformed.
But what hurt me the most was witnessing my little girl being used as a cover for his adulterous affairs.
I filed for child support and divorce the following day. After gathering my belongings and holding my daughter’s hand, I departed. No mother or wife should ever witness her child in this state—alone, damaged, and afraid.
We are worthy of better. And I’ll demonstrate it for both her and myself.
