\n\n\n\nA sleeping baby | Source: Pexels\n\n\n\n
After nine months in Dubai, living through endless video calls and blurry ultrasound photos, I was finally home to hold my precious Jenna.\n\n\n\n
The weight of her in my arms felt like an anchor, grounding me after months of floating through life in a foreign land.\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe has your nose,\u201d Ruby whispered beside me, leaning in to give me a hug. \u201cI kept telling Mom that during our calls. And look at those little wrinkles when she dreams\u2026 she\u2019s so much like you.\u201d\n\n\n\n A happy couple | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n I turned to kiss her, breathing in the familiar scent of her coconut shampoo, letting myself sink into the comfort of my home.\n\n\n\n \u201cI missed you both so much. The apartment in Dubai was just a place to sleep but being here with you two\u2026 this is home.\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cWe missed you, too,\u201d Ruby replied. \u201cIt was hard going through this without you.\u201d\n\n\n\n Max, our German Shepherd mix, sat quietly at my feet, his tail thumping softly against the nursery floor. He hadn\u2019t left my side since I walked through the door six hours ago, except to check on the baby whenever she made the slightest sound.\n\n\n\n A dog in a home nursery | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n His presence was reassuring, a constant guardian watching over our little family.\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s already the best big brother,\u201d Ruby said, scratching behind his ears. \u201cAren\u2019t you, boy? He sleeps right here every night, keeping watch.\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cJust like he used to do with my shoes,\u201d I chuckled, remembering how he\u2019d guard my work boots before I left. \u201cRemember that, buddy?\u201d\n\n\n\n A dog looking up at his owner | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n Those first few days felt like floating in a dream. We settled into a rhythm of diaper changes and midnight feedings, stealing kisses between baby duties. Max watched over us all, his brown eyes alert but peaceful.\n\n\n\n I caught up on all the little moments I\u2019d missed with Jenna: her first smile, the way she\u2019d scrunch her nose before crying, how she\u2019d grip Ruby\u2019s finger while nursing. Everything felt perfect. Too perfect.\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n The first crack appeared during a 3 a.m. feeding.\n\n\n\n A thoughtful man | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n I\u2019d gotten up to warm a bottle when I heard Ruby\u2019s whispered voice from the living room. The soft yellow light from her phone screen cast shadows across her face, making her look somehow older and worn.\n\n\n\n \u201cI can\u2019t keep doing this,\u201d she was saying, her free hand twisting nervously in her hair. \u201cHe\u2019s home now, and\u2014\u201d She stopped abruptly when she saw me, ending the call with a quick, \u201cMom, I\u2019ve got to go.\u201d\n\n\n\n But it wasn\u2019t her mom.\n\n\n\n A worried woman speaking on her phone | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n I knew the way she talked to her mother \u2014 casual, relaxed, punctuated with little laughs. This was tense and guilty. The way she wouldn\u2019t meet my eyes as she hurried past me to the kitchen twisted something in my gut.\n\n\n\n \u201cEverything okay?\u201d I asked, trying to keep my voice light, though my heart was already picking up speed.\n\n\n\n \u201cJust Mom being Mom,\u201d she said, but her smile didn\u2019t reach her eyes. \u201cYou know how she worries. Especially with the baby and everything.\u201d\n\n\n\n A woman smiling faintly | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n I wanted to push, to ask why she needed to have these conversations at 3 a.m., but the baby\u2019s cry cut through the tension.\n\n\n\n Ruby practically ran to the nursery, leaving me standing there with an empty bottle and a growing sense of unease.\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n More calls followed, always hushed, always ending when I entered the room. Ruby started taking her phone into the bathroom during showers, something she\u2019d never done before. She also started spending hours in the nursery just staring at the crib. Then came the bank statement.\n\n\n\n A man gaping at a document | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n \u201cFifteen thousand dollars, Ruby?\u201d I held up the paper, my hands shaking. \u201cWhat baby supplies cost thirty grand? The nursery\u2019s already overflowing.\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cWe needed \u2014 I needed to be prepared,\u201d she stammered, gesturing at the towers of diapers and wipes stacked in every corner. \u201cYou were gone so long, and I just\u2026 I panicked a little. First-time mom stuff, you know?\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cPanicked? Ruby, this is a huge chunk of our savings. And these receipts\u2026\u201d I shuffled through them, my stomach churning. \u201cBaby clothes in size 2T? She won\u2019t wear these for at least another year.\u201d\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n A guilty-looking woman | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n \u201cI got carried away with the sales, okay?\u201d She snapped, snatching the receipts from my hand. \u201cWhy are you making such a big deal about this? Don\u2019t you trust me?\u201d\n\n\n\n I wanted to believe her. God, how I wanted to believe her. But Max knew better.\n\n\n\n He\u2019d started camping in the nursery with Ruby whenever she sat there. When Ruby wasn\u2019t holding Jenna, Max would constantly prod her with his muzzle. He also started whining at the crib. The same crib where he\u2019d been so calm before.\n\n\n\n A dog staring at a crib | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n He\u2019d pace, bark, and stare at us with those knowing eyes. Sometimes, late at night, I\u2019d catch him pawing at the base of the crib, as if trying to show me something.\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s just being protective,\u201d Ruby insisted, but her voice trembled. \u201cDogs get weird sometimes with new babies. The internet says it\u2019s normal.\u201d\n\n\n\n But this wasn\u2019t normal. This was Max trying to tell us something, I felt it in my gut. And deep down, I knew what it was. I just wasn\u2019t ready to face it.\n\n\n\n Close up of a man\u2019s eyes | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n One night, after another of Max\u2019s episodes, I waited until Ruby fell asleep and slipped into the nursery. Max followed, rushing ahead as I approached the crib. The moonlight streaming through the window cast strange shadows across the floor, making everything feel surreal.\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat is it, boy?\u201d I whispered, running my hand along the crib\u2019s wooden frame. \u201cWhat are you trying to tell me?\u201d\n\n\n\n He whined, nosing at the mattress. With trembling hands, I lifted it, and there it was: a pregnancy test.\n\n\n\n A man looking at a pregnancy test | Source: Pexels\n\n\n\n A positive pregnancy test, and it was recent. The date on the digital display mocked me with its clarity.\n\n\n\n My daughter was three months old. I\u2019d been home for two weeks. There was no way\u2026\n\n\n\n \u201cJohn?\u201d\n\n\n\n Ruby\u2019s voice behind me made my blood run cold. I turned slowly, the test clutched in my hand like a burning coal.\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n A man holding out a pregnancy test | Source: Pexels\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen?\u201d It was all I could manage, though a thousand other questions screamed in my head.\n\n\n\n She crumpled against the doorframe, tears already falling. \u201cIt was one night. One stupid night when I was staying at Mom\u2019s. James \u2014 you remember James from college \u2014 he reached out, and I was so lonely\u2026 Jenna was colicky, and you were so far away\u2026\u201d\n\n\n\n It felt like she\u2019d just ripped my heart from my chest and stomped on it.\n\n\n\n A couple having an emotional conversation | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n Max pressed against my leg and whined.\n\n\n\n \u201cHe saw me hide it,\u201d she continued, gesturing at Max. \u201cI think he\u2019s been trying to tell you. Dogs always know, don\u2019t they? When something\u2019s wrong\u2026\u201d\n\n\n\n I laughed, a harsh, broken sound that scared even me. \u201cSo our dog has more loyalty than my wife? Is that what you\u2019re telling me?\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cPlease,\u201d she begged, reaching for me. \u201cWe can work through this. I love you. It was a mistake, one terrible mistake.\u201d\n\n\n\n A woman\u2019s hand reaching out | Source: Pexels\n\n\n\n I stepped back. \u201cLove? You\u2019ve been lying to my face for weeks. Planning God knows what with that money. Were you going to run? Take my daughter and disappear?\u201d\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n Her silence was answer enough. Jenna started crying then, her wails cutting through the thick tension like a knife.\n\n\n\n \u201cGo to her,\u201d I said, my voice hollow. \u201cAt least one of us should comfort her.\u201d\n\n\n\n I packed a bag that night, my vision blurred with tears as I threw clothes into a duffel.\n\n\n\n A duffel bag | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n Max watched from the doorway, ready to follow. Each item I grabbed felt like another nail in the coffin of our marriage.\n\n\n\n \u201cTake care of Jenna,\u201d I told Ruby as I headed for the door, Max at my heels. \u201cI\u2019ll have my lawyer contact you about the custody arrangements.\u201d\n\n\n\n She called every day for a week. Then every other day. Finally, we met at a coffee shop, neutral ground, to talk about divorce proceedings.\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n A sad woman | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n The sight of her, pale and drawn, still made my heart ache, despite everything.\n\n\n\n \u201cI never stopped loving you,\u201d she said, her eyes red-rimmed. \u201cI know you probably don\u2019t believe that anymore, but it\u2019s true.\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cLove isn\u2019t enough if it doesn\u2019t include faithfulness.\u201d I stood up. \u201cYou broke something that can\u2019t be fixed. Trust isn\u2019t like a vase you can glue back together. Once it\u2019s shattered, the cracks always show.\u201d\n\n\n\n A sad and serious man | Source: Midjourney\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n In the end, it was my dog who showed me the truth, and who stayed faithful when my world fell apart. Some might call it ironic \u2014 a dog being more honest than a human. I just call it love, the real kind.\n\n\n\n Looking down at my faithful companion that evening, I managed a small smile. \u201cJust you and me now, boy.\u201d\n\n\n\n His tail wagged once, and somehow, I knew we\u2019d be okay. Not today, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually.\n\n\n\n A dog lying on a bed | Source: Pexels\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s another story: A peaceful night in the woods was shattered when a stray dog appeared at our campsite, anxious and ignoring the food we offered. His strange behavior unsettled us, but the real terror began when we heard a menacing rustle. The dog was warning us about a much bigger threat lurking in the dark. Click here to keep reading.\n\n\n\n Advertisement\n\n\n\n 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.\n\n\n\n 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 \u201cas is,\u201d and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After nine months overseas, I returned home to my wife and newborn daughter. Everything seemed perfect until our loyal German Shepherd started acting strange around […]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5561"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5561"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5562,"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5561\/revisions\/5562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runeecho.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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