My Husband Called Me A “Worthless Incubator” And Left While I Was 6 Months Pregnant. Now He’s Back To Steal A $200k Inheritance Using My Name. How Do I Make Him Regret Every Single Day?

Building Trust

Brett’s mom called three days later. Her voice sounded different this time, softer somehow. She said she needed to talk to me about something important. I almost hung up but something made me wait.

She started apologizing. Actually apologizing for how she treated me when Brett left. Said she’d been thinking about everything since the divorce went through. Brett’s dad had talked to her before he died. Told her he was worried about Brett’s character. He’d seen the way Brett acted with money and relationships. The will wasn’t just about marriage. It was about making sure Brett learned responsibility.

She asked if she could meet Haley, her only grandchild. She said her voice cracked when she said it. I told her I’d think about it and ended the call.

I brought it up with Pearl at my next therapy session. We’d been working through everything that happened, processing the abandonment and rebuilding my ability to trust. Pearl asked what I thought about letting Brett’s mom meet Haley.

I said part of me wanted to say no just to hurt her back for how she hurt me. But Haley deserved to know her grandmother if she was genuinely trying to make things right. Pearl helped me see that protecting Haley didn’t mean cutting her off from everyone connected to Brett. It meant setting boundaries and making sure any relationship was healthy and supervised.

I decided to allow visits but separate from Brett’s time. She’d have to earn trust just like he did.

The first meeting happened at the family center with a supervisor present. Brett’s mom showed up early holding a wrapped present and looking nervous. When she saw Haley she started crying. Not dramatic sobbing, just quiet tears running down her face. She knelt down to Haley’s level and introduced herself as Grandma.

Haley hid behind my legs at first but eventually came out when Brett’s mom showed her the present, a stuffed bunny. They sat on the floor together while Brett’s mom pulled out a photo album. Pictures of Brett as a baby, as a kid growing up. She told Haley stories about her daddy when he was little pointing at pictures and making Haley laugh.

She told me she wanted Haley to know her family history, the good parts at least. Before she left she hugged me and thanked me for giving her this chance. Said she knew she didn’t deserve it.

Brett’s supervised visits continued every week. Sandra reported that he was getting better at reading Haley’s cues and responding to what she needed instead of what he wanted. He brought toys she actually liked instead of random stuff. He learned her favorite songs and started singing them with her.

Haley stopped crying when she saw him. She’d run to the toy box and bring him things to play with. She still called him Brett though, not Daddy. Sandra said that was completely normal and would change when Haley was ready. Trust took time to build especially for a kid who’d never known him before.

The inheritance check arrived on a Tuesday morning. I stared at the number: $80,000 after taxes and legal fees. 40% of 200,000. More money than I’d ever seen in my life. I took a photo of it before depositing it through my phone like I needed proof this was real.

The next day I met with a financial adviser Lydia recommended. A woman who specialized in helping single parents build security. We set up a college fund for Haley that would grow over the next 16 years. Put money aside for emergencies, car repairs, medical bills, all the things that used to terrify me.

Created a savings account I wouldn’t touch except for real needs. For the first time ever I had a safety net. I could breathe without worrying that one bad week would destroy everything.

Kaia came over for dinner that Friday. While Haley played with her blocks Kaia mentioned that one of her co-workers had been asking about me. A single dad with a daughter around Haley’s age. He’d seen me at pickup once and wanted to know if I was seeing anyone.

Kaia showed me his social media. Just casual pictures of him with his kid at the park. Nothing weird. I told her I wasn’t ready yet. Dating felt like something from another lifetime, back when I believed people meant what they said. But knowing someone was interested felt good in a strange way. Like maybe someday I could trust someone again. Not now but eventually.

Brett sent a message through the co-parenting app 6 weeks into supervised visits. He wanted to take Haley to the park alone, just the two of them. I read it twice then denied the request. Typed out a response reminding him that the agreement required supervised visits for at least 3 months. It had only been 6 weeks.

He needed to follow the schedule we’d agreed to. No shortcuts just because he was getting impatient. He responded an hour later asking if we could meet to talk about the visitation schedule. Said he wanted to discuss adjustments.

I agreed but only at a coffee shop with Lydia present. Made it clear this wasn’t about him getting what he wanted faster. This was about Haley’s welfare and making sure any changes were appropriate for her development.

We set a time for the following Tuesday. At the coffee shop Brett looked tired. He ordered a black coffee and sat across from me and Lydia. Started talking immediately saying being a father was harder than he thought. He’d assumed it would be like playing with a kid for an hour then going home. Instead he had to think about her needs constantly, pay attention to her moods, figure out what she wanted when she couldn’t explain it.

He said he understood now why I was being cautious. Asked what he needed to do to prove he was serious about being in Haley’s life for the long term, not just when it was convenient.

I looked at him for a long moment told him the truth without sugar coating it. I didn’t know if I’d ever fully trust him after what he did. He’d abandoned me when I was pregnant and called me horrible things. He’d ignored his daughter for 2 years and only came back when he needed something.

But I was willing to let him build a relationship with Haley if he consistently showed up and put her needs first. Actions mattered more than words. He’d have to prove himself over time not with promises but with reliability.

Brett nodded slowly. Said he’d been going to therapy too. Working through why he ran away when things got hard. His therapist helped him see that he’d been selfish and scared. Afraid of responsibility. Afraid of being tied down. Afraid of not being the center of attention anymore.

He admitted he’d hurt me and Haley in ways he couldn’t take back. Said he was trying to become someone Haley could be proud of eventually even if that took years.