He Got Dumped And Struggled Raising Black Triplets. Years Later, He Finds Out They Are NOT His
“Aiden’s wife abandoned him and their black triplets. For years, he suffered severe hardships for the sake of the children, only to eventually discover that he’s not their father.
Aiden was eager to return home from work. He had a surprise for his wife, Irene, that he was certain she would love. He was also excited to see his six-month-old triplets. However, the door was locked, and that was odd. Irene normally didn’t go anywhere because of the kids. She usually stayed at home with the kids, and whenever she was going out for an errand, an elder neighbor of theirs who lived next door stayed in their apartment with the children.
Aiden used his keys to let himself into the house. Everything looked as it should be until he entered the master bedroom and found it half empty. Alarm kicked in; he noted that most of Irene’s belongings were gone. In fact, there was no trace that she had ever been there, except one note resting on the nightstand.
Aiden hesitated to pick it up, wary of whatever she left as her parting words. He gave in because there was a strong urge to know why she left. They had been together for almost 2 years, and things were good between them, so why did she leave? The question burned, and he read the note.
“When you see this, Aiden, know that I’m long gone and don’t come looking for me. I left your life for good, but don’t worry. I didn’t take the children; they’re all yours because I know how much you adore them. I left because I was miserable being tied down to a life as your wife and mother to your children. It was the absolute worst. I reconnected with my ex, and he will give me a far better life than you ever could. Goodbye.”
Aiden felt as if his heart was gutted out of his chest. He staggered, holding the wall for support. He hadn’t seen this coming; how could he have been so blind? Irene had always been flighty, but he thought she had changed when they got together.
He had met Irene at the hospital where he worked as a lab technician. It was a stable job that afforded him a comfortable lifestyle. Irene had been a frequent visitor at the hospital, and after a few run-ins with Aiden, they had gotten friendly. Aiden had liked her because she was like a ball of sunshine, full of cheer and always decked out in colorful, stylish clothing. She was a woman of mixed race, and Aiden found her drop-dead gorgeous.
Not long after, Aiden discovered that Irene was coming to visit her boyfriend, Ken, who was a trust fund baby and a spoiled brat. His father was a public figure. Ken had gotten into some trouble, and to cover it up, the PR had put him in the hospital where he was to stay for weeks in the VIP suite until the trouble blew over.
Ken hadn’t been repentant; he might be in the hospital, but he still played around. Irene hadn’t been the only girl coming to visit him at the hospital; there were other girls. And one day, Irene had caught him cheating on her with one of the girls. She had been distraught. Aiden’s shift luckily just ended, and he was available to comfort her.
They had driven to a bar, where, over drinks, Irene had broken down in tears and told him that all she wanted was a nice man. She was tired of dating cheats like Ken. Aiden had offered to be her friend, and she agreed. They had met up a few times, and Aiden fell hard for her. However, it was Irene who had spoken up. She had confessed that she liked him a lot.
They had started dating, and things just sped up. A few months later, she had hinted that she wanted to get married, and Aiden proposed. Their wedding had been small and private, with a few friends on his side and fewer friends on hers. None had any family to invite. Aiden had thought they were perfect for each other; they could be what the other person needed. He had high hopes for his marriage, especially after finding out a few weeks later that they were expecting.
However, things had gotten shaky when Irene started becoming moody. She had stayed miserable even after giving birth to the triplets. She had become a shadow of her lively, boisterous self. Irene had started giving Aiden trouble; she had demanded a lot of things he couldn’t afford. He had tried to placate her by getting a few, but that hadn’t worked because she continued to complain. She hardly looked after the triplets, and it had been the elderly neighbor next door who often did that. Irene had constantly blamed Aiden for being the reason behind their unhappiness, and that wounded him deeply. He had done everything for her; he had been planning a trip he knew would cheer her up. It had been sacrificial and a stretch on his finances to afford that trip, but he willingly did it just to make his wife happy.
However, he’d gotten home that day to find her gone, taking all the expensive things he got for her. Aiden was in turmoil as he tried to think of where to go from there. How would he raise the children by himself? Granted, Irene hadn’t been contributing much, but her presence had been grounding. She had hurt him so much, but he missed her. He remembered their good times and wondered how all of that could mean nothing to her. He knew he had to get a grip on himself for the sake of the children. Aiden loved the triplets, two boys and a girl, with all his heart. He was a white man, and his kids had turned out predominantly black, taking after Irene’s genes, but he didn’t mind that at all.
After a pep talk he gave himself, he went over to the neighbor’s house to collect his children. They were only 6 months old, but they recognized their father and made excited baby gurgles upon seeing him. That night, the triplets were restless and wouldn’t sleep. Aiden thought that they were past that stage since they’d been sleeping through most nights since they were 3 months old. Perhaps they noticed their mother’s absence. Aiden couldn’t say; all he knew was that their cries and fussing kept him up until dawn. He hardly got a wink of sleep before he had to prepare for work.
That’s when he remembered there was nobody to stay at home with them. He wanted to ask his neighbor, but he was afraid that it might be asking too much of her. But he couldn’t take them to work; the hospital was no place for children. He thought of calling a nanny over, but the notice was too short. He was saved by the doorbell; it was his neighbor. She inquired if everything was alright because she had heard the triplets fussing at night. Aiden took the opening to ask for help. He assured her that it was only for the day; he promised to make arrangements for a nanny.
As it turned out, hiring a full-time nanny was ridiculously expensive, way above Aiden’s pay grade. He had to settle for having one only during his work hours and taking over when he returned from work. The arrangement was physically and mentally taxing on him. It got worse when the triplets started teething; they hardly slept, and whenever they did, any slight noise could wake them, and they’d start wailing. Aiden considered taking a long leave from work to figure things out, but he decided against it because he needed to earn money for their family’s upkeep.
Aidan’s work schedule wasn’t making things any easier; it got busier and more demanding. He was constantly stressed; he hardly ate or slept, and he was losing weight. Aiden didn’t know how to get through each day; he was constantly exhausted and anxious. Was his life going to continue like this? Could he survive it? At night, he was exceedingly lonely; Irene might be a terrible person, but she had filled a void that was now empty. It was so hard to keep his head on straight about anything because he was looking after three tiny human beings who needed him all the time.
Soon enough, he became a zombie, going through all the motions he had become accustomed to with little or no feeling. The children were a responsibility he had to take on. It didn’t occur to him that he wasn’t paying them more attention than necessary until one of his sons crawled out of the front door and nearly tumbled down the stairs. It took a neighbor catching him in time, or else an unspeakable accident might have occurred. That incident shook him up so badly and reminded him how much he treasured his children. He had an awareness that if he wanted to be a present dad for them, he had to take care of himself too. This made him willing to invest more money to hire a full-time nanny.
But then, a devastating incident took place. It was 6 months after Irene dumped him. The HR called him into his office and handed him a sack letter. He was told that he was a good worker, but for months now, his head hadn’t been on his job, and that had almost led to grave errors. He’d been placed on probation, but there hadn’t been any improvement from him. The HR added that they were sorry to let him go.
The whole time that Aiden sat there, he couldn’t move. He kept waiting to wake up from this nightmare, but it didn’t happen. His hands trembled, and sweat gathered at his forehead and the back of his neck. He was descending into full-blown panic. How would he and the children cope without a job? He tried not to break down in front of the HR. However, when he got home, he gathered the children close and cried his heart out. He wailed, and the children were confused; they didn’t know what to do except babble out non-coherent words of comfort.
He expected them to fuss after a time, but they didn’t. They stayed close to him, looking up at him with eyes filled with trust that broke his heart. For several weeks, they lived on his savings. Aiden got by whatever means necessary but made sure to continue providing the best for his kids. He applied for a lot of job openings, and there were many disappointing rejection emails that came through. Fortunately, there was one job that finally clicked. An interview was held, and he aced it. When he got accepted, Aiden excitedly broke the news to his almost one-year-old babies, and they didn’t understand the thing, but they judged something good happened by his expression, and they clapped animatedly. His daughter stagger-walked to him and held his hand. It felt good.
As the case was, Aiden’s new job was rather demanding. It was with a startup tech firm, and his salary was half of what he got at his former workplace. To make ends meet, he worked part-time jobs during the weekend. He did these coupled with the hefty task of raising the triplets. The stress took a toll on his health. One day, when the kids were 3 years old, they were watching TV while he was in his room doing some work. He came out briefly to get some water from the kitchen, but halfway there, he felt a strong wave of dizziness and collapsed from exhaustion right in front of the kids.
The children rushed to his side, shaking him awake and begging him to open his eyes. They were crying, and they were so scared. Aiden woke up a few hours later; he apologized for scaring them and promised it wouldn’t happen again. Aiden promised them a grand birthday with their dream toys, a giant cake, and a trip to the Children’s Center where they could get on all the rides they wanted. Unfortunately, Aiden broke his promises due to circumstances beyond his control. The company he worked for was undergoing a financial crisis, and he wasn’t paid that month; there was no spare money to scrape anything together.
It was heart-wrenching for Aiden to return home on his children’s birthday empty-handed. Their crestfallen expressions were difficult to watch, their agonized cries were painful, but what hurt the most was when they compared him to their friends’ dads who threw delightful birthday parties. Aiden knelt down and apologized; he pulled them into an embrace. They resisted and cried silently; he didn’t hold it against them for comparing him to their friends’ dads. He understood that they were just kids.
Life continued for the family for 2 years; they got by as best they could and created many happy memories together. But big trouble stirred when one of the triplets came down with severe pneumonia and had to be rushed off to the hospital in the middle of the night. He was admitted, and the hospital bill was enormous. Aiden did all he could to raise the money, including borrowing. In the thick of calling friends to spare some cash, an older black gentleman showed up at the hospital. He was a stranger to Aiden, and it made him wary. However, the gentleman introduced himself as Michael; he said that he’d randomly noticed Aiden and wanted to help out. He paid off the hospital bill as if it was a charge and gave Aiden a number to call.
‘They have a great job waiting for you,’ Michael assured him. Aiden called, and it was so; overnight, his salary increased to 10 times what it used to be. He felt like he was dreaming. A few months later, Michael showed up at Aiden’s home. Aiden was surprised to see him there and warmly welcomed him. He had so much that he was grateful to the older man for. Michael didn’t mince words; he confessed right away that he was here on an important mission.
Aiden heard him out and couldn’t believe his ears. ‘You’re Irene’s father and the children’s Grandpa,’ Aiden murmured in shock. Michael nodded; he explained that Irene’s mother passed away when she was quite young. He had thrown himself into work to deal with his grief and had neglected his daughter sorely. She had gotten mixed up with some bad company and wouldn’t leave them, no matter how much he threatened to cut her off if she didn’t get her act together.
She hadn’t listened to him; instead, she had run off to be with some rich snob, Ken, who only used her for her background and connections. Irene had married Aiden but had been so unsatisfied that she had returned to the chaos she had with Ken before getting married. She had done drugs a little, but after reuniting with Ken, she got hooked up on them so much that she came apart. She had to be placed in a mental institute; she couldn’t tell reality apart from hallucinations anymore.
Aiden was still struggling to come to terms with this news when Michael dropped a bigger bomb that knocked the wind right out of him. ‘What did you just say?’ Aidan asked breathlessly, hoping he had heard wrong. Michael looked pained to be the bearer of bad news, but it was inescapable; he repeated himself. Aiden wasn’t the real dad to the triplets; Irene had a one-night stand in the early weeks of their marriage and conceived the children. She had told her father, Michael, everything. Michael offered to take the children off Aidan’s hands, telling him he’d done too much for them already. He asked Aiden to name any amount of money he wanted for the trouble he went through, and he would be compensated.
Aiden couldn’t reply; his shock was too deep. Michael understood; he left his business card and asked Aiden to call him when he reached the decision. Aiden warded within himself for days; he felt a strong wave of resentment towards Irene. She had lied to him about everything, and he had fallen for all of it. The children he loved with his entire being didn’t even belong to him. But Aiden knew that they were his own regardless; they had grown up to be smart, lively kids who always dragged him into their activities. They made him laugh and completed his life; living would be meaningless without them. He knew firsthand that raising triplets was a huge commitment; there was still a long way to go before they became adults ready to stand on their own two feet.
Before his new job, he had been anxious about the finances, but over time he had learned to plan and budget. They would be okay; he felt that in his gut, and that was his answer for Michael. A week later, Aiden called Michael and told him that he couldn’t give up on his children. It didn’t matter that they weren’t biologically his; he was their father in every other sense. He turned down Michael’s money. Michael didn’t reply; he simply ended the call.
Aiden was worried about what Michael might do next; he knew that the older man had a lot of influence and could take him to court to fight for rights over them. Aiden was nervous, but he told himself that he would fight for his children. However, he got a huge surprise instead. The following morning, Michael showed up at the house with keys to a mansion located by the sea and a brand new car for Aiden, who’d been using the same car for over 7 years.
He congratulated Aiden on passing his test; he wanted to see where Aiden’s loyalties lay. Michael was glad that his daughter had done the one right thing: left the triplets in Aiden’s care. ‘May I visit the children on the weekends, at least?’ Michael tried to sound casual, but there was longing in his voice. He was wealthy, but he was also lonely and wanted to be close to his grandchildren. Aiden shook his head, and Michael felt deflated, but that’s when he got his own surprise.
Aiden invited them to move in with them into the mansion; they would raise the triplets together and become one happy family. The children were excited about everything: the new house, having a grandpa, and getting to have big birthday parties. They lived happily ever after.
