Part 1 — Six Weeks Before Everything Changed
Six weeks before my daughter was due, my husband walked out of our marriage.
Eric didn’t leave after a screaming argument. There was no dramatic confession, no shattered glass, no final attempt to save what we had built.
He simply packed two suitcases.
I stood in the kitchen with one hand supporting the weight of my pregnant belly, watching him move through the house as though he were preparing for an ordinary business trip.
Only he wasn’t coming back.
Before leaving, he emptied our joint savings account.
Every dollar we had put aside for the baby, the hospital, emergencies, and the first few months after I stopped working was suddenly gone.
I stared at my banking app, convinced I had misunderstood what I was seeing.
“Eric… did you take all of it?”
He kept fastening his coat.
“I contributed most of that money.”
