I can\u2019t have kids.<\/p>\n
So when my little sister got pregnant, I poured everything into being the best aunt I could be. I bought the crib, the stroller, the tiny pajamas that made me cry in store aisles.<\/p>\n
Then Mason was born.<\/p>\n
And suddenly, I wasn\u2019t allowed to hold him.<\/p>\n
RSV season, she said. He just ate. He\u2019s sleeping. Maybe next time.<\/p>\n
Three weeks passed.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, everyone else got baby cuddles. My mom. Our cousin. Even the neighbor.<\/p>\n
But not me.<\/p>\n
One day I went over unannounced. I heard Mason screaming upstairs while my sister was in the shower. I picked him up, and he melted into me instantly.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when I saw it.<\/p>\n
A Band-Aid on his thigh. Peeling.<\/p>\n
I lifted the corner.<\/p>\n
My sister ran in, panic all over her face.
\u201cPut him down. Please. You weren\u2019t supposed to see that.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t understand yet \u2014 but I knew it was bigger than germs.<\/p>\n
So I went home and started watching.<\/p>\n
The secretive phone. The face-down texts. The sudden errands.<\/p>\n
I ordered a DNA test.<\/p>\n
When the results came back, the world tilted.<\/p>\n
The mark under the Band-Aid had a name.<\/p>\n
My husband\u2019s.<\/p>\n
They\u2019d been having an affair for years.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why she kept me away.<\/p>\n
I filed for divorce.<\/p>\n
Because betrayal is one thing.<\/p>\n
But being managed like a fool?<\/p>\n
Unforgivable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"