My daughter-in-law started acting strangely. She was often on her phone, always going somewhere, barely paying attention to her daughter. One day, I decided to follow her. What I discovered shocked me. “I wished my DIL was cheating, but not this!” I thought as the truth hit me.

When I arrived at Leon’s home to help with little Josie, I immediately sensed something was wrong.

Molly, my daughter-in-law, usually greeted me with a warm smile and hug. But this time, she barely looked up from her phone. Her once-vibrant energy seemed drained, her mind somewhere far away.

“Hi, Molly,” I said, trying to catch her eye.
“Hi, Mom,” she replied flatly, her attention still glued to the screen.

At first, I tried to dismiss it. But the changes became impossible to ignore. Molly, who once spent hours reading to Josie and taking her to the park, now brushed her aside with distracted promises of “maybe later.” I gladly stepped in, taking Josie out, helping with homework, and tucking her in at night. Still, it hurt to see my granddaughter longing for her mother’s attention.

Worse, Molly started disappearing for hours at a time. “I’ve got errands,” she’d mutter, leaving me behind with Josie. She never explained.

One day, she even arranged for her friend Emily to take Josie to the amusement park—the special outing she had promised her daughter herself. Josie’s disappointment cut deep.

“Molly, what could be more important than spending time with your daughter?” I asked.
Her eyes hardened. “Mom, I need you to respect my choices. Please, stay out of it.”

That was the breaking point. I couldn’t ignore it anymore. When she left the house later that week, I quietly followed. She walked quickly through town and slipped into a café, where she met with a man I didn’t recognize. They leaned close, whispering, their faces tense. My stomach dropped.

That night, when she returned home, I confronted her.
“Molly, are you having an affair?”

Her face went white. “What? How could you even think that?” she gasped, just as Leon entered the room.

But before she could explain, Molly’s body stiffened, and she collapsed to the floor. We rushed her to the hospital, fear clawing at us both.

When she finally woke, pale but conscious, she whispered through tears:
“I need to tell you the truth. Months ago, doctors told me I had a serious illness. I couldn’t bear the thought of Josie watching me fade away. I didn’t want to burden you or Leon. That’s why I pulled away. That man you saw—he was a lawyer. I’ve been preparing my will.”

Her confession pierced me. Guilt washed over me like a flood—I had thought the worst of her while she had been suffering in silence.

But then the doctor walked in with unexpected news.
“Molly, your tests were misread. You’re not ill—you’re pregnant. Perfectly healthy.”

The room froze in stunned silence. Molly covered her mouth in disbelief. Leon pulled her into his arms, tears streaming down his face. Relief and joy replaced the dread that had hung over us for months.

“I wished my DIL was cheating, but not this,” I thought again—but this time, with gratitude that life had given us back hope instead of despair.

For the first time in a long time, our future felt bright again.