“Mom, I’m feeling so nauseous and tired. I can barely move.” My daughter Emma’s words led me to believe she needed my help, but what I discovered left me heartbroken.

Emma, pregnant and constantly quarreling with her husband Mark, moved in with me to escape the stress. I looked forward to bonding, but soon I was doing all the cooking and chores. Initially, it was fine because she felt sick most of the time.

One day, I checked the footage from my home camera and was shocked. Emma was dancing, shopping, and trying on dresses, far from the sickly persona she showed me. When confronted, she snapped, “Mom, you’re so insensitive! You know I’m pregnant, and yet you refuse to help me!” I replied, “I’ve been trying my best to care for you while you figure things out with Mark. But you need to understand that I have my limits too.”

Realizing she was deceiving me, I decided to stop doing her chores. “Emma, I’ve done everything I can to support you,” I said. She blamed her behavior on hormones, but I showed her the footage. She confessed, “I just needed a break. I didn’t mean to lie.”

After a sincere apology, Emma returned to her marital home, promising to be honest with Mark. They worked on their relationship, learning valuable lessons about trust and respect, which strengthened their bond as they awaited the arrival of their first child.