When Amelia’s father gave her a soap bar and told her to take cold showers with it, she never thought he had an evil, hidden agenda behind it. Her world turned upside down when her boyfriend told her the horrifying truth about that soap.
I’ve always been Daddy’s little girl, but now I feel like throwing up when I say those words. I’m not his little girl, and he’s not the man I always thought he was. Let me tell you why.
A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
So, I’ve always been close to my father, like REALLY close. I’m 23, and I lived with my parents up until a month ago because Dad never wanted me to move away.
He had given me the second floor of the house where I had my bedroom and a bathroom. Those two rooms of the house solely belonged to me. They were my safe space until the day Dad began to complain.
A man standing near a door | Source: Midjourney
My father is one of those people with a personality resembling a coconut. You know, hard on the outside and soft on the inside. He has these strict rules and principles that he abides by, but he also has this empathy inside that makes him the best Dad ever.
“Character is built in discomfort,” he’d always tell me. “You gotta face the worst now if you want a life full of luxuries ahead.”
But he’d also buy me chocolates and ice cream on days I didn’t feel good.
A woman holding an ice cream cone | Source: Pexels
Meanwhile, my mother has always been the typical loving mom. She’s always ready for hugs and kisses and never says no whenever I ask her to cook my favorite pasta. She has always been a sweetheart.
However, I recently felt that my parents were not the same anymore. Over the past few months, they had grown cold, and the love and care had suddenly vanished.
A woman sitting in her living room | Source: Midjourney
Honestly, I sometimes felt like I was living with two strangers in the house. It felt like we had lost the connection we always had.
Then began the unnecessary complaints and nitpicking from Dad’s side.
“You and your friends were too loud last night!”
“You’re staying out too late, Amy.”
“You’re spending too much on unnecessary things!”
Then came the complaint that really snatched my self-confidence.
A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
“You smell horrible, go take a cold shower and use the soap I gave you!”
I smell horrible? What? I thought. Where did that come from?
That was the day when Dad handed me this soap I had never seen before. It was a green, chunky soap bar that smelled a bit weird, but Dad had asked me to use it, assuring it would help get rid of the unpleasant body odor.
A woman holding a soap bar | Source: Pexels
His words made me feel so self-conscious that I had even stopped hanging out with my boyfriend, Henry.
I often found myself smelling my skin, clothes, hair, and even my breath, just to check what made my father feel so uncomfortable around me.
I followed his advice and used that soap whenever I took a shower. Or, if I may put it correctly, I took five showers a day just to use that soap and get rid of the smell that had apparently been haunting my father.
A woman taking a shower | Source: Pexels
I scrubbed my skin so hard that I stripped it of the moisture it needed. My skin had begun to look dry, scaly, and so rough.
Even then, my father said I still smelled like rotten onions.
“Did you use that soap, Amy? I don’t think you did,” he’d say. “You smell so bad.”
What shocked me even more was that my mother didn’t say a word when Dad humiliated me like that every day. She didn’t say anything in my defense or stop me from being so hard on myself.
A woman sitting on a chair, looking down | Source: Pexels
Mom and I had always been close. She was the only person I shared everything with since I was a kid. I’d always tell her about my latest crush, my new boyfriend, and even the new slang I’d learned at school.
I couldn’t believe it when she stood silently, avoiding my gaze, while Dad kept grilling me. I won’t ever forgive Mom for not being there for me when I needed her the most.
A woman looking down | Source: Pexels
I kept showering with the soap, and my clothes always clung to me because they were damp from the frequent showers.
Besides, I began avoiding my father. I’d always scurry up to my room and lock the door whenever he returned home from work. I didn’t want him to see me. Or, more specifically, smell me.
The turning point came when my boyfriend, Henry, came over. We had been dating for a few months, and he was the one bright spot in my increasingly bleak days.
A woman talking to her boyfriend | Source: Midjourney
Henry has always been the supportive boyfriend, the green flag we all look for. He’s always been kind to me, and he came over that day because he had noticed I had been avoiding him.
“Where have you been, Amy?” he asked as he held me by my arms.
“I was… I was just busy with some stuff, Henry,” I faked a smile. “I’m fine.”
“Really? You don’t look fine, babe,” he said.
“I’m okay, Henry,” I said as I held his hand. “Tell me one thing… Do I smell bad?”
A woman smiling | Source: Midjourney
He laughed, thinking I was kidding.
“No, babe. You smell fine. Why?”
“Nothing. I just…” I mumbled. “Forget it.”
“I’ll be right back,” he said before going to the bathroom.
A few minutes later, I watched him step out of the bathroom with the soap bar in his hand. I could see he wasn’t too happy about it.
“Who gave you this?! Are you taking cold showers with this?!?” he asked with eyes wide open.
A man looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
How did he know this? I thought.
“Yeah, my Dad. Why?” I asked, trying my best not to panic.
“They didn’t tell you, did they?! Baby, this isn’t soap! It’s used to strip industrial machinery of grease and grime.”
“Wait, what?” I was shocked.
“This stuff is toxic, Amy. It causes chemical burns.”
I can’t explain how betrayed and heartbroken I felt at that point. How could my father do this to me? To his daughter who he loved so much?
A woman looking straight ahead, shocked | Source: Midjourney
That’s when it all started to make sense to me. The dry, itchy skin and the weird texture of the soap bar. It also made me wonder if my mother knew about this.
“I think we need to go to the hospital to get you checked,” Henry said. “And then, we’re going to the police. This is abuse, Amy.”
I don’t know why, but I stopped him.
A man sitting in his girlfriend’s house | Source: Midjourney
I knew he was telling the truth, but I couldn’t put the words “abuse” and “Dad” together. I had never seen Dad in a negative light, and I didn’t like how those words fit in the same sentence and made so much sense.
In short, I couldn’t accept that my father had tried to hurt me.
“We can’t do that,” I told Henry. “We can’t go to the police.”
“But why?” he asked.
“I’ll explain that later,” I said. “Please just help me get out of here. I’ll confront my parents later.”
A woman looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
He agreed, and we moved into a small apartment a few days later. It was cramped and barely furnished, but it felt like a safe haven compared to what I had endured.
Then, it was time for me to confront my parents. I drove back to their house the next day.
When I arrived, Dad was in his usual spot, watching TV in the living room, and Mom was in the kitchen. I walked in with the soap bar in my hand and stood in front of my dad.
A man holding a remote | Source: Pexels
“I never thought you’d do this to me, Dad,” I said as I held the soap bar high enough for him to see. “This is toxic. It’s poison. It ruined my skin. Why did you do this?”
“Oh, so you finally found what it is, huh?” he smirked. “You needed to learn a lesson.”
“A lesson?” I laughed. “You nearly killed me. For what? Because you thought I smelled bad?”
“Please stop this!” My mother finally intervened. “Amy, yo—”
“You knew, Mom, didn’t you?” I cut her off. “You were a part of this ridiculous plan, right?”
A woman in her parents’ living room | Source: Midjourney
I watched tears trickle down her cheeks, but she didn’t say a word.
“Why did you do this to me, Dad?” I confronted my father. “I need to know!”
I wasn’t ready for his response. I had no idea it would turn my world upside down.
“You want to know why?” he said, almost to himself. “Fine. When your mother and I went on that vacation last year, we had a little too much to drink. We ended up in a crowd, where a fortune teller told me that your mother had been unfaithful.”
A man looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
“What are you talking about?” I asked as my heart flipped.
“That’s true,” he continued. “When I confronted your mother the next morning, she told me the truth. She told me you weren’t mine. You’re the result of an affair she had while I was working hard for us in another country.”
I looked at my mom, who couldn’t meet my gaze. Then, I looked back at Dad as he continued to speak.
A sad woman looking down | Source: Pexels
“Your mother begged me not to leave her because she didn’t want to break our family apart,” he shook his head. “So, I agreed. But on one condition. I had to make her pay, and you too. Because YOU ARE NOT MY DAUGHTER!”
My heart shattered into a million pieces that day. I couldn’t believe my father had this evil side. The evil personality that was so hungry for unjust revenge.
A close-up shot of a woman, shocked | Source: Midjourney
“You mean you gave me that toxic soap because you were angry at Mom? Because you thought I was not your daughter?” I asked as the tears in my eyes blurred my vision.
“You’re not my daughter,” he said and turned around. “You’re not my blood.”
For the next few seconds, I stared at his back in silence, wondering why he punished me for something that wasn’t my fault.
“Alright, I’m done with you,” I said as I wiped away my tears. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.”
A woman about to leave her parents’ house | Source: Midjourney
And with that, I stepped out of the house that was once my haven. Over the next few days, I visited the hospital multiple times for my skin treatment and talked to my lawyer regarding how I could file a case against my parents.
Soon, my father received a notice of the restraining order and the impending lawsuit. With that, his smug confidence was shattered, and his reputation was in ruins. His entire circle was disgusted by his actions.
A man reading a legal notice | Source: Midjourney
Meanwhile, Mom tried to get in touch with me, but I didn’t reply to any of her calls or texts. If she couldn’t take a stand for me, why should I even bother talking to her? I was done.
Now, living with Henry, I feel a sense of peace that had been missing from my life for ages. I don’t remember the last time I had laughed this much in my own house. I can’t thank fate enough for blessing me with a man like Henry. I have no idea what I’d do without him.
A man sitting in his apartment | Source: Midjourney
If you enjoyed reading this story, here’s another one you might like: Bobby discovered a hidden stash of expensive gifts in his teenage daughter’s closet, along with a photo of an unknown older man and a note about a café meeting. He discreetly followed her to the café, unaware he’d uncover a secret that would tear his family apart.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
Nurse Gives Woman the Wrong Baby, Then New Mother Turns Pale — Story of the Day
The nurse examined Lucy’s twins before discharge, but Lucy was shocked when she returned them. The nurse had brought two baby girls after the examination, and Lucy had given birth to one boy and one girl.
Lucy and her husband Ross had been trying to conceive for a long time, and when they discovered they were expecting twins, they were over the moon.
The ultrasound had revealed they would be having a boy and a girl, and the couple was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the twins. However, when the nurse brought the children post-examination, they were both girls. Lucy’s face turned pale.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
“Where has my son gone? What exactly did you do to him? And whose baby is this other girl?” she screamed, gazing at the nurse who had just brought the kids in.
“They are your daughters, ma’am,” the nurse, Savannah, said, her eyes fixated on the documents. “I double-checked the reports and I’m confident there is no error.”
“Have you lost your senses?” Lucy snapped. “I have all the reports with me as proof that I was supposed to deliver a boy and a girl. And I was informed about the same after delivery. There’s no way they’re both girls!”
Lucy noticed the fear in the nurse’s eyes when she looked up from her reports. She was about to say something to her when Dr. Linda Carter walked in. “Would you please keep quiet, ma’am? This is a hospital, and there are other patients,” she explained to Lucy.
“Quiet? Seriously?” Lucy glared at her. “Your nurse brings me a random child, then tells me she’s not wrong! Is that how your hospital administration operates? Should I contact the chief doctor and inform him of the situation?”
“I agree with my wife, doctor. We don’t want to create a scene either,” Ross intervened. “But your nurse is lying. We don’t know why she’s doing that, but if we don’t get our son back, we’ll have to call the police!”
“Please, sir, calm down,” Dr. Carter said. “I’m sure there’s just some misunderstanding. Savannah has been working at this hospital for several years. Perhaps she brought the wrong documents. Savannah, may I have a look at the papers?” Dr. Carter inquired. But Savannah didn’t give it to her and instead started stammering, “There’s no need, ma’am…I mean, I checked it, and they’re fine.”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
Dr. Carter sensed something was wrong and softly told her, “It’s fine. Let me quickly check the reports.” However, when she read through them, she realized Lucy was correct.
“Please give me a minute, ma’am,” she said as she flipped through the pages. “I assume Savannah brought the incorrect paperwork. There was another patient named Lucy Matthews, and Savannah got confused.”
“I’m glad you noticed your mistake,” Lucy said, glaring at her. “I would recommend that you hire responsible people as members of the staff the next time!”
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Dr. Carter apologized again as she turned to face Savannah. “Would you mind accompanying me, Savannah? I need you to find the correct reports for me.”
Savannah swiftly followed Dr. Carter, but Lucy spotted the tears in her eyes as she walked away. She got a strange feeling Dr. Carter and Savannah were up to something, so she decided to follow them.
She watched them both enter Dr. Carter’s clinic and then heard someone crying. It had to be Savannah, she reasoned. Fortunately, the door was slightly ajar, so Lucy sat on one of the chairs just outside the room and listened to what they were saying.
“What were you thinking, Savannah?” Dr. Carter spoke in a firm tone. “Lucy Matthews delivered twins: a boy and a girl at 10:30 a.m. today. Even the reports said that. Why are you lying to them? Be honest!”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
“I didn’t have a choice, ma’am,” Savannah sobbed. “That other newborn girl belongs to my sister. Her spouse had abandoned her after he learned about the pregnancy, and unfortunately, she didn’t make it post-delivery. I could have adopted her, but my husband refused.”
“Why don’t you place her in a nursing home?” Dr. Carter proposed. “She’d be well taken care of there.”
“I’m afraid I can’t, ma’am. It was my sister’s last wish for her daughter to grow up in a loving home,” Savannah sobbed.
“When I saw Mrs. Matthews this morning and how she and her husband were supporting each other, I thought they would be a beautiful family for her. So I decided to swap Mrs. Matthew’s son with my sister’s daughter and place him in a nursing home instead.”
“But that’s not right, Savannah,” Dr. Carter pointed out. “We can’t let that happen. Get Mrs. Matthews’ son right now. And, yes, this should stay confidential between us. Let me see what I can do for you.”
Lucy’s eyes had welled up when she heard the story. There wasn’t a nefarious intention behind exchanging the kids. A helpless woman wanted her niece to end up in a lovely family. I feel sorry for the child, honestly. Lucy pondered as she returned to her room.
A few minutes later, Dr. Carter returned to Lucy’s room and handed over her newborn son. “Sorry about the mixup, ma’am. I apologize on behalf of my staff,” Dr. Carter said.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
Having overheard the whole story earlier, Lucy, decided not to file a complaint against her. But every time she tried to sleep at home that night, her thoughts returned to the poor child, and her innocent face flashed straight in front of her eyes.
“I can’t forget about her, Ross,” Lucy told her husband at breakfast the next day. “I had a dream yesterday in which I saw a girl who had come to our house by mistake and was living peacefully with us. I know it doesn’t make sense, but I can’t get that out of my head.”
“It’s because of what happened yesterday, honey,” Ross explained. “Try to distract yourself with something else. How about we go somewhere? You’ll feel better.”
“No, Ross,” Lucy looked at him. “I don’t feel like leaving that child alone. I want to adopt her.”
“But honey!” Ross cried. “Are you sure? We already have two children to look after, and a third would be far too much! Don’t make emotional decisions! We need to be practical.”
“I understand, Ross, but please. I can’t persuade myself. I pondered it all night and decided to adopt her. Can we please go to the hospital today?”
“Well, honey. I am there with you in all your decisions, but I’m worried it’ll be too much work for you.”
“I can manage that, Ross. Please?” Lucy insisted.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
Ross initially opposed the adoption, but his feelings changed when he held the child in his arms. She had brown eyes with a slight green tinge, and she kept staring at him. Ross was moved by her innocent looks, to say the least.
“I’m delighted you considered adopting her, Mr. and Mrs. Matthews. She is indeed lucky,” the doctor told them.
“Well, doctor, we tried a lot for kids, and now, when a child wants to come to us, we can’t just let it go. Just let me know when we can take her home,” Lucy said.
“It’ll take some time, but for now, I’ll submit the documents to expedite the process.”
As the doctor had said, it took some time, but Lucy and Ross had no regrets about their decision. When they brought the child home, they felt as if their family was finally complete. They named the baby girl Amelia.
Savannah visited them after learning Lucy and Ross had adopted the child and couldn’t stop thanking them. Since then, she’s become a regular at the Matthews’, and she mostly spends the weekends with Lucy’s kids: the twins Sia and Mark and Amelia.
What can we learn from this story?
- Relationships are formed through love and care, not necessarily by blood. Lucy and Ross’s adoption of Amelia as their kid is a beautiful example of this.
- Some accidents are beautiful. Savannah brought Amelia to Lucy simply because she wanted her to be adopted by a good family, and in the end, the poor child was blessed with a lovely family.
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