At 34 weeks pregnant, Mary was jolted awake by her husband’s screams of “Fire!” But it was a cruel prank, orchestrated by Daniel and his friends, to exploit her deep-seated trauma from a past house fire. The emotional damage was instant. “How could you do this to me?” Mary cried, feeling betrayed by the person she trusted most.

Despite Daniel’s apologies, Mary couldn’t overlook the pain. Her fears, born from a traumatic childhood experience, were no joke. “I felt like he didn’t care about me or my feelings,” Mary confided in her father, who urged her to prioritize her well-being and that of her unborn child.

The next morning, Mary made a difficult decision—she filed for divorce. “Daniel played with my fears, and that wasn’t a joke,” she reflected. Though her mother urged her to forgive, Mary knew she had to protect herself and her baby from the toxic environment. “My emotions aren’t something to be toyed with,” she concluded.