CHAPTER 1: The Price of Loving Him

My husband left me after convincing me to be a surrogate twice to pay off his mom's mortgage — then karma h*t him hard.

When Ethan and I married, we started with almost nothing.

By our mid-thirties, we had a five-year-old, a cramped apartment outside Denver, and endless financial problems.

Most of them came from his mom.

She'd bought a home she couldn't afford, and nearly every spare dollar we had went toward her mortgage.

Whenever I mentioned taking a weekend getaway, Ethan would sigh, "Maybe next year.

Mom's payment is due again."

Then one evening, he casually said, "My coworker's cousin became a surrogate.

She earned sixty grand.

We could finally finish paying off Mom's house." He made it sound perfect — no debt, a beach vacation, "a new beginning for us." I loved him, so I said yes.

The first surrogacy went smoothly.

We cleared most of the debt.

Then Ethan came home holding a spreadsheet.

"One more time, babe.

Then we're done." My body hadn't fully recovered, but he kept reminding me, "You're doing it for our future." So I agreed again.

The second pregnancy destroyed me.

I gained weight, my back constantly hurt, and my hormones were everywhere.

Ethan began sleeping in the spare room because my "snoring wouldn't let him sleep." When it was finally over, he grinned and said, "Mom's mortgage is paid.

We're finally free."

A month later, however, he told me he wasn't attracted to me anymore.

He said I'd "stopped taking care of myself."

Then HE LEFT.

For his 27-year-old coworker whose Instagram was filled with bikini pictures.

I thought everything I'd sacrificed had been for nothing.

Until karma finally found him.

One afternoon, my friend Jamie, who still worked with Ethan, called me, sounding somewhere between amused and stunned.

"You are not going to believe WHAT just happened to Ethan!"

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What did Jamie find out?

What finally caught up with Ethan after everything he put her through?