At 34 weeks pregnant, I was jolted awake by my husband’s frantic cries of “fire!” Only to find out it was a prank—his friends had dared him to scare me with my deepest fear. I had always been terrified of fires since my childhood home burned down, and Daniel knew that. His laugh was like a punch to the gut. I was crushed,
not just by the prank, but by his complete disregard for my trauma. In that moment, I realized that Daniel, despite five years of marriage, didn’t truly care about my feelings. I couldn’t protect myself or my unborn baby from his careless behavior.
