{"id":35913,"date":"2026-08-06T23:42:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T16:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/?p=35913"},"modified":"2026-08-06T23:42:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T16:42:44","slug":"i-went-to-my-ex-wifes-house-looking-for-answers-what-i-found-changed-everything-i-thought-i-knew-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/?p=35913","title":{"rendered":"On Christmas Eve, I Expected a Painful Confrontation\u2026 Instead, One Unexpected Moment Changed My Life Forever."},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 1: The Christmas Eve Truth<\/strong><\/h1>\n

I drove to my ex-wife\u2019s house on Christmas Eve carrying enough anger to drown out every good memory we had ever shared. For months I had convinced myself that Emily had already replaced me, that another man was living the life I had once thrown away, and I came prepared to confront him. Instead, the moment I stepped inside, I found a newborn baby sleeping peacefully in her living room, and everything I believed about my past collapsed in an instant.<\/p>\n

The house was quiet except for the soft glow of Christmas lights reflecting across baby bottles, folded blankets, and half-finished cups of tea. Emily looked exhausted, yet the fear in her eyes was impossible to ignore. Before I could ask another question, three firm knocks echoed through the front door.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cEmily,\u201d I asked, \u201cwho is that?\u201d<\/p>\n

She tightened her hold on the baby but said nothing. The knocking came again, slow and deliberate, and this time she whispered, \u201cDon\u2019t open it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The panic in her voice erased every trace of jealousy I had carried into the house. Whatever had frightened her was real, and watching her clutch the baby as though someone intended to take him from her made me realize how little I actually understood about the past several months.<\/p>\n

A woman\u2019s voice called from outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmily? I know you\u2019re in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily closed her eyes the moment she heard it.<\/p>\n

\u201cGavin\u2026 please.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked back at her before reaching for the lock. \u201cI\u2019m not letting someone frighten you inside your own house. Tell me who it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen help me understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

When no explanation came, I opened the door.<\/p>\n

Standing on the porch was an elegant woman in her late fifties with snow resting across her coat. She looked directly at me before shifting her attention to Emily and the baby.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank God you\u2019re here,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily answered quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t have come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI waited as long as I could.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman introduced herself as Dr. Margaret Vale, Emily\u2019s obstetrician, and somehow that explanation only deepened the confusion. Emily had carried an entire pregnancy under this doctor\u2019s care while I had remained completely unaware that I was about to become a father.<\/p>\n

Margaret asked a simple question.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes he know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily lowered her eyes toward the baby.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knows Noah is his.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hearing those words spoken aloud hit me harder than anything else that night. Noah. My son. The reality still refused to settle inside me, even though he was sleeping only a few feet away.<\/p>\n

Margaret looked at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen he deserves to know everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily immediately shook her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stepped closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease.\u201d<\/p>\n

She stared at the floor for several long seconds before finally sitting down with Noah in her arms. The strength she had been forcing herself to maintain since I arrived finally gave way to exhaustion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found out I was pregnant three weeks after we separated,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The words pulled me back to the end of our marriage with painful clarity. I remembered signing divorce papers, watching her walk away with red eyes, and convincing myself she had already accepted the end of us.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should\u2019ve told me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was going to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe night you announced the Singapore expansion.\u201d<\/p>\n

That answer stopped me cold. I remembered the celebration perfectly. Investors, reporters, board members, cameras, applause. I also remembered seeing Emily waiting near the ballroom before my chief financial officer, Vivian Cole, interrupted me with another business crisis that suddenly seemed far less innocent than I had believed.<\/p>\n

Emily looked at me sadly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI waited almost an hour for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were discussing a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe told me you were unavailable.\u201d<\/p>\n

I searched my memory and realized she was right. Vivian had stayed beside me almost the entire evening, steering every conversation and making sure I never reached the hallway where Emily had been waiting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI called you the next morning,\u201d Emily continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never got a call.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI left a voicemail.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, you didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. I told you I needed to see you. You never answered.\u201d<\/p>\n

I instinctively reached for my phone even though I already knew it would never contain messages from months ago. Every personal voicemail, every email, every appointment had passed through Vivian before reaching me.<\/p>\n

Margaret quietly asked, \u201cWho handled your personal communications back then?\u201d<\/p>\n

I answered without thinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cVivian.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither woman looked surprised.<\/p>\n

Margaret simply nodded, as though my answer confirmed something she had suspected for a very long time.<\/p>\n

Emily slowly opened the drawer beside the couch and removed a cream-colored envelope.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried emailing you too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never received anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

She handed me the envelope. My name was written across the front, but the handwriting wasn\u2019t hers. Inside was a single typed page containing only four short sentences.<\/p>\n

Stay away from Gavin Rowan.<\/p>\n

He has chosen his future.<\/p>\n

Any child you claim is his will be challenged.<\/p>\n

Do not test people who can bury you in court.<\/p>\n

I read the page twice before looking back at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat didn\u2019t come from me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time\u2026 I believed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her answer hurt more than the letter itself. Somewhere along the way, I had become the kind of husband whose silence made anonymous threats seem believable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would never threaten you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

She lowered her eyes instead of answering.<\/p>\n

I folded the paper carefully before speaking again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily looked genuinely surprised.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry that I made it possible for you to believe I could do something like this. I\u2019m sorry I left you alone long before I actually walked away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither of us spoke for several moments. The only sound inside the house came from the heater and the soft breathing of the newborn son I had only just discovered existed.<\/p>\n

Margaret eventually reached into her purse and placed another folder on the coffee table.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s another reason I came tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily\u2019s expression immediately changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe records?\u201d<\/p>\n

Margaret nodded before turning toward me.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone requested Noah\u2019s birth records this afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe request appeared to come from Emily.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily shook her head immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never authorized anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d Margaret replied. \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n

She handed me a copy of the request form. Emily\u2019s forged signature covered the bottom of the page, but it was an obvious fake.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cWho received the records?\u201d<\/p>\n

Margaret answered quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe request came through a legal services firm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich one?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBarton, Keel & West.\u201d<\/p>\n

The name hit me immediately because I recognized it before she finished speaking. It wasn\u2019t my company\u2019s law firm.<\/p>\n

It belonged to my mother.<\/p>\n

Emily looked at me carefully.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe knows.\u201d<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t deny it.<\/p>\n

My phone buzzed at exactly that moment. The screen lit up with one word.<\/p>\n

Mother.<\/p>\n

I ignored the call, but seconds later another message appeared.<\/p>\n

Christmas Eve or not, I expect you at dinner by eight. We need to discuss the Carter situation.<\/p>\n

The Carter situation. Not Emily. Not Noah. A situation.<\/p>\n

I slowly lowered the phone while Emily watched my face.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe knows,\u201d she repeated.<\/p>\n

This time I nodded. Before I could say anything else, Noah woke up and began crying softly. Emily instinctively reached for him, but before she could lift him completely, I hesitated and quietly asked the question that suddenly mattered more than every secret surrounding us.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I\u2026 hold him?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part 2: The Lies That Kept Us Apart<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Holding Noah for the first time should have been one of the happiest moments of my life, yet all I could think about was everything I had already missed. I had lost his birth, his first smile, and every milestone that should have belonged to both of us. Emily watched me quietly, and although neither of us spoke for several moments, the silence no longer felt angry. It was filled with the weight of a year neither of us could ever recover.<\/p>\n

Dr. Margaret Vale finally broke the silence by placing a thick folder on the coffee table. \u201cGavin,\u201d she said, \u201cEmily didn\u2019t choose to keep you away. Someone made sure the two of you never had the chance to speak honestly.\u201d I looked at her in confusion, unable to understand how something like that could even be possible.<\/p>\n

Margaret opened the folder and spread several printed emails across the table. \u201cThese were recovered from Emily\u2019s account,\u201d she explained. \u201cEvery one of them was sent to you.\u201d I picked up the first page and immediately recognized my own email address at the top, but I had never seen the message before.<\/p>\n

The first email had been sent only days after Emily discovered she was pregnant.\u00a0Gavin, I need to tell you something important. Please call me when you can.<\/em>\u00a0Another arrived after her first prenatal appointment.\u00a0I don\u2019t want anything except the chance to talk to you.<\/em>\u00a0Weeks later came another message.\u00a0If you\u2019ve truly decided to walk away, I\u2019ll stop trying. I just wanted you to know about our baby.<\/em><\/p>\n

I slowly lowered the papers and looked at Emily. \u201cI swear to you, I never received any of these.\u201d She nodded sadly instead of arguing. \u201cI know that now,\u201d she replied. \u201cBut back then, every unanswered message convinced me you had made your choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

I searched my memory, trying to remember those weeks after our separation. My company had been negotiating its largest overseas expansion, and my schedule had become almost impossible to manage. Every phone call, every meeting, every email, and every piece of personal correspondence had been filtered through one person before reaching me.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho managed your communications?\u201d Margaret asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy executive assistant,\u201d I answered. \u201cVivian handled everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily looked at me for a long moment before quietly saying, \u201cEvery time I called your office, Vivian answered. She always said you were unavailable, traveling, or in meetings. At first I believed her, but after a while she stopped pretending to be polite.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did she tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily hesitated before answering. \u201cShe said you didn\u2019t want complications. She said your career came first and that a pregnancy would only create problems for you. Eventually she told me I should stop embarrassing myself because you had already moved on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those words hit me harder than I expected. Vivian had worked beside me for nearly six years, managing my calendar with remarkable efficiency and handling every detail of my professional life. I trusted her completely, never questioning how much access she had to my personal affairs because I believed she was simply doing her job.<\/p>\n

Margaret slid another group of documents toward me. \u201cThere\u2019s more,\u201d she said. \u201cThese came from the hospital\u2019s administrative records.\u201d I began reading through the reports and immediately noticed something strange. Several appointments had been rescheduled after someone claiming to represent my office contacted the hospital. My name appeared repeatedly throughout the file, even though I had never spoken to anyone there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe caller requested that no medical information be shared with you directly,\u201d Margaret explained. \u201cThe staff believed the instructions came from someone acting on your behalf.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared at the paperwork in disbelief.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never authorized any of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know,\u201d she replied. \u201cThat\u2019s why we started asking questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily leaned forward and quietly added, \u201cThe receptionist always told me your assistant had already spoken with them. She knew your travel schedule, your office, even the names of your business partners. There wasn\u2019t any reason for me to doubt her.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the first time, the missing pieces began fitting together. Vivian hadn\u2019t simply been managing my schedule. She had been controlling access to my life. Every email Emily sent had disappeared. Every phone call had been intercepted. Every opportunity for us to speak had somehow been blocked before it ever reached me.<\/p>\n

My phone vibrated on the coffee table.<\/p>\n

The screen displayed Vivian\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

Before I could react, another message appeared.<\/p>\n

I heard you\u2019re with Emily.<\/em><\/p>\n

Then another.<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t believe everything she tells you.<\/em><\/p>\n

A third followed only seconds later.<\/p>\n

Call me before you make a mistake.<\/em><\/p>\n

Emily never asked who was texting because she already knew. She simply looked at the screen and sighed. \u201cShe always knew where you were,\u201d she said quietly. \u201cEven after we separated, it felt like she was watching every attempt I made to reach you.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked back through the messages in disbelief. Vivian shouldn\u2019t have known where I was that evening. I hadn\u2019t told anyone I was driving to Emily\u2019s house, and yet somehow she already knew exactly where to find me.<\/p>\n

Margaret folded the hospital records and looked directly at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cGavin, I don\u2019t think this was just an overprotective assistant trying to organize your schedule. Someone deliberately kept you away from Emily throughout her pregnancy, and someone also tried to obtain Noah\u2019s birth records earlier today using forged authorization forms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily quietly added, \u201cThat\u2019s why Margaret came here tonight. She wanted to warn us before whoever requested those records tried something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

I felt my stomach tighten.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho filed the request?\u201d<\/p>\n

Margaret answered immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt came through Barton, Keel & West.\u201d<\/p>\n

I recognized the law firm instantly. It wasn\u2019t connected to my company.<\/p>\n

It represented my mother.<\/p>\n

The room fell silent as I slowly looked from Margaret to Emily. Neither woman needed to explain what they were thinking because I had already reached the same conclusion. The people I trusted most had somehow become connected to every lie that had separated me from my son.<\/p>\n

Before I could process another thought, someone knocked hard against the front door.<\/p>\n

Once.<\/p>\n

Then again.<\/p>\n

This time there was no uncertainty about who stood outside.<\/p>\n

A familiar voice called through the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cGavin\u2026 I know you\u2019re in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily\u2019s face immediately went pale.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t need anyone to tell me whose voice it was.<\/p>\n

Vivian had found us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part 3: The Truth Waiting Outside the Door<\/strong><\/h1>\n

The knock came again, louder than before, and the silence inside the house disappeared instantly. Emily instinctively held Noah closer while Margaret calmly gathered the hospital records from the coffee table. I looked toward the front door, already knowing whose voice I had heard, but this time I wasn\u2019t willing to let someone else decide what happened next.<\/p>\n

\u201cStay here,\u201d I said quietly.<\/p>\n

Emily immediately shook her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cGavin, please don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m done running from questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

I opened the door just enough to step onto the porch before closing it behind me.<\/p>\n

Vivian stood there in a tailored winter coat, her expression perfectly composed despite the snow beginning to settle on her shoulders. She smiled as though she had simply come to deliver holiday greetings instead of tracking me to my ex-wife\u2019s home on Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been trying to reach you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou left the family dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had somewhere more important to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her smile faded almost immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo\u2026 she finally told you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe didn\u2019t have to tell me much. I\u2019ve already learned enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vivian folded her arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re making a mistake if you believe everything Emily says.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked at her for several seconds before asking the question that had been sitting in my mind since I read the missing emails.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you intercept her messages?\u201d<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Instead, she smiled politely.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve been under tremendous stress lately.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat wasn\u2019t my question.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I replied. \u201cI\u2019m finally paying attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the first time since I had known her, Vivian looked genuinely uncomfortable. She quickly changed the subject, hoping to regain control of the conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour mother is waiting. She\u2019s very concerned about the decisions you\u2019re making tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mother can wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe won\u2019t appreciate hearing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t particularly care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her expression hardened.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re throwing away everything you\u2019ve built.\u201d<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t help laughing quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. I almost lost everything because I trusted the wrong people.\u201d<\/p>\n

She stared at me without speaking.<\/p>\n

Then I asked another question.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did you tell Emily I didn\u2019t want my own child?\u201d<\/p>\n

Vivian\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never said that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has the emails.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe misunderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has witnesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re still confused.\u201d<\/p>\n

I reached into my coat pocket and removed the anonymous letter Emily had shown me earlier. Holding it between us, I watched the color slowly disappear from Vivian\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you recognize this?\u201d<\/p>\n

She hesitated for the smallest fraction of a second before answering.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cInteresting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the paper came from my executive office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her confidence cracked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe watermark belongs exclusively to our company.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe printer code embedded in the document identifies exactly which office machine produced it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd only three people had access to that printer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vivian slowly looked away.<\/p>\n

At that moment the front gate opened, and another car entered the driveway.<\/p>\n

My mother\u2019s black Mercedes rolled to a stop beside the curb.<\/p>\n

She stepped out without hurrying, adjusting her gloves before walking toward us with the confidence of someone who believed she still controlled the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cGavin,\u201d she said calmly, \u201ccome home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

She barely acknowledged Emily\u2019s house behind me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis conversation shouldn\u2019t be happening here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen where should it happen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt home. Privately.\u201d<\/p>\n

I shook my head.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy son lives here.\u201d<\/p>\n

She froze.<\/p>\n

For the first time that evening, she looked genuinely surprised.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo\u2026 you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

She glanced briefly toward Vivian before looking back at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis situation is more complicated than you realize.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I replied quietly. \u201cI think it\u2019s finally becoming very simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

My mother sighed.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmily was never the right woman for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was my wife.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe would\u2019ve ruined your future.\u201d<\/p>\n

I took one slow step toward her.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean the future you planned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither she nor Vivian answered.<\/p>\n

I looked at both women standing together in the snow and suddenly realized how many decisions had quietly been made without my knowledge. Every missed phone call, every unanswered email, every canceled meeting, every misunderstanding between Emily and me no longer felt like coincidence. They formed a pattern that had taken more than a year to build.<\/p>\n

Margaret quietly opened the front door behind me.<\/p>\n

\u201cGavin,\u201d she said, \u201cthere\u2019s something else you need to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

She walked outside carrying another folder.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the hospital security records.\u201d<\/p>\n

My mother frowned.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat records?\u201d<\/p>\n

Margaret ignored the question and handed the folder directly to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday afternoon,\u201d she explained, \u201csomeone visited the maternity ward asking to see Noah.\u201d<\/p>\n

I opened the report.<\/p>\n

The visitor had signed a false name.<\/p>\n

The security camera photograph, however, showed exactly who had entered the hospital.<\/p>\n

I slowly turned the page toward Vivian.<\/p>\n

She immediately went pale.<\/p>\n

My mother stopped breathing for a moment.<\/p>\n

Because standing outside Noah\u2019s hospital room\u2026<\/p>\n

wasn\u2019t Emily.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t me.<\/p>\n

It was Vivian herself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 1: The Christmas Eve Truth I drove to my ex-wife\u2019s house on Christmas Eve carrying enough anger to drown out every good memory we had ever shared. For months … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26573,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,22,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-inspiration","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35913"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35915,"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35913\/revisions\/35915"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}