{"id":14809,"date":"2026-04-24T02:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T01:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news5.chainityai.com\/?p=14809"},"modified":"2026-04-24T02:15:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T01:15:01","slug":"my-husband-gave-up-on-me-and-our-eight-kids-for-a-younger-woman-but-when-i-got-a-2-am-voicemail-from-him-a-month-later-i-realized-karma-finally-caught-up-with-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news5.chainityai.com\/?p=14809","title":{"rendered":"My Husband Gave Up on Me and Our Eight Kids for a Younger Woman \u2013 But When I Got a 2 AM Voicemail From Him a Month Later, I Realized Karma Finally Caught Up With Him"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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My husband left our eight kids and me for a woman young enough to be his daughter. A month later, my phone rang at 2 a.m. \u201cYou have to stop my mom,\u201d he begged. When I learned what she planned to do to him, I thought karma had finally caught up to him \u2014 but then I realized I\u2019d made a huge mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Looking back now, the signs were there for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My husband\u2019s best friend, Mark, frequently visited us. He usually brought his daughter, Lily, with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lily practically grew up in our house. She was the flower girl at our wedding. She was eight when our first child was born, and by the time our fourth child came along, she was old enough to babysit occasionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lily practically grew up in our house.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Our kids adored her. As our family grew, Lily was like an older sister to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And somewhere along the way, Daniel started paying a little too much attention to her. She\u2019d come over with Mark, and the three of them would sit together on the back porch while the younger kids played in the yard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lily would sometimes join the games in that indulgent way that a 20-year-old might, but Daniel would eventually call her back to sit with them again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Lily babysat, Daniel often called her into his office to chat after we came home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Daniel started paying a little too much attention to her.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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At the time, I told myself it was harmless. She was just part of the furniture in our loud, chaotic home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe that was part of the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With eight kids running around, there was always some crisis to solve. Someone was always losing a favorite shirt, a toy, or a pair of shoes. Sibling arguments formed the soundtrack of our day-to-day lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniel used to stand in the kitchen, shaking his head. \u201cIt\u2019s like living in a circus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d laugh. I thought it was a joke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s like living in a circus.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Then there was Daniel\u2019s mother, Margaret. She wasn\u2019t cruel; she didn\u2019t need to be. One look from Margaret was enough to make you feel like something unpleasant she\u2019d scraped off the bottom of her shoe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I got that look often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once, shortly after Daniel and I got engaged, she pulled me aside at a family dinner and said, \u201cYou seem like a very nice young woman, Claire, but my son has always had significant opportunities ahead of him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her meaning was clear: I wasn\u2019t good enough for her son.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I got that look often.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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I understood it, in a way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret had built a hugely successful business alongside her late husband, and Daniel stood to inherit all of it. She had reason to be protective, but that didn\u2019t make \u201cthe look\u201d sting any less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, even with Margaret lurking at the edges and his long chats with Lily, I believed Daniel and I were solid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then one afternoon, he packed a bag and said he was leaving me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you mean? We\u2019ve been married for 20 years, Daniel\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He packed a bag and said he was leaving me.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhat do you mean? We\u2019ve been married for 20 years, Daniel\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He shrugged. \u201cI met someone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just like that. Standing in our bedroom, duffel bag on the bed, like he was about to leave for a weekend trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cSomeone?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Daniel sighed. \u201cListen, Claire. Our relationship has run its course. You stopped trying years ago. Do you even own anything that isn\u2019t yoga pants or stained sweats?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI met someone.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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I stared at him. \u201cI\u2019m raising eight kids, Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniel rolled his eyes. \u201cThe point remains. The woman I\u2019m in love with always wants to look beautiful for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woman.<\/em> That word landed funny, although I couldn\u2019t pinpoint why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWho is she?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Something shifted in his face. \u201cThat\u2019s not important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I grabbed his elbow. \u201cDaniel. Who is she? Is it someone I know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe woman I\u2019m in love with always wants to look beautiful for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Daniel looked at me with that sharp, impatient expression he\u2019d been wearing a lot lately. \u201cFine. If you really want to know, it\u2019s Lily.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLily?\u201d It took me a minute before the full weight of what he\u2019d just said hit me. \u201cNot Mark\u2019s daughter, Lily?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His silence was all the confirmation I needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stumbled backward, away from him. \u201cThat\u2019s\u2026 We watched Lily grow up, Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAnd she\u2019s an adult now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019s 26\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIf you really want to know, it\u2019s Lily.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s not like we planned it,\u201d Daniel snapped, reaching for his bag. \u201cBut we\u2019re in love, Claire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He didn\u2019t sound guilty. That was the part that floored me. He sounded relieved, like a man who\u2019d just escaped something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The kids were in the living room. The older ones were arguing over a video game. Our youngest was lying on the floor coloring, feet kicked up behind her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniel walked past all of them, opened the front door, and left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He didn\u2019t say goodbye to a single one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He didn\u2019t sound guilty.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The days blurred together after that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eight kids don\u2019t pause their lives because yours has just caved in on itself. Lunches still needed packing, and homework still needed supervising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our youngest crawled into my bed every night and asked the same question: \u201cWhere\u2019s Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the evenings, it felt like the youngest four kids were taking turns to ask, \u201cWhen\u2019s Dad coming home?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I never had a good answer. I gave a lot of \u201cI\u2019m not sure, buddy,\u201d and \u201cLet me finish this, and we\u2019ll talk,\u201d and hoped it would hold them for another day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhen\u2019s Dad coming home?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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The worst was the night my 18-year-old daughter came to me. \u201cYou need to tell them the truth, Mom. Dad isn\u2019t coming home. He left us for Lily.\u201d She said the name like it burned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cHow do you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

She gave me a dark look. \u201cEveryone knows, Mom. Haven\u2019t you heard?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHeard what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDad and Mark had a huge argument right on the lawn outside Mark\u2019s house. The neighbors heard everything. Mark told Dad he never wanted to see him again, that he\u2019d betrayed his trust.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cEveryone knows, Mom. Haven\u2019t you heard?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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I buried my head in my hands. \u201cI\u2019ve noticed people looking at me at the grocery store, but\u2026 everyone knows?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryone. I get why you don\u2019t want to tell Edie, Josh, Tyler, and Sam all the details, but they need to understand he isn\u2019t coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I sat the kids down the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few days afterward, the divorce papers arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I sat at the kitchen table for a long time, looking at them. He\u2019d been generous. He was willing to let me keep the house and my car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was also offering a monthly child support payment that was more than I\u2019d expected. \u201cVisitation at his discretion\u201d was written in tidy legalese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It all translated plainly to: don\u2019t fight, just take the money, raise the kids, and don\u2019t expect to see me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I signed them. Twenty years of marriage gone in under 30 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A few days afterward, the divorce papers arrived.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Exactly one month after he left, my phone rang at 2:00 in the morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His name lit up the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stared at it. Nobody calls at that hour with good news, so I let it ring out. I didn\u2019t want to be a part of whatever drama had prompted Daniel to call me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when a voicemail notification appeared, something in my gut told me to listen.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

His voice was different. I noticed that immediately. Not the smooth, confident Daniel who\u2019d sighed at me like I was an inconvenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniel was scared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My phone rang at 2:00 in the morning.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cClaire\u2026 You have to call my mom. Right now. I\u2019m begging you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I sat up straighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cShe\u2019s going to cut me out of the will, the company, everything. You have to talk to her. Please. Ask her not to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I sat there in the dark for a moment. Then I smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karma had caught up to Daniel. Good.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But when I called him back, I quickly realized that I would be in even deeper trouble than he was if I didn\u2019t help him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Karma had caught up to Daniel.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I dialed him back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He answered on the first ring. \u201cClaire?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy on earth would you think I\u2019d help you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silence. Then two words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cChild support.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My smile disappeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou think I can support eight kids with nothing?\u201d He asked in a sharp tone. \u201cIf she cuts me off, I lose my salary. I lose everything. And if I have no income, the court can\u2019t squeeze blood from a stone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhy on earth would you think I\u2019d help you?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t say anything. I was doing math in my head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eight kids. Eight futures. Eight college funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suddenly, this wasn\u2019t karma anymore. It was a problem I was going to have to solve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cSo, unless you suddenly have the means to support them all,\u201d he continued, \u201cyou need to go beg my mother to change her mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Suddenly, this wasn\u2019t karma anymore.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The next morning, I drove to Margaret\u2019s house on a hill overlooking the river. My hands were trembling when I rang the doorbell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret opened the door herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We looked at each other for one long moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then I did something I never expected to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I dropped to my knees on Margaret\u2019s doorstep. \u201cPlease don\u2019t cut Daniel out of the business. I\u2019m not going to pretend I care what happens to him, but think of the children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I did something I never expected to do.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood heavens, Claire, get up!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I got up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She put both hands on my shoulders. \u201cWhat on earth are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I told her what Daniel had said when I called him back. Her lips drew into a tight line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat sneaky little\u2014\u201d she stopped herself. Then she put an arm around my shoulders. \u201cCome inside. Daniel didn\u2019t tell you everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhat on earth are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Inside, she poured tea. We sat at the long dining table, and Margaret folded her hands in front of her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am cutting Daniel out of the business and my will, and there is nothing you can say to convince me otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She silenced me with \u201cthe look,\u201d but I couldn\u2019t afford to back down this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMargaret, don\u2019t give me that look.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

She blinked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I couldn\u2019t afford to back down this time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I pressed on. \u201cI won\u2019t pretend I wasn\u2019t pleased when I first heard this news, but if you cut Daniel off, he won\u2019t be able to pay child support. Those are your grandchildren we\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Something shifted on her face. \u201cIt\u2019s good to see you\u2019ve finally grown a backbone, Claire, but let me finish. Daniel didn\u2019t tell you the most important part of what I said to him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Margaret adjusted her teacup. \u201cI\u2019m not going to leave my grandchildren in the lurch. You will now receive the same amount he was earning, paid directly to you from my personal account. For the children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cDaniel didn\u2019t tell you the most important part.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Tears stung my eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n

\u201cAnd as for the inheritance\u2026 I would rather leave my estate to the eight children he abandoned.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I stood up. And I did something I had never, ever imagined myself doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hugged Margaret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She went stiff for half a second. Then her hands came up and patted my back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d I murmured into her shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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She went stiff for half a second.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI\u2019m so sorry for what he did to you,\u201d she breathed. \u201cHis behavior is utterly reprehensible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stepped back and wiped my eyes quickly. Then I pulled out my phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to call him. Let him know how this went.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Margaret nodded once and lifted her teacup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He answered fast. \u201cClaire? Did you get her to change her mind?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I glanced across the table at Margaret. \u201cNo. Your attempt to manipulate me failed, Daniel. Your mother explained everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cDid you get her to change her mind?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhat? But-but you two hate each other. Why would she \u2014 you! What did you say to her? This is all your fault!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cDaniel, everything that\u2019s happened to you is your own fault.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I hung up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across the table, Margaret lifted her teacup to her lips with complete composure and took a slow, unhurried sip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first time in 20 years, Margaret and I were on the same side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cBut you two hate each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My husband left our eight kids and me for a woman young enough to be his daughter. A month later, my phone rang at 2 […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14810,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news5.chainityai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news5.chainityai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news5.chainityai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news5.chainityai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news5.chainityai.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14809"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news5.chainityai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14811,"href":"https:\/\/news5.chainityai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14809\/revisions\/14811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news5.chainityai.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news5.chainityai.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news5.chainityai.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news5.chainityai.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}