The day my ex-husband called and asked to reconnect with our daughter, I truly believed it might be the turning point she’d been waiting for. Three years of heartbreak had taught me to keep my guard up—but still, when he said he wanted to spend time with Lily, I cracked open the door, just a little. For her sake.
Leo walked out on us when Lily was barely two. Not just walked out—he walked a few blocks away to live with the woman he’d been cheating on me with. No goodbye that made sense. No apology. Just a choice: start over without us.
I never begged him to stay. I had too much pride for that. And too much love for my daughter to spend time chasing someone who didn’t want to be there. I picked up the pieces. I worked extra shifts at the hospital. I became both mom and dad. But no amount of toys or bedtime stories could stop the questions that came as Lily got older.
“Why doesn’t Daddy visit me?”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“Does Daddy still love me?”