I was just scrolling through Facebook, searching for a picture from our anniversary party last month. I wanted that one where Lily had frosting all over her little face. But as I scrolled through Sam’s posts, something else caught my eye. A name I didn’t recognize kept appearing in the comments—Ella.
At first, I brushed it off. But then I noticed the way she commented. It wasn’t casual, like an old friend dropping by to say hello. No, it was… familiar.
“Looking good as always!” she had written under a photo of Sam and me dressed up for a fancy dinner. My stomach twisted.
The worst was her comment on a picture from Lily’s birthday party. Lily had been wearing a pair of sparkling fairy wings and a silver plastic crown.
“Oh wow, you took my suggestion about the wings! So glad Lily liked them ❤️.”
My breath caught. Her suggestion? Who was this woman, and why was she giving my husband advice about my daughter?
I clicked on her profile. The first thing I noticed was that she was beautiful. Bright eyes, a glowing smile—there was something almost familiar about her, but I was sure I’d never met her before. There wasn’t much information on her page, so I started looking through her posts.
And that’s when I saw it—Sam had liked almost every single one. He’d commented on her pictures, laughed at her jokes. My pulse quickened. Who was this woman?
As I sat there, lost in thought, Lily bounced into the room, her little pigtails swinging. She spotted my screen and gasped, eyes lighting up with recognition.
“Ella!” she squealed, pointing at the photo.
My stomach dropped. “You know her?”
Lily giggled. “Of course, silly! Don’t you? We see her all the time.”
I forced a smile. “All the time?”
“Yeah! Every Wednesday after school. Daddy picks me up, and we meet Ella. She’s super fun! We get ice cream, and sometimes we feed the ducks at the pond, but we use special duck food ‘cause Ella says bread isn’t good for them.”
Then she stopped, her eyes going wide. She slapped a tiny hand over her mouth. “Oh no. I wasn’t supposed to tell! Daddy said it was our special secret. He said sometimes grown-ups keep secrets so they don’t hurt other grown-ups’ feelings.”
A secret? My hands clenched. Special secrets with another woman? My mind spun, trying to piece it all together. I had thought Sam and Lily were having father-daughter time on Wednesdays. But apparently, someone else had been a part of their special outings.
I took a deep breath, forcing my voice to stay calm. “It’s okay, sweetie. Why don’t you go play with your dolls? I think Princess Sparkles needs a tea party.”
Lily grinned, skipping off. But I sat frozen, staring at the darkened screen of my phone, my reflection staring back at me. My husband had been sneaking around with another woman. Worse, he had dragged our daughter into it.
There was only one way to find out the truth.
The next day, I called in sick to work. For the first time in three years, I lied to my boss. But I didn’t care. I parked near Lily’s school and waited. My heart hammered in my chest as Sam’s car pulled up. I watched as he checked his phone, probably texting her.
Lily came running out in her light-up sneakers. Sam helped her into the car, making sure she was buckled in safely. Then, I followed them.
They pulled up at a park near the school. Lily sat on a bench, kicking her feet, while Sam kept glancing at his watch. Ten minutes later, a car pulled up. The woman from Facebook stepped out.
And suddenly, it hit me. I did know her.
Ella. Sam’s ex. His high school sweetheart. The one from all those old prom photos.
My chest tightened as Lily ran into her arms. “Ella! Ella!” she shrieked.
Ella picked her up, spinning her around as Sam stood by, grinning like a lovesick teenager. My stomach lurched. What was I watching? Had our whole marriage been a lie?
They played for a while, then all three of them walked across the street to a café. Our café. The place where Sam and I always took Lily for special outings.
I watched through the window as they sat at a table like a family. They ordered pizza. They laughed. My hands curled into fists.
After a while, Sam and Lily got up and went to the counter. Probably to order dessert. I knew Lily would want a hot fudge sundae. But Ella stayed at the table, alone.
Perfect.
I pushed open the door. The bell above chimed as I stepped inside. Ella didn’t look up until I was right in front of her.
“Hi,” I said. My voice was steady, but my heart was racing. “I’m Sam’s wife.”
Her face went pale. Her phone slipped from her hands and clattered onto the table. “I know,” she whispered.
“Sarah?” Sam’s voice cracked from behind me.
I turned. He stood frozen, Lily clutching his leg.
Ella looked between us. “Please, sit down. This isn’t what you think.”
“Then explain,” I said, my voice sharp. But I sat. I needed answers.
Sam exhaled. “Ella and I go way back. She reached out to me a while ago because… well, she should tell you.”
Ella swallowed hard. “My husband passed away last year. We always wanted kids, but it never happened. After he died, I started thinking about adopting, but I was scared I wouldn’t be a good mom. Sam suggested that spending time with Lily might help me decide.”
She wiped her eyes. “I never meant to cause problems. Sam talks about you all the time. He says you’re an incredible mother. I just… I hoped some of that magic would rub off on me.”
My breath hitched. “You’re adopting a child?”
Ella nodded and reached into her bag, pulling out a photograph. A little girl with big brown eyes and braids smiled up at me. “This is Maya. She’s four. I’m moving to Phoenix on Saturday to bring her home.”
The room seemed to spin. I had spent so much time building up this betrayal in my mind. But looking at Ella now, I saw her for what she was—a woman trying to find her way to motherhood, just like I had once done.
The anger slowly seeped out of me. In its place, understanding.
I turned to Sam. “No more secrets.”
“Never again,” he promised.
I looked at Ella. For the first time, I truly saw her—not as a threat, but as a woman about to take the same journey I had. And in that moment, I knew. She wasn’t trying to steal my family.
She was just trying to find one of her own.
