Chapter 1

Ethan missed Lily’s kindergarten Thanksgiving pageant.

I was about to explain things to our daughter when a parent sitting next to me suddenly nudged me and showed me her phone.

"Chloe, isn't this your husband? He’s at the mall right across the street."

In the video, Ethan—the man who claimed he was currently handling an emergency at his factory—was carrying a four-year-old boy on his shoulders.

Right next to him, walking so close their shoulders touched, was the single mother he claimed he was only "charitably supporting."

The color drained from my face. Before I could even process the sight, the teacher on stage asked the children if they had anything they wanted to say to their parents.

Lily raised her chubby little hand, her voice loud and clear through the microphone.

"I want to give my daddy to Miss Maya!"

The parents in the audience burst into laughter, whispering about how cute and innocent kids could be.

But Lily pouted her lips, looking dead serious. "I mean it! Miss Maya said that if daddy sleeps over at her house more often, little Leo will grow taller."

"Every time daddy comes back from Miss Maya's house, he's too tired to even hold me."

"Mommy always says good girls should share their toys. So, I’m sharing daddy with them!"