Blurb：
Liam, the husband who was always too busy for his daughter Sophia’s school events, is caught in a web of lies. When Sophia whispers her birthday wish—to never see her father again—Emma realizes the truth: Liam is dedicating his time to another woman’s son, Lucas. As secrets unravel, from framed family photos to Isabella’s manipulative tactics, Emma’s transformation begins. This emotional story of betrayal, divorce, and a mother’s strength explores themes of absent fathers and broken family rituals. Will Emma protect Sophia from Liam’s double life? Dive into this gripping tale of heartbreak and resilience.
Content：
Something came up at work. I can’t make it for Sophia’s birthday tonight.
I calmly closed the chat window with my husband. Then I opened my social media feed and saw the photo he’d just been tagged in: Liam, my husband, holding another woman’s son, both of them beaming with joy.
My five-year-old daughter leaned against me, her voice a small whisper.
Mommy, my birthday wish this year is to never see Daddy again.
So, even a child could see it. The man who was always too busy for her school events was the same man who would move heaven and earth for someone else’s kid.
It was two in the morning when Liam finally came home. The sudden glare of the headlights slicing through the window made me instinctively cover my daughters eyes.
He leaned against the bedroom doorframe. Honey, I’m home. Why don’t you wake Sophia up? We can still celebrate her birthday.
I used to be obsessed with these family rituals. Birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, even the smallest school functionI’d insist Liam be there. I didn’t want Sophia to grow up like I did, knowing her father only through a phone screen.
But now
I smoothed the blanket over my daughter, my voice flat. Don’t bother.
A flash of annoyance crossed Liam’s face. Emma, I was just putting Lucas to bed. That’s it. Don’t read into it. This is exactly why I can’t be honest with you, because you’re always so suspicious.
I wasn’t reading into it. And from now on, I wouldn’t be suspicious either.
If you’re done, please go to your own room. Don’t wake Sophia. She has school in the morning.
He let out a cold laugh. Fine. But don’t come crying to me later, saying I’m an absent father.
I turned away and switched off the lamp, gently patting the back of my daughter, who had stirred from the noise.
Absent? It didn’t matter anymore. After all, Sophia’s birthday wish was to never see him again.
The next morning, Liam didn’t leave immediately after breakfast as he usually did. He sat at the table, watching the morning news. Just as we were about to leave, he stood up, grabbed his keys, and walked over to us, ruffling Sophia’s hair.
Daddy’s taking you to school today.
He was speaking to our daughter, but his eyes were fixed on me.
Two years ago, when Sophia first started preschool, Liam drove her every single day. But after Isabella arrived, he started leaving earlier and earlier, claiming his morning meetings had been moved up. I believed him, right up until three months ago, when I was at Sophia’s new school and saw him. The man who was supposed to be in a board meeting was leaning over to lift a little boy out of the backseat of his car.
It wasn’t that he didn’t have time to take his daughter to school. It was just that he had something more important to do.
We had a terrible fight that night. The next day, Sophia stopped asking for him to take her.
Even though I had already decided on a divorce, he was still her father. I hesitated for a moment, then nodded. A small, triumphant smile touched his lips as he scooped Sophia into his arms.
When he opened the car door, I froze.
The backseat was a mess of someone else’s life. A Spider-Man water bottle, a toy bow and arrow set, a woman’s shawl tossed carelessly on the leather. Tucked into the seatback pocket was a framed family photo.
He followed my gaze, and his expression soured. Isabella put that there. She said it makes Lucas happy. He shot me a warning look. Don’t start. It’s not a big deal.
The old me would have shattered the frame, would have screamed and cried and demanded to know where Sophia and I stood in his heart.
But the new me just nodded. It’s a nice picture.
He stared at me, confused. You’re not angry?
Angry? Maybe I should have been. But all I felt was a vast, hollow emptiness. It was almost funny. How could a man as sharp as Liam not see through such a clumsy, transparently manipulative tactic?
The answer was simple. He saw it. He just didn’t care.
We should go, I said. Sophia’s going to be late.
His lips tightened, but he said nothing, just opened the driver’s side door. As I was about to lift Sophia into her car seat, his phone rang. The ringtone was a cheesy children’s song.
My dad is the best dad, the best dad in the world…
A little boy’s frantic sobs filled the air. Daddy! Daddy! Where did you go? Don’t you want me and Mommy anymore?
Liam hung up and, without a single glance in our direction, slid into the driver’s seat. Lucas’s asking for me. I’ll have the driver take you today.
The black Maybach sped away, leaving us in a cloud of exhaust. I knelt down, worried about Sophia. Daddy had an emergency, sweetheart. Next time he’s free, we’ll all go together, okay?
Sophia looked at me, her expression startlingly mature for a five-year-old. Daddy’s never free, Mommy. All his time is for Lucas and his mommy.
That evening, Liam called. Emma, I’m going to be late tonight. Lucas’s sick…
Okay.
My response was so quick that his excuses died in his throat. He must have thought I was being difficult, because his tone sharpened with annoyance. Emma, don’t be like this.
Then he hung up.
Ten minutes later, a series of texts came through.
[I’m so sorry, Emma. Lucas has been so clingy with his dad lately.]
[But honestly, he shouldn’t have just abandoned you and Sophia the moment I called.]
[I’ll have a word with him. Don’t be mad.]
It was Isabella. The texts weren’t an apology; they were a declaration of war.
I had no interest in fighting her for a man. I deleted the messages and blocked her number.
A moment later, my phone rang again. It was Liam.
Emma, what the hell is your problem? Isabella apologizes to you, and that’s how you treat her? In the background, I could hear the faint sound of a woman and child crying.
I said nothing. After a long silence, his voice came again, low and cold.
I don’t know who you’ve become, Emma. I’m so disappointed in you.
Isabella had started it, but the moment she cried, Liam always made me the villain.
Back home, I started packing. While Liam had been on the phone, I’d been consulting with my lawyer. Upon divorce, I was entitled to at least 30% of his company’s shares. And in a custody battle, with our circumstances being similar, the mother is typically favored.
There was nothing left to hold me back.
I packed my clothes, my bags, my jewelry, and all of Sophia’s favorite toys. As I sealed the last box, my hands trembled. My eyes fell on a dusty, wax-sealed trunk I hadn’t touched in years.
It was full of love letters.
From the Liam who was seventeen, eighteen, all the way to twenty-two.
I broke the seal and opened the one on top.
It began: To the 27-year-old Emma, from the 17-year-old Liam.
This is the first love letter I’ve ever written you. As we agreed, we’ll open this together in ten years. By then, we’ll definitely be married. Maybe we’ll even have a beautiful child.
My phone rang again. It was the 27-year-old Liam.
Emma! Isabella took Lucas and ran away! Do you have any idea what you’ve done? If anything happens to them, I will never forgive you.
My eyes fell to the bottom of the letter I was holding.
It was signed: Forever yours, Liam, who will always love his Emma.
A sharp, piercing pain shot through my chest, as if something delicate and precious inside me had just shattered.
I hung up the phone and tossed the entire trunk of letters into the fireplace.
Liam didn’t come home that night. I didn’t frantically call him, didn’t cry and promise to be nicer to Isabella. Sophia didn’t ask about her father either. She just silently took the framed photo of her and Liam from her bedside table while I was packing.
We fell into a cold war. A week later, Sophia’s school sent home a permission slip for a field trip that required a parent’s facial recognition signature.
I tried to call Liam, only to find he had blocked my number.
Left with no choice, I drove to his office. I didn’t have to wait long before I saw a familiar figure slip into his office.
The assistant, pouring a glass of water, looked at me guiltily. Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Hayes gave instructions that Isabella can enter his office whenever she likes.
That privilege was my fault, in a way. I used to bring Liam lunch every day. We’d eat and talk for an hour. One day, Isabella came to see him and was stopped by the assistant. By the time Liam walked me out, Isabella and Lucas were shivering in the hallway, their lips blue with cold.
That was the first time Liam had ever truly lost his temper with me. He yelled that my daily visits were a waste of his time. He fired the assistant who had stopped Isabella. From that day on, everyone at the company knew who was the most important woman in Liam Hayes’s life.
I never came back to the office again.
I gave the new assistant a small smile and walked straight toward his office.
Liam was in a meeting. He looked surprised to see me. What are you doing here?
Isabella was perched on the arm of his chair, their bodies so close they were almost touching. He saw me looking and started to stammer. Emma, don’t get the wrong idea. Isabella just happens to know a little about this project, so…
I nodded and handed him the tablet. Sophia’s field trip. It needs your signature.
You came all this way just for that?
Why else would I be here?
The atmosphere in the room grew heavy. I knew Liam well enough to know that he was in a very bad mood.
Isabella scoffed. Honestly, what’s so important about a signature? Liam, she’s just looking for an excuse to make up with you. You’ve been staying at my place for days. It’s probably time you went home to see Sophia.
Liam’s brow smoothed, and a smug, playful smile appeared on his face. He tossed the tablet onto the coffee table. Emma, now you’re using our daughter as an excuse. Apologize to Isabella. Otherwise, I’m not signing anything.
Hearing those words used to infuriate me. I’d be furious that he cared so little for his own daughter, and even more furious that he was doing it for Isabella.
But now, I felt nothing. My only thought was that without his signature, Sophia couldn’t go on the trip, and she would be disappointed. I looked at him, then at Isabella, still perched on his chair like a queen on her throne. Without another word, I turned and walked out. I’d just tell the school Sophia didn’t have a father.
I’d only taken a few steps when a clear, cool voice stopped me.
If you don’t mind, Miss, perhaps I could be of assistance.
It was the other man from the meeting. After all, I’ve been an unwilling audience to your family drama for a while now.
I finally got a good look at him. He was dressed in a sharp black suit, his features cool and aristocratic. He radiated an aura of wealth and power. I simply handed him the tablet. The authorization went through instantly. On the screen, a bold, elegant signature appeared:
Alexander Prescott.
The divorce papers were ready. I was the one to break the cold war, texting Liam to come home that evening.
When I went to pick Sophia up from school, his Maybach was already waiting. The window rolled down, revealing Isabella’s triumphant face in the passenger seat.
Emma, here to pick up your daughter? This is a rather exclusive school. Are you really wearing last year’s coat? Aren’t you afraid you’ll embarrass her?
I ignored her and moved a few feet away.
Isabella turned to Liam, her face a mask of distress. Liam, did I say something wrong? I think I made her angry.
For once, Liam didn’t respond. His eyes were fixed on my thin coat, his voice stiff. Emma, it’s windy. Get in the car.
I moved even further away. I don’t know when it happened, but we had become strangers, so much so that even a simple word of concern sounded forced and hollow.
As we neared the school gate, a scuffle broke out between two children in the line. I looked closer and my heart sank. One of them was Sophia.
I ran over and pulled them apart. The other child was Lucas. He froze when he saw me, then immediately sat down on the ground and started wailing. Waaah! The mean lady hit me! It hurts!
Liam and Isabella rushed over. Isabella scooped up her son, her voice shaking with indignation. Emma, I know you don’t like me, but you can’t take it out on a child! They were just playing! Why are you so aggressive?
Liam’s disapproving glare was fixed on me, as if he’d forgotten Sophia was his own daughter.
The teacher looked mortified. Mrs. Hayes, Mrs. Vance both children saw Mr. Hayes and started arguing about who he belonged to. It just escalated from there.
It was pickup time, and a crowd of parents had gathered.
What’s all this? Fighting over a dad? Is this one of those wife and mistress situations?
That guy looks loaded. The kid’s probably just a little gold-digger, making it up.
So young and already materialistic. What kind of parents does she have?
Lucas was still sobbing, his arms wrapped tightly around Liam’s neck, crying Daddy, Daddy.
But Sophia she just held my hand, her eyes wide and unblinking, fixed on Liam.
The other children were curious. Mister, whose daddy are you? You have to tell us! The one who’s lying has to apologize!
Liam opened his mouth. I’m Soph
At that moment, Isabella gave his sleeve a tiny, desperate tug.
In an instant, I knew. He was wavering. Just like all the other times, one look from Isabella, and his daughter and I became his second choice.
I gritted my teeth, my voice cold. Liam, your answer right now will affect Sophia for the rest of her life. Think carefully before you speak.
His body went rigid. He looked down, his expression unreadable. Then, in a voice just loud enough for everyone to hear, he said, I’m Lucas’s father. He turned to Sophia. Little girl, I think you’ve made a mistake.
My heart seized, as if struck by a hammer. Pain, sharp and blinding, threatened to bring tears to my eyes. This is our daughter.
The crowd of parents turned on Sophia.
Little girl, you shouldn’t lie about who your father is. And you hit his real son!
Yeah, the truth is out and you’re not even apologizing? What terrible manners.
She’s just jealous he’s rich. Wants to be a rich man’s daughter.
That mother of hers doesn’t look like a good person either. Probably taught her daughter to do it to snag a rich guy.
Liam, you are not human I started, but a sharp pain in my palm cut me off.
Sophia was gripping my hand, her small fingers surprisingly strong. Her lower lip was caught between her teeth, and the light in her eyes was dimming, fading to gray.
Mommy, she whispered. Let it go.
Then, she turned to Liam, her movements wooden, and gave a small, formal bow. I’m sorry, sir. I made a mistake.
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