But she wasn’t fooled, not really. There were so many nights when she would stay up late, refusing to go to bed until he came home.
I’d end up carrying her, asleep in my arms, to her bed, only to hear her disappointment the next morning when she realized she had missed him again.
That was why I planned the vacation—just a simple trip, so we could all be together for a few days. I thought maybe if we had that time, Lily would finally feel like she had a father who cared.
I thought maybe it would bring us closer, even if just for a little while. I wanted to give her that. But as usual, Michael found a reason not to come, and I should’ve known better than to expect anything else.
Alas, nothing went the way I had planned. I couldn’t stop the tears when I thought about how bright Lily’s smile had been when I told her we were going on vacation, just the three of us. She was so excited. It breaks my heart just thinking about it now.
The man who used to stand up for me, who I had once loved deeply, was gone. Now, he was just a stranger—one who was asking another woman to slap his wife.