“He Said She’d Just Be Staying for a Few Days—Now His ‘Best Friend’ Has Moved In.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I can’t tell you,” she whispered. “He told me not to.”

That night, I confronted Ben. I told him to tell me the truth—or I was gone.

“She’s not my friend,” he said. “She’s my daughter.”

Years before we met, he’d walked away from a pregnancy. He never knew Carly existed until she showed up with nowhere else to go. He lied because he was afraid of losing me.

I didn’t scream. I didn’t cry.

I went upstairs and sat with Carly. When I told her I knew the truth, she apologized through tears, afraid she’d ruined my marriage.

“You didn’t,” I said, taking her hand. “You’re his daughter. That makes you family.”

She broke down in my arms.

Continue reading…