My ex-husband arrived at our son Leo’s birthday party with his 20-year-old girlfriend and announced in front of everyone:
“Leo, you should start calling her your second Mom.”
The entire backyard went silent.
Leo looked at me with tears in his eyes.
Greg clearly wanted me to explode so he could make me look like the bitter ex-wife.
But before I could say anything, his own mother, Eleanor, stepped forward.
“You don’t have to call anyone Mom except your mother.”
Greg’s smile disappeared.
Then Eleanor leaned toward me and quietly said:
“Don’t confuse attention with devotion.”
Those words made me start questioning everything Greg had been doing lately.
The extra weekends.
The sudden interest in Leo.
The endless photos he posted online.
Then I discovered the real reason behind his sudden transformation.
He wasn’t trying to become a better father. He was building a résumé.