Scrolling through Facebook, I noticed a woman, Ella, liking and commenting on all of Sam’s posts. Her comments felt oddly familiar, so I checked her profile and saw that Sam had liked every one of her photos. Then Lily ran by and pointed at her photo, saying, \u201cThat\u2019s Ella! I see her every week with Dad.\u201d My heart stopped.<\/p>\n
Lily explained that every Wednesday, after school, Sam and Ella took her out for ice cream and to feed ducks, calling it their “special secret.” I was devastated. I thought Sam and Lily had their father-daughter time, but there was a third person involved.<\/p>\n
The next day, I followed them to the park. There, Ella, Sam\u2019s high school sweetheart, showed up. They hugged, and Lily ran to her. I felt sick. They went to our favorite caf\u00e9, and I watched them together like a family.<\/p>\n
I finally confronted Ella at the caf\u00e9. Sam and Ella explained that she had reached out to him for advice about adopting a child after her husband passed away. She’d wanted to be sure she was ready, and Sam had suggested spending time with Lily. Ella was moving to Arizona to adopt a little girl named Maya.<\/p>\n
Ella apologized, saying she never meant to cause trouble, and Sam spoke about how much he admired me as a mother. She was just looking for guidance, not an affair.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Scrolling through Facebook, I noticed a woman, Ella, liking and commenting on all of Sam’s posts. Her comments felt oddly familiar, so I checked her profile and saw that Sam had liked every one of her photos. Then Lily ran by and pointed at her photo, saying, \u201cThat\u2019s Ella! I see her every week with…<\/p>\n