When I asked my daughter who else she wanted at her birthday, she innocently said, “The pretty lady who visits Daddy when you’re at work.” My heart dropped. I played it cool, curious who this woman was. At the party, she arrived—young, shy, holding a gift. Ellie lit up. “That’s Daddy’s friend!”

Jake turned pale. I pulled them into the kitchen.

The truth hit like a truck.

“I’m Jake’s daughter,” the woman, Lila, said. Turns out, she’d only recently learned Jake was her father—something he just found out too. Her mother, now deceased, had hidden the truth. Lila had tracked him down a few months ago. He got a DNA test. It was real.

But he hadn’t told me.

“I didn’t know how,” he said. “I didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

“And Ellie?” I asked.

“She just… loved her instantly.”

Lila had simply wanted to meet her family. Ellie already saw her as a big sister.

Jake apologized. And though I was hurt, I understood.

That day didn’t go how I expected—but Ellie got her wish, and we got something unexpected: a daughter we didn’t know we had.

No more secrets, Jake. Ever.