I noticed several “likes” on my husband’s Facebook page from his ex — Then my young daughter said she knew her

Browsing through Facebook, I saw that a woman was liking all of my husband’s posts, comments too familiar to ignore. I didn’t recognize her name, but something about it seemed eerily familiar. Then my daughter ran by, saw her picture, and said, “That’s Ella! I see her every week with Dad.” My heart stopped.

I didn’t mean to pry. All I wanted was that photo from Sam and I’s anniversary party last month where Lily had frosting all over her face.

But as I scrolled through Sam’s Facebook, something caught my eye. The same woman kept commenting on his posts. Her name kept popping up: Ella.

And these weren’t casually friendly comments. The comments she left, and the way she wrote them, suggested a deep familiarity, even though I didn’t know the woman.

“You look as handsome as ever!” he had commented on the photo I had shared of him and I dressed up for a fancy dinner two months ago.

What was really surprising was the comment she left on a photo from Lily’s birthday party. In the photo, Lily was wearing a pair of glitter-covered fairy costume wings and a silver plastic crown.

She had commented: “Wow, you took my suggestion about the wings! I’m glad Lily liked them ❤️.”

I immediately clicked on her profile. I had to know how Ella knew Sam and why he had never mentioned her.

The first thing that struck me was how beautiful she was. Her eyes sparkled with mischief and her smile seemed to light up the entire screen.

There was something vaguely familiar about her, but I was sure I had never met her. There wasn’t much information on her profile, so I started looking through her posts.

Sam had liked and commented on almost all of her photos.

Lily came skipping into the room, her pigtails flying in the air. She looked at the screen and her face lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Her!” she shrieked, pointing at the photo with sticky fingers.

“Do you know her?” My voice sounded higher than usual, forced by ease.

“Of course, silly! Don’t we? We see it all the time.” Lily began to hop from foot to foot, unable to contain her excitement.

My stomach tightened and I thought I was going to be sick. “What do you mean, always?”

“Every Wednesday after school. Dad picks me up and we meet with Ella.” Lily spun around, completely oblivious to my mounting distress. “She’s so much fun. We eat ice cream and sometimes we feed the ducks in the pond, but we use special duck food because Ella says bread isn’t good for them.”

She stopped spinning abruptly and brought her little hands to her mouth, her eyes wide with sudden realization.

“Oh, no. I wasn’t supposed to tell. Dad said it was our special secret. He said sometimes adults need to keep secrets so they don’t hurt other adults’ feelings.”

The word “secret” hit me like a punch in the gut. Special secrets with another woman? Teaching my daughter about ducks?

My mind went back to all the Wednesdays I had worked late at the office, thinking about Sam and Lily spending some father-daughter time. Apparently, their special time together included a third member.

I forced a smile, not wanting to upset Lily. “It’s okay, sweetie. Why don’t you go play with your dolls? I think Princess Sparkle needs a snack.”

As she walked away humming the theme song from her favorite cartoon, I sat there staring at my phone until the screen went dark. My reflection stared back at me, and I barely recognized the worried woman I saw.

My husband had been having an affair with another woman behind my back. Worse, he had dragged our daughter into the affair. I couldn’t imagine my sweet, loving Sam having an affair, but what else could it be?

There was only one way to know for sure.

Tomorrow was Wednesday. Instead of confronting Sam at home, where he could easily deviate or make excuses, I was going to catch him red-handed.

The next day, I called in sick for the first time in three years. Minutes before school let out, I parked in front of Lily’s school to wait.

My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat as I watched Sam’s white car pull up. Through the windshield, I saw him looking at his phone, probably texting her.

My daughter left school in her light-up sneakers and Sam helped her into the car, double-checking that her seatbelt was fastened properly.

I followed at a safe distance, gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white. After a short drive, Sam parked in a park near the school.

They sat on a bench near the patio, Lily swinging her legs while Sam glanced at his watch every few minutes. Ten minutes later, a car pulled up and the woman from the Facebook photos stepped out.

And then I realized who it was: Sam’s ex, his high school girlfriend. The one from the prom photos. My chest tightened as Lily ran toward her with her arms outstretched, screaming, “Her! Her!”

She picked her up, spinning her around as Sam looked at her, smiling like a teenager. When he came over, he gave Ella a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek.

I felt sick. Memories of our family photos came to mind. Had they all been lies?

She pushed Lily on the swing for a few minutes, then took my daughter by the hand and the three of them headed to a cafe across the street. The same place Sam and I always took Lily to for a special day.

I gave them a few minutes before following them, my legs feeling like they were made of lead. Through the window, I watched them sit together like a family. The pizza they must have ordered came out a few minutes later.

They laughed together as they ate, and the sickening feeling of betrayal churning in my gut grew stronger with each passing minute.

When they were done eating, Sam and Lily got up and went to the counter. Probably to order dessert. Lily loved her hot fudge sundaes.

Now Ella was sitting alone at the corner table, staring at her phone, completely at ease in our favorite coffee shop.

Perfect. The doorbell rang as I entered. She didn’t look up until I was standing in front of her, my shadow on her phone screen.

“Hi,” I said, my voice surprisingly firm. “I’m Sam’s wife.”

The color drained from her face. Her phone clattered to the table. “I know,” she whispered.

“Sarah?” Sam’s voice cracked behind me.

I turned around and saw him standing there, his face pale. Lily was holding his leg, looking confused.

“Sit down,” Ella said quickly. “Please. This isn’t what you think.”

“What exactly should I think?” I asked, but sat down anyway, needing answers more than a scene.

“She and I go way back. We dated in high school. She contacted me on Facebook after she moved here a while ago because… well, she should tell you herself.”

She nodded slowly. “I needed Sam’s help with an… unusual request.”

“My husband passed away last year,” she said. “We always wanted to have kids, but it never happened. I started thinking about adoption, but I was terrified I wasn’t good enough. I knew Sam was a father, so I asked him for advice.” She wiped her eyes. “He suggested that spending time with Lily might help me figure out if I was ready.”

“We never wanted to go behind your back,” Sam added. “I just didn’t know how to bring it up without it seeming weird.”

“But now, thanks to Sam and Lily, I’m ready to take the next step.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a photo. A bright-eyed, braided-haired little girl smiled at me. “This is Maya. She’s four years old and waiting for me in Arizona. I’m adopting her.”

“This is my last week here,” Ella added. “I move to Phoenix on Saturday to be with Maya.” She reached across the table, hesitating before touching my hand. “I never wanted to cause trouble. Sam talks about you all the time, how amazing of a mother you are. I was just hoping some of that magic would rub off on me.”

I studied their faces: Sam’s guilt, Ella’s tears, Lily’s confusion. Anger slowly seeped out. In its place came understanding and maybe even a little compassion.

“No more secrets,” I said to Sam, who nodded vigorously.

“Never again,” he promised.

I looked at the woman across the table, seeing her now not as a threat, but as someone trying to find her way to motherhood, just as I once had.

Here’s another story : After years of infertility, we adopted Sam, a sweet 3-year-old boy with ocean-blue eyes. But when my husband went to bathe Sam, he ran off, screaming, “We have to give him back!” His panic made no sense until I saw the distinctive mark on Sam’s foot.

This work is inspired by real people and events, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, or real events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

The author and publisher do not guarantee the accuracy of events or the depiction of characters, and are not responsible for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and the opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.