Chapter 1

On our daughter's sixth birthday, David Reed smashed her birthday cake on the floor.

All because the woman he'd always had a soft spot for called to say her daughter was having a birthday too, only with no dad around. "Sunny has a whole family, but what about Lily? How can you two even sit there and eat?" he shouted.

I picked up my trembling, sobbing daughter and suddenly smiled. If that's how it was, then starting today, my daughter didn't have a father either. My smile only made David angrier. "What the hell are you smiling at?"

He stepped closer, his finger nearly jabbing my face. "Sarah Quinn, do you even have a heart? Lily is two months younger than Sunny. It's her birthday too.

Her mom's raising her all alone and can't even afford a decent cake. How can you sit here and eat? "

Sunny shrank into my arms. I patted her back gently, one slow stroke after another. "David," I said calmly, "how long have you been keeping track of Emily Summers' daughter's birthday?"

He froze for a second. "You've been talking about it for over a month, haven't you?" I went on. "You ordered the cake early, bought the gift early, and even took the afternoon off today to go cut cake with her.

"But do you know how long Sunny has been looking forward to her birthday?"

He said nothing. So I continued. "She spent a whole week drawing pictures because she wanted to hang them on the wall for you to see.

"She saved her allowance for two months because she wanted to buy you a tie for your birthday, since yours is coming up too. Do you want to know what she wished for?"

Something flickered in his eyes, but it hardened again almost right away. "Sarah, don't try to change the subject."

"Her wish," I cut in, "was that Daddy would get off work early and eat a meal with her." Sunny finally burst into tears in my arms. David fell silent, but I knew that silence wasn't guilt. He was searching for a comeback.

Sure enough, he quickly said, "That's because she doesn't know any better. Lily doesn't have a dad. Do you have any idea how pitiful that is? Sunny has you. She has a whole family. What right does she have to make a scene with me?"

I didn't answer. I set Sunny down, crouched in front of her, and wiped away her tears. "Sunny, let Mommy ask you something. Do you want Daddy to stay?"

She shook her head so hard that tears flew everywhere. "No. Daddy's bad. Daddy smashed my cake."

I nodded and stood up. "You heard her."

David's face darkened. "What does a little kid know? You put that in her head, didn't you? Sarah, are you really that petty? After all these years, you still can't let it go?"

After all these years. Yeah, after all these years. Ever since we were dating, Emily had always been his "poor thing," a single mom raising a kid alone, struggling through life.

After we got married, she became a regular at our house. Lily was called Sunny's "little sister," and Sunny was supposed to give in to her in everything.

Sunny's toys could go to Lily. Sunny's clothes could go to Lily. And Sunny's father could go spend Lily's birthday with her too, because Lily didn't have a dad.

So he will be her dad.

"David," I said, pulling Sunny behind me, "let's get divorced."

As if he hadn't heard me right. "What?"

"I said divorce."