Introduction

My husband, Liam Hayes, a prominent real estate developer, was a ghost in our lives. For six years, he kept me and our daughter, Lily, a secret.

The day Lily was born, I was alone in the hospital. He was with his high school sweetheart, Olivia Chen. He always chose Olivia. He looked at our newborn with chilling indifference, telling me, "Don' t let her get in my way."

Lily, sweet and innocent, called him "Mr. Hayes" to gain his acknowledgment, watched him dote on Olivia's daughter, and had her heart broken a thousand times. The final straw was at a company event where he brought Olivia as his date, laughing, while I stood in the shadows. I decided thenLily and I had to leave.

But Lily, with painful hope, whispered about her upcoming birthday, "Maybe... maybe he'll come this time." Knowing he never had, I crumbled, promising to wait two more weeks.

The next morning, armed with divorce papers and a resignation letter, I walked into Hayes Industries. I saw Liam and Olivia, intimately close. Olivia mocked me, and Liam loudly claimed he barely remembered me.

Suddenly, Lily burst out, a fresh bruise on her cheek, running to Liam. "Mr. Hayes! They said... they said I don't have a daddy." He looked at her with disgust, prying her off him. "Whose child is this? Get her out of here."

The words echoed, shattering fragments of my heart: "Nanny's child." Lily's face crumpled in utter devastation. I scooped her into my arms, my own tears falling, as the world stared.

He always chose Olivia, and now, he chose to deny Lily entirely. How could a father be so cruel? How could he blatantly disregard his own child in public? The pain was unbearable, the humiliation searing. I needed to escape this nightmare.

"We're leaving," I whispered to Lily. "We' re going somewhere warm, where we' ll finally be a real family."