My husband invited his ex-wife to his birthday dinner because, according to him, she was “still part of the family.” What he didn’t expect was the surprise I had prepared for both of them.
Mark and I had only been married for seven months, and I was already four months pregnant with our first child.
In the beginning, he seemed like everything I had hoped for in a husband.
He was attentive.
Affectionate.
Thoughtful.
Being around him made me feel safe and deeply loved.
When I was tired, he would rub my feet.
When morning sickness kept me awake, he would get up in the middle of the night and make me tea.
He talked constantly about our future.
Our baby.
The house we would eventually buy.
The vacations we would take.
The little traditions we would create as a family.
I believed I had finally found the man I could grow old with.
But there was one thing I could never quite ignore.
Claire.
His ex-wife.
She was always there.
Not physically.
Not at first.
But somehow, no matter what we were talking about, her name always found its way into the conversation.
If I cooked dinner, Mark would casually say,
