My daughter Demi is 13, and yeah, I know people say this is the age when kids get “difficult,” but what we’re dealing with is way beyond typical teenage mood swings.
Recently, my daughter has been coming home from school with red, swollen eyes like she’s been crying, and she just seems so down all the time. I’ve tried talking to her, but she keeps brushing it off with, “Dad, it’s just school stuff!” I know when my kid’s lying, and this was definitely a lie.
But what really threw me was how she started acting toward my wife Nora. They’ve always had the closest bond—my daughter loves her mom more than anyone. So, when my wife asked her what was wrong, and she snapped, “Don’t touch me, don’t talk to me, just leave me alone!” then ran to her room and locked the door, I knew something was seriously off.
For illustrative purposes only.
The next day, I decided to go to the school and figure out what was really going on.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I spotted Demi. She was talking to another girl. What surprised me was that the girl resembled her so much. The same dark hair, the same height, and the same facial features. It was like looking at two versions of my daughter.
A car pulled up next to them. The other girl waved to Demi and hopped into the passenger seat.
When I glanced at the driver, my heart skipped a beat. It was Todd – a man I hadn’t seen in years.
I called out, “Todd!” but instead of acknowledging me, he quickly looked away and drove off.
For illustrative purposes only.
Then, I remembered Nora telling me years ago that she’d had a falling out with Todd and stopped talking to him.
I focused back on Demi, “Hey, sweetheart! Come, let’s go home!”
As we drove away, I decided to ask her about the other girl.
“That’s Sierra,. She’s in my class” Demi said casually.
“You two look so alike,” I remarked. “Is something wrong?” I asked.
She turned to me, saying. “Nothing, Dad. You don’t want to know what I’m thinking.”
Her words sent a chill down my spine.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means…” she hesitated, then shook her head. “Never mind.”
I let it go, thinking it was just another one of those cryptic teenage moments.
But as I drove her home, the image of Todd and that girl lingered in my mind.
That evening, I sat in the living room, waiting for Nora to come home. She walked through the door at around 6:30 p.m.
I motioned for her to sit down. “We need to talk.”
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“I went to Demi’s school today,” I began. “I was hoping to find out what’s been bothering her. But I saw something strange.”
“Strange?” Nora repeated. “What do you mean?”
“I saw Demi talking to a girl who looked almost identical to her. And then a car pulled up to pick up that girl. Guess who was driving?”
“Who?”
“Todd,” I said flatly.
At that time, her face turned pale.
“Oh, really? That’s… that’s surprising,” she stammered. “I, uh, I haven’t seen Todd in years.”
“You know what’s stranger?” I asked. “He ignored me and drove away the moment I called out to him. It felt like he didn’t want to be seen. Isn’t that weird?”
Nora avoided my gaze.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe he, uh, maybe he didn’t see you.”
“Nora, stop,” I said. “Something’s not adding up. Why would Todd drive away like that? And why does that girl look so much like Demi?”
At that point, Demi walked into the room.
She crossed her arms and said, “Why don’t you just tell him, Mom?”
“Demi, what are you talking about?” Nora asked with eyes wide open.
“You’ve been hiding this for so long!” Demi shouted. “I know the truth, and it’s time Dad knows too!”
“Sweetheart, what truth?” I asked Demi. “What’s going on?”
“That girl you saw today… Sierra?” Demi said as her eyes welled up. “She’s my sister.”
“What?” I shouted. “How is that possible?”
“A few weeks ago, her father, Todd, came to pick her up from school,” Demi began. “I was waiting for you, and he… he walked up to me. He said something weird, like, ‘You’ve grown so much. You look just like your mom at your age.’ I thought he was just being creepy at first, but then he pulled out a photo.”
For illustrative purposes only.
“It was a photo of him and Mom,” she said. “They looked young and Mom… she was pregnant. He told me this was taken before I was born. He said he’s my biological father.”
“Demi, please!” Nora protested. “How could you believe him? What if he was lying?”
“I thought so too, Mom,” Demi said. “I thought he must be lying but then I heard you on the phone the other day. You were talking to Todd, telling him not to bother you. I heard you say his name, Mom. That’s when I understood he was right. Sierra even told me her father says we look alike because we’re sisters.
I turned to Nora. “Tell me the truth, Nora. Tell me the truth!” I yelled. “Is she Todd’s daughter?”
“I-I’m so sorry, Billy,” she said between sobs. “I cheated on you. Years ago. With Todd. Demi is his daughter. “It was a mistake. I regretted it the moment it happened. I cut Todd out of my life because I didn’t want him to ruin what we had. I didn’t want you to know.”
“You lied to me,” I said as I stood up. “You lied to me, and you lied to Demi. For 13 years!”
Demi started crying. I immediately pulled her into a hug.
“None of this is your fault. I love you, and I always will.”, I said softly.
She clung to me, sobbing into my chest.
“I hate her,” she whispered. “I hate her for lying.”
Once Demi had calmed down, I walked her to her room.
Then, I returned to the living room.
“How could you do this to me?” I asked Nora . “How could you lie about something so big?”
“I was scared,” she whispered. “I thought if you knew, you’d leave me. I didn’t want to lose you.”
“You didn’t just lie to me,” I said. “You lied to Demi. She’s been living with this confusion because of your selfishness.”
“Please, Billy, don’t leave me. We can work through this.”
I shook my head, “If you had told me back then, maybe I could’ve forgiven you. But hiding this for 13 years? Letting me believe a lie? I can’t forgive that. We’re done, Nora.”
She begged and pleaded, but my mind was made up.
A few months later, Demi and I moved into a new place. I filed for divorce and gained full custody of my daughter.
Though it wasn’t easy, we started rebuilding our lives together, one step at a time.
