“Six years, Ethan. I can’t keep waiting forever.”
I was packing my suitcase when Ethan stood in our bedroom doorway. I was thirty-five, and after six years together, I still didn’t have a ring. Every time I mentioned marriage, he gave me the same answer: “It’s complicated.” I loved him, but I couldn’t spend another six years waiting.
As I carried my suitcase downstairs, I overheard Ethan speaking to my father. “I bought the ring two and a half years ago, Robert. But I can’t propose until you tell her the truth.” My father sighed. “If I tell her, you’ll have to tell her what you did too.”
I stepped into the kitchen. “What truth?” Dad looked terrified. Finally, he whispered, “Ethan has a daughter. She’s seven.” I stared at Ethan in disbelief. He explained that his former girlfriend, Megan, had contacted him three years earlier. She had a daughter, Lily, and a DNA test confirmed she was his.
