My daughter Demi is 13, and yes, I know people say this is the age when children become ‘difficult,’ but what we are dealing with goes beyond typical teenage mood swings.
Lately, my daughter has been coming home from school with red, puffy eyes, as if she’s been crying, and she seems so depressed all the time. I’ve tried to talk to her, but she keeps brushing me off, saying, ‘Dad, it’s just school stuff!’ I know when my child is lying, and this was definitely a lie.
But what really struck me was how she started acting towards my wife, Nora. They’ve always had the closest relationship — my daughter loves her mum more than anyone else in the world. So when my wife asked her what was wrong, and she hissed, ‘Don’t touch me, don’t talk to me, just leave me alone!’ and then ran to her room and slammed the door, I knew something was seriously wrong.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Demi. She was talking to another girl. What surprised me was that the girl looked very similar to her. Same dark hair, same height, same facial features. It was like two versions of my daughter.
A car stopped next to them. The second girl waved to Demi and got into the passenger seat.
When I looked at the driver, my heart skipped a beat. It was Todd, a man I hadn’t seen in years.
I called out to him, ‘Todd!’ but instead of greeting me, he quickly looked away and drove off.
Then I remembered how Nora had told me many years ago that she had had a falling out with Todd and had stopped talking to him.
I refocused on Demi: ‘Hey, sweetie! Let’s go home!’
As we drove, I decided to ask her about the other girl.
‘That’s Sierra. She’s in my class,’ Demi replied casually.
‘You two are so alike,’ I remarked. ‘Is something wrong?’ I asked.
She turned to me and said, ‘Nothing, Dad. It’s better if you don’t know what I’m thinking.’
Her words sent a chill down my spine.
‘What does that mean?’
‘It means…’ She hesitated, then shook her head. ‘Never mind.’
I dismissed her, deciding it was just another one of those mysterious teenage moments.
But as I drove her home, the image of Todd and that girl stayed in my mind.
That evening, I sat in the living room waiting for Nora to come home. She walked in the door around 6:30 p.m.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.
‘I went to Demi’s school today,’ I began. ‘I was hoping to find out what was bothering her. But I saw something strange.’
‘Strange?’ Nora repeated. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I saw Demi talking to a girl who looked almost exactly like her. Then a car pulled up to pick up that girl. Guess who was driving?’
‘Who?’
‘Todd,’ I replied sharply.
At that moment, her face turned pale.
‘Oh, really? That’s… that’s amazing,’ she stammered. ‘I… I haven’t seen Todd in years.’
‘You know what’s weird?’ I asked. ‘He ignored me and drove off as soon as I called out to him. It’s like he didn’t want to be seen. Isn’t that strange?’
Nora avoided my gaze.
‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘Maybe he… maybe he didn’t see you.’
‘Nora, stop,’ I said. ‘Something doesn’t add up. Why did Todd leave like that? And why does that girl look so much like Demi?’
At that moment, Demi walked into the room.
‘Demi, what are you talking about?’ Nora asked, her eyes wide.
‘You’ve been hiding this for so long!’ Demi shouted. ‘I know the truth, and it’s time Dad knew it too!’
‘Sweetheart, what truth?’ I asked Demi. ‘What’s going on?’
‘That girl you saw today… Sierra?’ Demi said, looking me in the eye. ‘She’s my sister.’
‘What?’ I exclaimed. ‘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 came up to me. He said something strange, like, “You’ve grown so much. You look just like your mum did at your age.” At first I thought he was just creepy, but then he took out a photo.’
‘It was a photo of him and Mum,’ she said. ‘They looked young, and Mum… she was pregnant. He told me it was taken before I was born. He said he was my biological father.’
‘Demi, please!’ Nora protested. ‘How could you believe him? What if he’s lying?’
‘I thought so too, Mum,’ said Demi. “I thought he must be lying, but then I heard you talking on the phone that day. You were talking to Todd, asking him not to bother you. I heard you say his name, Mum. That’s when I knew he was right. Sierra even told me that her father says we look alike because we’re sisters.
I turned to Nora. ‘Tell me the truth, Nora. Tell me the truth!’ I shouted. ‘Is she Todd’s daughter?’
‘I’m so sorry, Billy,’ she said between sobs. ‘I cheated on you. Many years ago. With Todd. Demi is his daughter. ’It was a mistake. I regretted it as soon as 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, standing up. ‘You lied to me, and you lied to Demi. For 13 years!’
Demi started crying. I immediately hugged her.
‘It’s not your fault. I love you and I always will,’ I said softly.
She pressed herself against me and sobbed into my chest.
‘I hate her,’ she whispered. ‘I hate her for lying.’
When Demi calmed down, I walked her to her room.
‘How could you do this to me?’ I asked Nora. ‘How could you lie about something so important?’
‘I was afraid,’ she whispered. “I thought if you found out, you would leave me. I didn’t want to lose you.”
‘You didn’t just lie to me,’ I said. ‘You lied to Demi. She’s living with this confusion because of your selfishness.’
‘Please, Billy, don’t leave me. We can get through this.’
I shook my head. ‘If you had told me then, I might have forgiven you. But hiding it for 13 years? Letting me believe a lie? I can’t forgive that. It’s over between us, Nora.’
She begged and begged, but I had made up my mind.
A few months later, Demi and I moved to a new place. I filed for divorce and got full custody of my daughter.
Although it wasn’t easy, we began to rebuild our lives, step by step.
