Cole, my husband, had agreed that we’d stay child free for twenty whole years. Then, out of nowhere, his seven-year-old child showed up. I hired a private investigator to dig into the whole mess, only to find out that his mistress, Lila, was already pregnant with another child. The day the ugly truth finally came out, Cole and I exploded into a vicious screaming match. Our parents and old friends rushed over to mediate, crowding into the living room and taking turns giving us their two cents. "Why do you have to drag this out and make such a huge scene? You two have been married for twenty years, for crying out loud. Let’s be real, when a man reaches this age, of course he wants a child of his own. That’s completely understandable." Tears burned the backs of my eyes as I stared at Cole, who hadn’t said a single word the entire time. He was in his early forties now, but he was still as handsome as ever. "You can bring the child here to live with us. That’s the biggest compromise I’m willing to make." Cole grabbed his car keys and headed for the door. I thought he had accepted my offer, until he reached up and ripped our wedding photo off the wall. "Lila carried my child for ten whole months. She went through hell for me. There’s no way in hell I’m leaving her all alone!" He looked straight at me, and there wasn’t a trace of love left in his eyes. "If you can’t accept her and the child, starting today, I’ll stay over there on weekdays and come back here on weekends to be with you." I clenched my palms so tightly that my nails dug crescent-shaped marks into my skin. At that moment, I knew deep down that we could never go back to the way things were. I dug my nails so deep into my palms I could almost taste blood. Then I spat out the words I never thought I’d say. "Fine. If that’s how you want it, we’re getting a divorce."