I needed time away from my messy breakup, so I accepted my friend Joanna’s invitation to her peaceful lake house. The air felt different—lighter—like it was healing something broken inside me.
No sooner had I started to relax than Joanna’s brother, Seth, showed up unannounced. He carried a quiet confidence—and when he greeted me, my heart did a flip I didn’t expect.
We spent the next few days laughing, sharing stories, and reconnecting with the part of me that still believed in love. On our last evening, dinner felt easy and warm… until a little girl wandered in.
“Are you here with my daddy?” she asked me, eyes wide. I froze. Then, Seth lifted her effortlessly and smiled like I’d never seen.
He had a daughter previously unknown to me.
The calm of our getaway collapsed into sharp confusion. But before I could process it, I packed a bag and left—uncertain but needing clarity.
I thought I knew him. But now, faced with a secret family and a vanished invitation, I had to decide if this unexpected twist was the end… or the beginning.
