I kicked my wife out of the house and shielded my daughter from her after discovering where shed been taking the girl.
My wife and I have been together for six years. She has an eight-year-old daughter, who was just two when we met. The girls father vanished months before her birth, then out of the blue, he turned up on our doorstep in December while I was at work. When my daughter first saw him, he barely glanced at herno warmth, no recognition.
Two weeks passed, and suddenly, my wife announced theyd agreed to shared custody. She refused to tell me where the man lived or even give me his number.
She always drove our daughter to and from school and clubs.
But at the start of January, I noticed the girl had started dreading her visits to him. She called him scary, said his place was filthy, that she couldnt sleep there. One evening, right in front of her mother, she pleaded not to go back. Then last Friday
My wife finished work at 8 PM and was supposed to pick her up straight after. By 9, they still werent home, and she wasnt answering her phone. I called her sisters, her motherno one knew where she was. I drove to her workplaceempty.
Just after 2 AM, the front door creaked open. I jumped up, fists clenched. My wife murmured, Sorry, with wide, innocent eyes. Her story?
Her phone died at work. She drove to her exs place but found it empty. With no way to call, she waited. At 9 PM, he and my daughter finally showed up with takeaway. He claimed theyd walked to the shop, grabbed food on the way back. My wife went inside, let them finish eatingthen swore she dozed off on the sofa, woke at 1:45, and raced home. Exhausted, she said. Long day.
Finally, she gave me his address and asked me to drop our daughter off the next day. When we arrived, my stomach dropped. A grimy flat in a run-down estatecockroaches skittering, beer bottles strewn everywhere. The man sat in his underwear on a stained couch, staring blankly at the wall. I turned straight around and took my girl home.
Tonight, I found out my wife had been slipping him cash and topping up his phoneusing our familys money. Are they back together? After all the lies, I wouldnt be surprised if theyd slept together.
Last night, I told her to leave. I demanded our daughter stay with methis house is the only place shes safe. I wont send her back to that hellhole. Even her grandmother supports her living with me; legally, Im her guardian.
Seems Ive got no choice. Well see how this plays out.
