Divorce prepares you for difficult moments, but nothing could have prepared me for the way my eight-year-old daughter, Lily, began to change after weekends with her father. At first, it seemed small—an American Girl doll went missing, then her iPad, and eventually, a gold heart necklace that had belonged to my mother.
Friends told me she was simply careless. But as a mother, I knew something deeper was wrong.
A Bright Spirit Dimmed
Lily had always been my sunshine—an animal lover who dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. But after my ex-husband Jason moved in with his girlfriend Dana and her daughter Ava, Lily returned from visits quieter, withdrawn, and ashamed.
Each time something disappeared, Jason and Dana brushed it off as Lily being “forgetful.” Soon, Lily started apologizing for being “stupid,” carrying guilt for things she hadn’t done. Watching her self-confidence unravel broke my heart.
The breaking point came when her favorite pink purse vanished. That night, I cried in the kitchen. My daughter wasn’t just losing her belongings—she was losing her joy.
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