He Chose a Cruise With His Ex-Wife Over Our Tenth Anniversary — So I Filed for Divorce and Served Him the Papers the Same Day

Lily called me on the sixth day.

I almost didn’t answer. I didn’t want to put Mark’s daughter in the middle of this. But when I saw her name on the screen, something made me pick up.

“Claire?” Her voice was small. “Can we talk?”

We met at a café near the university where she was studying. She looked nervous when she sat down across from me.

“I’m sorry,” she said immediately. “I didn’t know Dad was going to do that. He told me you were okay with the cruise. He said you had plans with friends or something.”

I studied her face. She looked genuinely upset.

“I didn’t know anything about the cruise until two weeks ago,” I said gently. “Your father made the decision without telling me.”

Lily looked down at her coffee.

“He does that sometimes,” she said quietly. “He makes plans and then expects everyone to go along with them. Mom used to complain about it too.”

I didn’t say anything.

Lily continued.

“I told him I didn’t want to go if it was going to hurt you. But he said you were being dramatic and that you’d get over it. He said moms are supposed to understand these things.”

She looked up at me.

“I’m really sorry, Claire. I didn’t want any of this to happen.”

I reached across the table and gently squeezed her hand.

“You don’t have to apologize for your father’s choices, Lily. You’re not responsible for what he did.”

She looked relieved, but also sad.

“I just… I don’t want you to hate me,” she said.

“I don’t hate you,” I told her. “I never did.”

We talked for almost an hour. Lily told me she had been uncomfortable with the cruise idea from the beginning but didn’t know how to push back against her father. She also admitted that her mother, Vanessa, had encouraged the trip.

When we said goodbye, Lily hugged me.

“I hope you’re okay,” she said.