When Love Hits Zero
829 Views · Ongoing · Noah
When I realised my lawyer husband couldn’t let go of his first love, a divorcée with a little boy, I started teaching our daughter to call him “Daniel”.
When our daughter ran a fever, one late-night call from his first love was enough to send him out the door. I stroked her burning forehead and taught her to say, “Bye, Daniel.”
He had promised to come to her school’s Father’s Day assembly. Then his first love rang in tears, saying her son had no dad to go with him, and he was gone, just like that.
I didn’t even look up. I handed my phone to my daughter and let her tell the class parents’ WhatsApp group that “Daniel” couldn’t make it.
Every time, she hesitated for a long while.
Eventually, my husband realised how much he owed us.
He suggested, all on his own, that we have a family portrait done.
But right outside the photography studio, his first love rang again, sobbing:
“Daniel, could you come to Toby’s nursery right now? It’s the parents’ sports day, and every other kid has a dad running with them. Toby’s the only one who doesn’t…”
A flicker of pity crossed my husband’s face. He was about to crouch down and explain to our daughter.
This time, she didn’t need me to remind her. She gave him a little wave.
“It’s okay, Daniel. Go and be with your other child. Me and Mummy are enough for the family photo.”
When our daughter ran a fever, one late-night call from his first love was enough to send him out the door. I stroked her burning forehead and taught her to say, “Bye, Daniel.”
He had promised to come to her school’s Father’s Day assembly. Then his first love rang in tears, saying her son had no dad to go with him, and he was gone, just like that.
I didn’t even look up. I handed my phone to my daughter and let her tell the class parents’ WhatsApp group that “Daniel” couldn’t make it.
Every time, she hesitated for a long while.
Eventually, my husband realised how much he owed us.
He suggested, all on his own, that we have a family portrait done.
But right outside the photography studio, his first love rang again, sobbing:
“Daniel, could you come to Toby’s nursery right now? It’s the parents’ sports day, and every other kid has a dad running with them. Toby’s the only one who doesn’t…”
A flicker of pity crossed my husband’s face. He was about to crouch down and explain to our daughter.
This time, she didn’t need me to remind her. She gave him a little wave.
“It’s okay, Daniel. Go and be with your other child. Me and Mummy are enough for the family photo.”


















































