I’m Jake, 32, dad to Allie, who’s three and full of wonder. Most mornings start with her shout of “Daddy!” and days unfold in pancakes shaped like giraffes and pillow-fort kingdoms where she’s queen.

One night, my wife Sarah asked me to move out “for a few weeks.” She said Allie needed space to bond with her. I agreed to one week, telling Allie I was helping a friend. Every night she asked, “Daddy, when are you coming back?”

On day five, I showed up with her favorite Happy Meal—only to see Sarah laughing on the couch with Dan, a coworker. “It’s not what it looks like,” she said, but it was. “You didn’t just betray me,” I told her. “You sent me away from our daughter.” I moved into a small apartment nearby. Co-parenting became our new reality—keeping Allie’s routines steady, shielding her from storms.