The Single Mom and the Unexpected Dad

It’s Friday morning, and you wake up to the sound of your 11-month-old son, Nikolai, crying.

“Baby, shhh, don’t cry, Mummy is here,” you coo, picking him up. He says “Momma” and lifts his cute little hands. Life is centered around him now, your world narrowed but also filled with his light.

His father, Jake, is out of the picture, a ghost from a painful past who made it clear he wanted no part of this life. Your own parents disowned you when you told them you were pregnant, leaving a two-year silence in their wake.

But you’ve built a new life here in New York with your son, your job as a Junior Editor at Elle magazine, and your best friend, Lilian. No other man needed, you told yourself.

After dropping Nico at daycare, you call Lily to confirm plans for her daughter Yara’s birthday party tomorrow. It’s a small gathering, just family, you and Nico, and Jer’s best friend—a detail you didn’t know about until now. Little do you know, that detail is about to change everything.