You don’t expect your life to change in the backseat of a car — but mine did when my five-year-old daughter, Lily, asked, “Daddy, can we invite my real dad to dinner on Sunday?”

It was the Friday before Father’s Day. At first, I chuckled, assuming she was confused. But then she explained: my best friend, Adam — also my wife Jess’s “friend” — had told her that he was her real dad.

That night, I invited Adam over, pretending it was for a surprise dinner. When he showed up, Jess confessed to secret visits. The truth hit like a storm.

They’d let Lily believe he was her father. But I knew the truth. I was the one who had raised Lily.

I stayed up with her through fevers, taught her to ride her bike, kissed her scraped knees. I wasn’t just “like” a father to her — I was her father. I told them both to leave.

Later that evening, Lily looked up at me with worried eyes. “Will you still be here for my next birthday?”

I hugged her tightly. “I’ll be here for every birthday.

Always.”