Being a single dad to twins hasn’t been easy, especially when life keeps throwing curveballs. But nothing prepared me for what I found hidden inside a secondhand washing machine I bought out of desperation.

I’m 34 years old and a single father to three-year-old twins, Bella and Lily. Their mother left when they were only a few months old. Since then, I’ve done everything I can to take care of them.

But I never expected that a stranger would change our lives forever. When their mother left, she said she wasn’t “cut out for diapers and midnight feedings.”

I begged her to stay and told her we could work it out together, but she walked away without looking back. She didn’t even bother to help with child support. The woman I thought would be my forever was gone without a word. When I realized she wasn’t coming back, I had no choice but to figure things out on my own. I got a full-time remote IT job so I could stay home with the kids. I worked during their naps, late at night, early mornings, and whenever they were at daycare. Coffee became my lifeline. Some days I felt like a zombie, but I reminded myself the…