Family. The word used to be a key. Now it was just a sound.
I didn’t walk closer. I didn’t step into their storm. I didn’t give them what they wanted—an argument they could twist into a story where I was the villain.
I spoke calmly, because calm is a boundary they can’t climb. “I sent money because I loved you,” I said. “I believed you because I trusted you.
You didn’t just take my savings. You took my twenties. You took my chance to be a father when I wanted to be.
You took my husband’s patience until it broke.”
Shell’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. For the first time in her life, she looked like someone realizing that consequences aren’t an abstract concept. They’re a door that opens whether you’re ready or not.
My father shoved forward, eyes wild. “If you do this, you’ll be alone,” he hissed. “No one will forgive you.”
I nodded once.
Continue reading…
