He divorced me and signed away our sick child… hours before I won the biggest contract of my life.

She went.

Ryan sat on the old bench, thinner now, arrogance drained from him like blood loss.

“I lost everything,” he whispered. “Job. Reputation. Lauren… all of it. I deserve it. But—please—Mia… is she okay?”

“She’s in remission,” Avery said gently. “Strong. Happy.”

Tears filled his eyes. “Can I see her?”

“You signed away your rights,” Avery reminded him. “She’s healing. I won’t reopen wounds to soothe your guilt.”

He collapsed. “What kind of father does that?”

“The kind who confused ambition with love,” Avery said. “You didn’t lose everything, Ryan. You traded it.”

He nodded, shattered. “I’m sorry.”

“I know,” she said, standing. “And I forgive you. Not for you—for me. So I can walk away clean.”

And she left, allowing that bench to hold what it was meant to keep: the past.

The Legacy

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