Dan wasn’t warm. He wasn’t the kind of man who hugged easily or told jokes. He was quiet, reserved, and sometimes painfully awkward. But he worked long hours. He paid the bills. He stayed.

I hated him for a long time.

I blamed him for my mom’s exhaustion. For the way our house felt tense. For the fact that my real dad was just… gone. I was cold to Dan. I ignored him when I could, snapped when I couldn’t.

But Dan didn’t leave.

He showed up to every school event, sitting in the back with a coffee he never finished. He took me to dentist appointments and waited silently, scrolling his phone. He sat by my bed through late-night fevers, handing me water, checking the thermometer every hour.

Somehow, without me noticing, he became the person who showed up the most.

So when I got engaged, there was no question in my mind. Dan would walk me down the aisle.

My mom didn’t object. She smiled tightly and said, “That makes sense.”