Margaret made a small sound that might have been a laugh or a sob.
Daniel nodded slowly. “You’re right.”
Sophia waited.
He took a breath.
“Your mother and I were unhappy near the end. I was focused on my career. I wanted command. I wanted assignments that mattered. When she told me she was pregnant, I thought it meant my life would change in ways I didn’t want.”
My chest tightened.
There it was.
The truth, ugly and bare.
No dramatic misunderstanding.
No villain hiding letters behind his back in a storm.
Just a man who wanted freedom more than responsibility and called disbelief a strategy.
Noah’s small face hardened in a way I hated.
“So you decided we weren’t real?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
The kitchen fell silent.
Olivia pushed her cookie tray away.
“I don’t like that.”
“No,” Daniel whispered. “You shouldn’t.”
