“
When you told me you never wanted to see me again?”
Daniel lowered his head.
Emily’s voice softened.
“I was pregnant when I left.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
For nine years, he had believed he had lost his wife.
He had never known he had lost a son too.
“Why didn’t you come back?” he whispered.
Emily looked toward the small kitchen.
“Because you made it clear that you didn’t want us.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I didn’t mean it.”
“But you said it.”
That sentence silenced him.
Because she was right.
Words spoken in anger could still leave permanent wounds.
Daniel slowly walked toward Noah.
“Hi.”
Noah looked at him cautiously.
“Are you my dad?”
Daniel’s heart broke.
“Yes.”
Noah stared at him.
“Why did you wait so long to meet me?”
Daniel couldn’t answer.
He knelt beside the wheelchair.
“I didn’t know you existed.”
