His eyes filled.
“I never stopped loving you.”
“Nora was born thirteen days ago.”
“I know.”
“So why are you still here?”
“The transfer cleared three days ago.”
He swallowed.
“I was getting ready to leave. Then Dad told me Nora had been in intensive care. I didn’t know which hospital you were at. I didn’t even know whether she was okay.”
I felt sick.
“You could have called.”
“I should have.”
“You could have emailed me.”
“I know.”
“You could have shown up.”
“I know.”
Every answer came quieter than the last.
Then the deepest wound finally surfaced.
“You decided for me.”
Caleb said nothing.
“You decided that months of silence were acceptable because your plan would supposedly protect us later.”
Still nothing.
I looked from Caleb to William.
Then, suddenly, Grandpa became part of the picture too.
Different men.
Different motives.
The same mistake.
“William decided what my mother deserved to know and what choices she was allowed to have.”
William’s expression changed.
I continued.
“Grandpa decided which parts of my childhood I was strong enough to hear.”
Then I looked directly at Caleb.
“And you decided when I deserved the truth about my own relationship.”
Caleb’s face crumpled.
I shook my head.
“You told yourself you were protecting me. But taking away someone’s choice isn’t protection.”
His gaze dropped to Nora.
For the first time since he’d appeared, he really looked at her.
His lips parted.
“She has my eyes.”
I looked down at our daughter.
“Yes.”
Caleb swallowed hard.
“Can I… can I be part of her life?”
That was the hardest question he’d asked.
Because the part of me that had loved Caleb would once have thrown herself into his arms.
But I wasn’t answering only as Emily anymore.
I was Nora’s mother.
“Yes,” I said finally. “You can prove that you deserve to be her father.”
Hope flashed across his face.
“But I’m not getting back together with you.”
His shoulders dropped.
“Emily…”
“I don’t hate you, Caleb. And I understand why you were afraid.”
I paused.
“But I can’t build a relationship with someone who disappears whenever he decides his plan is better than letting me make my own choice.”
Tears filled his mismatched eyes.
“I’ll never disappear again.”
I shook my head.
“Don’t give me another promise.”
He looked at me.
“Give me proof.”
For illustrative purposes only
