Me: If you want to talk, talk to your dad. I’m not your bank.
After a while, he replied:
Caleb: Fair.
That was enough for me.
Not forgiveness.
Not reunion.
Just proof that the old rules were gone.
Part 8
Two years later, my life looked ordinary from the outside.
Which was exactly what I wanted.
Mia was fifteen, taller than me, and full of sharp confidence I quietly adored. She had learned to argue with logic instead of volume. She was not going to be easy for anyone to control.
Dave and Emily settled into a smaller, calmer life.
April remained on the edges—supervised visits, vague rumors, the occasional report through family channels that she was “starting over.”
I didn’t check.
I didn’t care.
Sometimes guilt tried to creep back in.
