Chapter 2 — A Father's Greatest Loss
Chapter 2 — A Father's Greatest Loss
Three months later...
The divorce papers sat unsigned on Ethan's office desk.
Not because she wanted him back.
Because she no longer cared whether he signed them.
Their son had been born healthy.
She named him Daniel.
The birth certificate listed only one emergency contact.
Not Ethan.
Every night Ethan stared at photographs he had secretly saved.
Ultrasound pictures.
Baby shoes.
The unopened anniversary card.
He replayed that single sentence over and over.
"My son will never grow up believing that betrayal is what love looks like."
The woman in the crimson dress had disappeared from his life weeks ago.
She had never loved him.
She had only loved the excitement.
He had sacrificed his family...
For someone who wasn't even there anymore.
One rainy afternoon, Ethan finally gathered enough courage to visit.
He stood outside the small house where his former wife now lived.
Warm light glowed through the windows.
Inside, she laughed while rocking baby Daniel to sleep.
The sound reached him through the slightly open window.
It was a sound he had traded away.
He lifted one hand toward the door.
Then slowly lowered it.
May you like
Some apologies arrive too late.
He quietly walked back into the rain.
