“I didn’t want to scare you,” she said quickly. “I only thought if I could see the boys, even once, I could live with that. But then I saw how exhausted you were. You reminded me of myself back then. I couldn’t walk away.”
Her voice never rose. She never blamed Mark.
When I left the restaurant, I felt heavier, not lighter.
“I didn’t want to scare you.”
That evening, I waited until the boys were asleep before speaking.
“I met her,” I said.
Mark froze. “Who?”
“Your mother. I needed to.”
He paced the kitchen. “You went behind my back.”
“You went behind mine first,” I replied evenly. “You took her money and hid her from me.”
He stopped moving. Silence stretched between us.
“You went behind my back.”
“You’re angry,” I continued. “You have every right to be. But you’re punishing her without knowing the whole truth. And you’re hurting yourself too.”
Mark sat down slowly. “You don’t know what it felt like to wait for her to choose me.”
“And maybe she did. Maybe she just didn’t win.”
He closed his eyes.
“I can’t promise she didn’t make mistakes,” I continued. “But I know she loves you. I saw and felt it.”