“Someone did take advantage of a child once. But it wasn’t Lily.”
He had no defense.
Not here.
Not now.
The bedroom door opened slightly.
“Is he gone?” Lily asked.
“No,” Emily replied.
Lily stepped out, studying him.
“Ethan says you like dinosaurs. That you hate losing at chess. And that you make the best popcorn,” she said. “He also says you work too much… and don’t always listen.”
Something inside Daniel cracked.
“I think he’s right,” he whispered.
Lily looked down, fidgeting with her sleeve.
“Are you really my dad?”
Emily closed her eyes.
Daniel hesitated.
“Yes,” he said. “And I’m eleven years late.”
Lily didn’t cry.
She just nodded.
“That’s why Ethan looks like me,” she said softly.
Silence filled the room.
Then Emily spoke again.
“You don’t get to walk in here with lawyers and control everything. If you want a relationship, it happens on her terms. And if she doesn’t want you… you accept it.”
Daniel nodded.
For the first time, he understood how small money was compared to what he had lost.
That night, he went home without stopping at the office.
Ethan was waiting in the kitchen, trying to look calm.
Daniel sat across from him.
“I followed you,” he said.
Ethan lowered his head.
“I know.”