Olivia leaned closer. “He lost his job last year. He moved back in with his parents. They’re also struggling; their business went bankrupt. I honestly didn’t expect you to pull through. I thought you’d come crawling back.”
Sophie almost laughed. Instead, he simply replied, “I’m sorry you underestimated me.”
A few weeks later, Daniel appeared at her house without warning. He looked thinner and with dull eyes. Etha, who was already 12 years old, stood behind Sophie, arms crossed, looking at his father with his eyes closed.
“I just… wanted to see you both,” Daniel said quietly. “I was wrong, Sophie. I didn’t know what I had. Can we… start over?”
Sophie watched him for a while. Before, those words would have turned her heart. Now, they meant nothing. Thought of the times she cried alone, the times her family scorned her, the way he cast her and Etha aside as if they were disposable.
“No, Daniel,” she said firmly. “Etha and I are happy. We don’t need you.”
His face clouded, and for the first time, she saw regret in his eyes; He regretted not only losing her, but realizing that she had become everything he once claimed she could be.
