The truth was harder to hear than any excuse.
“He knew he was going to die,” I continued. “That’s why he told me. He didn’t want your daughter to be left without support.”
Caroline nodded slowly. “The payments stopped last month. I assumed something had happened.”
“They’ll do it again,” I said, looking her in the eyes. “But that doesn’t make us a family.”
A flash of shock crossed his face.
“I’m angry,” I admitted. “I don’t know how long this anger will last. But Ava didn’t choose any of this. And now…” I paused, collecting my thoughts. “Now it’s up to me to decide who I’m going to become.”
I was surprised by my own words.
That evening, as I drove home, the world seemed strangely still.
For the first time since Daniel’s death, I didn’t feel like everything was happening to me.
I felt like I was the one choosing how things would unfold.
