CHAPTER 3: THE MOMENT A FATHER FALLS APART
CHAPTER 3: THE MOMENT A FATHER FALLS APART
“Emily…” Michael’s voice came out wrong.
Too quiet.
Too broken.
The girl didn’t respond immediately.
Not because she didn’t hear him.
But because children who have been waiting too long often stop expecting their names to mean anything.
When she finally looked up, her eyes didn’t show relief.
They showed caution.
Like she was trying to decide if the sound of his voice meant safety… or change.
“Daddy?” she whispered.
That word hit him harder than anything else.
Because it carried both recognition and doubt.
As if she wasn’t fully sure anymore.
Michael dropped to his knees without realizing it.
The ground beneath him didn’t feel solid.
It felt distant.
Unreal.
“Why are you in here?” he asked, though part of him already feared the answer.
Emily tightened her hold on Oliver.
“He said we had to stay,” she murmured.
Michael’s throat tightened instantly.
“Who said that?”
She hesitated.
Long enough that silence itself became an answer.
May you like
Then:
“Your friend,” she said.
