Christine’s cheeks flushed with color. Around them, other parents had fallen silent, watching the interaction with undisguised interest.
“I understand that our situation might seem unconventional,” Liam acknowledged, including the entire group in his gaze now. “But these girls have experienced enough loss for a lifetime. They deserve to be surrounded by kindness, not judgment.”
For a moment, no one spoke. Then an older woman stepped forward from the group.
“My grandsonlost his mother to cancer last year,” she said quietly. “His teacher tells me your Maddie has been sitting with him at lunch, showing him her special memory book. Said it helped him not feel so alone.”
Liam felt his throat tighten with unexpected emotion. He glanced at Maddie, who was watching the interaction with solemn attention, and saw her small nod of confirmation.
“That sounds like Maddie,” Sunny said softly, pride evident in her voice as she squeezed the little girl’s shoulder.
The older woman turned to Christine and the others. “Seems to me these children are being raised with exactly the right values.”
Christine had the grace to look ashamed. “I… I apologize for my comment,” she said, not quite meeting anyone’s eyes. “It was thoughtless.”
“We’re all just trying our best,” Liam replied, the forgiveness in his tone genuine rather than forced. “That’s all any parent can do.”
As they walked away, Maddie slipped her hand into Sunny’s while Hailey took Liam’s.
“That lady was being mean about Sunny,” Maddie observed once they were out of earshot.
Liam knelt down to their level. “Sometimes people speak without thinking about how their words might hurt others. But you know what’s more important than what other people say?”
“What?” Hailey asked, her eyes wide.
“How we choose to respond,” Liam said, his gaze lifting to meet Sunny’s. “Sometimes the strongest thing we can do is respond with kindness instead of anger.”
Something shifted in Sunny’s expression — a soft recognition of how much he had changed, how he was striving to be the man they all needed him to be. For the first time since her return, her smile reached her eyes, warming him from the inside out.
After hugs andgoodbyes, the girls disappeared into their classrooms, leaving Liam and Sunny alone in the suddenly quiet hallway. For a moment, neither spoke, the weight of what had just happened settling between them.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Sunny said finally.
“Yes, I did,” Liam replied without hesitation. “Last time, I let others’ opinions dictate our lives. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Thank you,” she said simply.
Those two words, weighted with more than simple gratitude, carried them back to the car in comfortable silence.
Back home, they separated to their respective spaces — Sunny to help Beth with household tasks, Liam to his office where a backlog of calls and emails awaited. But something had changed, a small crack in the ice that had formed between them. It wasn’t quite a thaw, but it was a beginning.
Throughout the morning, Liam forced himself to focus on work, though his mind kept drifting to Sunny, wondering what she was doing, whether she was still processing the confrontation at school. His agent had left three voicemails, each more urgent than the last.
With a sigh, Liam returned the call, bracing himself for bad news about his contract situation.
“About time,” Mike grumbled as he answered. “I’ve been trying to reach you all morning.”
“Sorry. Been dealing with family things.” The explanation came easily now, without the guilt or defensiveness that would have colored it before.
“Well, you’ll want to hear this,” Mike said, his tone shifting from irritation to cautious optimism. “Management’s singing a different tune today.”
Liam sat up straighter. “How so?”
“Seems your press conference struck a chord with fans. The team’s social media has been flooded with messages supporting you — and more importantly, threats to boycott games and merchandise if they force you out.”
A hollow laugh escaped Liam. “So they’re backing down because of money, not principle.”
“Does it matter? They’re willing to ‘work with your personal situation’ now. Gerald Parker himself called me this morning, talking about ‘standing by our veteran players.’”
