Beth hesitated, clearly reluctant to leave. “Liam,” she began, then seemed to think better of whatever she’d planned to say. “Call if you need anything,” she finished instead, giving his arm a gentle squeeze before walking to her car.
Liam approached his daughters, pasting on a smile that felt like a crack in his face. “Hey, munchkins! How was school?”
Maddie walked straight past him without a glance, climbing into the backseat of his SUV and slamming the door with surprising force for a six-year-old.
“Hailey?” Liam tried, kneeling to her eye level. “How about you, pumpkin? Good day?”
For a moment, Hailey stared at him with Kate’s eyes — penetrating blue and currently filled with an accusation that pierced straight through his defenses.
“Where’s Sunny?” she demanded, her voice wavering. “I want Sunny to pick us up.”
Liam swallowed hard. “Sweetie, we talked about this. Sunny had to—”
“YOU MADE HER GO AWAY!” Hailey’s scream shattered the forced calm of the parking lot, drawing stares from nearby parents. “YOU MADE HER LEAVE US!”
“Hailey, please—” Liam reached for her, but she jerked away from his touch.
“I HATE YOU!” she shrieked, tears streaming down her reddened cheeks. “I HATE YOU!”
Liam froze, her words landing like physical blows. His own daughter hated him. The knowledge cut deeper than any hockey injury, any professional setback.
Hailey’s tantrum escalated as he guided her toward the car, her small body thrashing against his restraining arms She kicked at his shins, pounded tiny fists against his chest, her rage all the more devastating for its helplessness.
By the time he managed to buckle her into her booster seat, Liam was sweating and Hailey had dissolved into hiccupping sobs. In the adjacent seat, Maddie remained stone-faced, staring determinedly out the window as if her father and sister didn’t exist.
The drive home passed in excruciating silence, broken only by Hailey’s occasional sniffles.
“Girls,” Liam tried as they pulled into the driveway, “I know you’re upset about Sunny leaving. I’m upset too. But I need you to understand—”
“We don’t care,” Maddie said, her voice flat and cold in a way no child’s should ever be. “You made her go away because you were scared.”
The simple accuracy of her statement struck Liam speechless. How could his six-year-old daughter see so clearly what he’d been unable to admit to himself?
“It’s not that simple, Mads,” he began, but she was already unbuckling her seatbelt.
“Yes it is,” she retorted, sliding from her seat. “You were scared she’d leave like Mommy did, so you made her go away first.”
Before Liam could respond, both girls had exited the car and were running toward the house. Twin door slams echoed moments later, leaving him alone in the driveway with Maddie’s devastating assessment ringing in his ears.
She was right. God help him, his six-year-old was right.
He’d been terrified of losing Sunny — of opening his heart only to have it shattered again — so he’d orchestrated her departure on his own terms He’d convinced himself it was about the girls’ stability, about his career, about protecting everyone from more pain.
But it had always been about his fear. His cowardice. His pain.
And now his daughters were suffering for it.
Liam remained in his car, hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles bleached white. The emptiness of the vehicle echoed the hollow cavity in his chest where his heart should be.
A knock on the window startled him from his spiral of self-recrimination.
His mother’s concerned face peered in, her gray-streaked hair pulled back in its usual practical bun. Beside her stood his father, tall and stoic, the deepening lines around his eyes the only outward sign of aging.
Liam rolled down the window, summoning what little composure he had left. “Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?”
“Beth called us,” his mother said simply. “Let’s go inside.”
The living room felt like a confessional as Liam perched on the edge of the couch, his parents occupying the chairs opposite. Neither spoke immediately, letting the silence stretch until it felt taut enough to snap.
