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"What happened, Dad?"
"She said she was pregnant."
Scar gasps.
I remember the day she sent me the text message. I swore I died that day and returned to life as punishment for my sins.
"You weren’t with her because you had feelings for her." my intuitive daughter asks.
I nod. "I took care of her needs. I paid her rent, utilities, and paid for doctor appointments. I wanted to do the right thing even if it killed a little bit of me every day."
Scar's eyes begin to water, and her chin wobbles like she is fighting back a sob. As much as I hate to tell the rest of the story, we need this closure. Too much time has passed.
"But everything changed. I met her at the doctor's office for her routine check-up, but she never showed up," I say with a heavy sigh. "When I went to her apartment, her neighbor told me that she had moved out a few days ago but that Tiffany left me a letter."
Scar's eyes widen with surprise. "What did the letter say?" she asks.
"It said she was no longer pregnant and apologized for everything," I replied.
The burden that I had been carrying with me was finally lifted as I found out that she was never pregnant and had left town. However, the image of waking up beside her continued to haunt me like a recurring nightmare, playing on a loop in my head until a few weeks ago.
“But there’s something else. A few weeks ago, a client came to see me, alleging a woman took advantage of him after he had too much to drink. As I listened to his story, it all sounded too familiar,”
"My God. Dad, she raped you." she whispers to herself.
"I don’t know, sweetheart."
"Rape, Dad. Sherapedyou." Scar goes back to pacing, running her hands through her pink hair. "Why didn't you say anything? Does Mom know?"
I nod. "Yes. She recently found out, and we agreed to go to counseling together." At that moment, I felt a glimmer of hope. It was like a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds after a long, dark storm. Her forgiveness was a pivotal moment that shattered my doubts and despair. It was undeniable proof of the power of redemption and second chances.
I never stopped fighting to win my family back.
"Come here, doodlebug," I coax my daughter. Gingerly, she sits beside me. I hold her hand when I speak the following words. "After what happened to Seth and you…" I cry hard, knowing I wasn't there to protect her. "I'm sorry I failed you," I stammer through my cries.
"Oh, Dad." Scar wraps her arms around my neck and holds me while I cry into her hair.
"My doodlebug," I say in a torn whisper.
"You didn't fail, Dad. I'm so sorry for what happened to you."
Her mother and I thought it best to keep quiet until she was stable enough to deal with the news.
We hold each other and cry.
"Mom." Scar removes herself from me, and her face beams like a bright star when she turns to the source of the little voice.
"Come here, monster." He runs into her arms and holds her tight like he's protecting her.
"Shaun, this is your grandfather." Scar looks at me with watery eyes and smiles. "Dad, this is your grandson, Shaun."
"Hello, Shaun. I'm so glad to finally meet you," I said with a smile. "We have a lot to catch up on. Would you like to come sit with me for a bit?"
Shaun nodded and walked over to the couch. As he settled beside me, I couldn't help but admire his bright blue eyes like Seth's and charming smile like his mother's.
"Mom bought me the Ant-Man movie. Do you want to watch it with me?" Shaun asked, his eyes shining with anticipation.
I chuckled at his enthusiasm. "I would love to watch it with you. If it's okay with your mom, we could even make some popcorn," I suggested.
