“This will look terrible for you.”
That one hit home because it was meant to. Public embarrassment. Headlines. The usual weapons people used around men like me.
I didn’t care. Not enough.
“What looks terrible,” I said, “is what happens when a father ignores what’s right in front of him.”
Cal guided her toward the hall. She kept her posture straight all the way out, but halfway to the door she looked back at the girls.
June buried her face deeper in Mara. Lily stared back without moving.
Vanessa left the room first.
Silence rushed in after her.
Then June cried.
It wasn’t loud. That made it worse. It sounded like something small finally breaking after being bent too long.
I knelt in front of both girls and felt the distance I’d built the second I got close. Not physical distance. The kind that comes when children stop believing the truth is safe with you.
