And just like that, fifteen years of pain narrowed into one sentence.
I didn’t have an answer.
None of us did.
The middle one finally leaned back in her chair.
“We should talk to him.”
The youngest looked terrified.
“Now?”
“We’ve waited long enough,” her sister replied softly.
So we called him.
And fifteen minutes later, there was another knock at the door.
This time, when I opened it, he stepped inside slowly.
Nervously.
Like he wasn’t sure he deserved to cross the threshold.
Honestly… maybe he didn’t.
The girls stared at him.
At the man who had once been their entire world.
Now a stranger.
No one spoke at first.
Then the oldest stood up.
“Why did you leave?”
Her voice shook despite her effort to sound calm.
The middle one asked the next question.
“Did you think we wouldn’t care?”
And finally, the youngest whispered the hardest one of all.
“Are you staying this time?”
The room felt painfully still.
But to his credit… he didn’t avoid anything.
“I thought leaving would protect you,” he admitted quietly. “I thought Emily could give you the life I couldn’t.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make,” the oldest replied immediately.
“I know.”
“You missed everything,” the middle one said, tears filling her eyes now. “Birthdays. Graduations. Everything.”
“I know.”
The youngest looked down at her hands.
“We thought you didn’t love us.”
