Abigall’s voice broke through my thoughts, as she chatted with Owen. “No, seriously, this is the best birthday I’ve ever had!” She grinning, her excitement genuine, her eyes parkling with something I hadn’t expected.
1 raised an eyebrow, “It’s your birthday today?”
She blinked, clearly taken aback. But before I could dwell on that too much, her phone rang, and the moment was
gone.
“Mommy? No, I’m at the amusement park! We went on rides and-” Abigail’s voice came through hurried, a little too fast, like she was trying to say everything in one breath. “No, you don’t need to come…”
But then I heard Lauren’s voice. It was sharp, like a blade slicing through the air, cutting right to the heart of the moment. “Abigail!”
We all froze, turning just in time to see her walk into the park, her expression freezing the second she saw us, her hair a mess like she had ran here. The phone snapped down in her hand, glaring at the scene.
I could feel the tension thickening in the air, thick enough to choke. And yet, even as that coldness radiated off her, I couldn’t look away. I didn’t know what to do with myself, with this… this feeling
The reality hit me hard. Abigail was Lauren’s daughter. And today was her birthday. Could it be…?
My heart skipped a beat. For a split second, a rush of hope surged through me, something I hadn’t expected. Something I hadn’t felt in years.
I turned to Abigail, trying to keep my voice steady, though I could feel my hands trembling. “Do you remember what year you were born?” I asked, my voice tentative, unsure if I was allowed to ask something like that, if it was too much.
Before she could answer, Lauren was there, behind her in an instant. She placed her hands on Abigail’s shoulders, her fingers tightening in a way that made it clear who was in charge here. She answered for her. “Abigail is one year younger than Owen,” she said flatly, her eyes hardening as she spoke, like I was an intruder in her world.
Abigail looked up at her mom, her face full of something I couldn’t read, but it was clear she was trying to say something. “Mommy-”
“We need to go. Come on, love,” Lauren interrupted, her tone brokering no argument as she tugged at Abigail’s hand. But Abigail didn’t move. She planted her feet firmly, the tiny little girl with so much strength in her.
Owen, too, reached out for Abigail, grabbing her sleeve with a desperation that tugged at my heart. “We can’t, Mommy!” Abigail said, her voice firm, unwavering. “Owen says he wants to come home and spend his birthday with us.”
Owen nodded beside her, his voice soft but determined. “Together.”
And that’s when Sophia’s voice, full of venom, sliced through the air. “What have you done to my child?” she hissed, eyes wild as they flicked between Lauren and me. “Ever since you showed up, he’s been pulling away from me more and more!”
I could feel my patience snapping. I clenched my jaw, the heat rising in my chest. “Enough, Sophia,” I said, my voice low, the danger in it unmistakable. “I’m not going to stand here and listen to you make baseless claims.”
Lauren’s voice rose in response, frustration bleeding through her words. “The environment you two have created for Owen isn’t helping him. Especially with this authoritarian family atmosphere. Don’t go blaming me.”
The words hit me like a punch. The heat in my chest turned to anger, the kind that made my vision blur.
lur. “You’re
+25 BONUS
just his doctor,” I snapped my volce biting “You have no right to criticize how I manage my own familly.”
And then, just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, Abigall spoke,
“You’re a bad father!” she shouted, her volte raw with hurt her words stabbing into me like a blade. “I don’t want you to be my daddy!”
The words landed with a brutal finality. It felt like the world stopped for a second. The noise of the amusement park, the chatter, the laughter, the clinking of rides—it all faded away, leaving only the sound of my own heartbeat, loud and thundering in my ears.
