A judge holding a wooden gavel | Source: Pexels
When word of the affair spread through her company (and these things always spread), both she and Ben were fired within a week. Apparently, there’s a clause about inappropriate relationships between supervisors and subordinates. I didn’t ask for that to happen. But I wasn’t going to lose sleep over it either.
Betrayal has consequences.
I cried a few times when I was alone, usually late at night after I put Lizzy to bed. I’d loved Sophia for years. I thought she was my person, the one I’d grow old with. But she threw it all away for some lad who thought it was appropriate to play house with another man’s daughter.
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Now, my entire focus is on Lizzy. I promised myself I’d raise her to be strong and kind and smarter than the adults who let her down. She’d never doubt that she was loved.
A little girl hugging her teddy bear while sleeping | Source: Midjourney
A little girl hugging her teddy bear while sleeping | Source: Midjourney
Sophia still sees Lizzy sometimes — on those supervised weekend visits, at birthday parties, and at school events where we both show up and pretend to be civil. She’s been looking for a new job for months now. She’s asked me more than once to forgive her, usually through long text messages late at night.
I haven’t forgiven her. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
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But for Lizzy’s sake, we sit at the same table sometimes when Sophia comes over for her visits. We make small talk. We pretend, just for a little while, that we’re still a family. Because Lizzy deserves that much. She deserves to know she’s loved by both her parents, even if those parents couldn’t make their marriage work. Even if one of them made choices that burned everything to the ground.
I’m not sure what the future holds for me. I don’t know if I’ll ever trust someone like that again, if I’ll ever let my guard down enough to fall in love. The thought of dating again makes me tired just thinking about it.
But I know this much: I’ll protect my daughter with everything I have. She’ll never doubt that she comes first. She’ll never wonder whether she’s important enough.
Father and daughter holding hands | Source: Freepik
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