“Sir,” he said softly—his voice steady but filled with something deeper than anger—“I think you dropped something a long time ago.”
My father froze. His eyes shifted from the picture… to my son… to me sitting in the car. His face aged in seconds. I saw regret wash over him like a wave too strong to fight.
My son continued, “You don’t have to be in my life. But you hurt my mom. And she still became everything I ever needed. I just wanted you to see what you lost.”
He handed him the photo.
My father’s hand shook as he took it. For the first time in my life, I saw his eyes fill with tears.
“I… I was wrong,” he whispered. “I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought pushing her away would protect her. But I only broke the person who loved me the most.”
