I looked up.
“She made it easy for you.”
I looked up.
Ben swallowed.
“I was scared.”
Then I saw the reply beneath it.
From him.
“I think it’s better if we leave the past where it is. I can’t be the father you’re looking for, Claire.”
I looked at Ben.
“You told me you didn’t answer.”
“I can’t be the father you’re looking for, Claire.”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“Because saying I ignored her sounded less cruel than admitting I rejected her.”
There it was. His choice.
“You weren’t 20 anymore.”
“No.”
“I lied.”
“You were married to me. We were trying for a baby, Ben. How was any of this okay?”
His eyes filled.
“While I was grieving the child we couldn’t have, Claire was asking her father to meet her.”
Ben looked down.
“And you told her to stay in the past.”
“I did.”
I handed back his phone.
