I felt a strange sadness for him.
He had spent so long blaming himself for a decision that had never been his to make.
“I hope you understand something, Elena,” I said.
She nodded.
“I don’t need you to suffer. I don’t need you to lose everything. And I don’t need to prove that I’m a better person than Julian.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“But our daughters deserved a mother who showed up. I couldn’t be that for them, no matter how hard I tried. I could only be their father.”
She wiped her cheeks.
“I know.”
“And now they are adults. If you want a relationship with them, you have to build it on their terms. Not yours. Not mine. Theirs.”
“I will.”
I opened the door a little wider, not to invite her inside, but to let her leave without feeling that she had to defend herself one more time.
