filling our lives with a quiet, steady support that felt like a lifeline. I' d paid the hospital deposit with the car money

urth evening, t

uilding a wobbly Lego tower. He scrambled to his feet, his

lled, running to the doo

e stood on the welcome mat, looking a little rumpl

k' s legs. "Daddy! You cam

' t used in months. "Hey, buddy! Look what I brought you.

is father' s absence forgotten. He hugged the robot tightly,

y arms crossed. "What ar

iving room. "Go play with that, son. Dad

nd through his hair, a gesture of manufactured stress. "Chloe, I' m so

face a blank mask. I didn

to change everything for us." He reached out, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "I can pay for al

to reality. Maybe he finally understood what was at stake. The word "promise" hung in the air, a ghost of the man

ulnerability to show. "You

ieved smile. "Yes. All of i

I had been so alone, so terrified. The idea of not having to carry

do?" I asked, my vo

the mas

ry savvy woman. She wants to see total commitment from th

'all in' ?" A cold drea

wants us to leverage it. We' ll sell it, and that capital, combined with her investm

o ice. He hadn' t changed at al

d, my voice dangerously quiet. "I just sold my father' s car to pay for

loe. Think bigger! This is our future. You have to let go of these litt

l, but it felt like a steel door

ed by the cold, entitled man I knew too well. "Don' t be stupid, Ch

, Mark. You made sure of tha

the door. "Fine! Be a martyr! See where it gets you!

ot, his face clouded with conf

eetie. He

I couldn' t shake the feeling. I opened my laptop, my fingers flying across the keyboard as I logged into the state' s

s articles of organization. It listed a new secondary managing member. It listed the practice as a t

ure I ne

r me. The betrayal was so complete, so audacious, it left me breathless. He hadn' t come to a

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