“Did he know about me?”
I couldn’t lie anymore.
“Yes.”
Her lips parted.
“Then why wasn’t he here?”
I closed my eyes.
Because that answer was mine.
Not his.
“He tried.”
A tear rolled down my face.
“I stopped him.”
Iris looked away.
And that hurt more than if she had screamed.
Because anger means someone still wants to fight.
Silence means they don’t know what to do with the pain.
Ryan finally checked his phone.
The countdown on his screen was still there.
He deleted it.
The five-minute threat was gone.
“I came here tonight because I thought you deserved the truth.”
He looked at Iris.
“Not because I wanted to hurt you.”
Then he looked at me.
“But she deserves every piece of her story.”
I nodded.
Because for once, I wasn’t going to fight.
I wasn’t going to explain.
I wasn’t going to defend myself.
I was going to accept what I had done.
“I’m sorry.”
The words felt too small.
But they were all I had.
Iris didn’t answer.
She just looked at the photograph sitting on the fireplace.
A picture of her and me from when she was five.
Then she looked at Ryan.
A stranger who shared her blood.
And finally at me.
“Is there anything else?”
My heart stopped.
Because I knew that question.
Not just about Daniel.
Not just about Ryan.
About everything.
I hesitated.
And that hesitation was enough.
Her face changed.
“Mom.”
I whispered:
“There’s one more thing.”
Ryan looked at me sharply.
“What?”
