e party afterward. The teacher, a kind woman named Mrs. Davis, tried to press a consol

e, Mommy," she sai

ine costume now looking like a sad, wilted flower. She stared out the window, her reflection a ghostly image against

rent of fury and pain that was building inside me. But I could

er pajamas. She didn't say a word. I tucked her into bed, th

was about to turn off the light. "

air from my lungs. "No, sweetie. Never. Daddy l

ess. She just stared at me with her big, sad

herself to sleep. He walked in whistling, drop

I was sitting in the dark. He flicked on the light, and blinked i

id, my voice dangerously

ed away. He frowned, finally sensing that something

you,

d hovering in the a

and Chloe. You told me you

t. Yeah, well, the surgery was canceled at the last minute. Victoria called, Chloe was really nervous about her part in the

d! To Lily! She was the lead. She spent weeks practicing. She looked for you in the audience e

. "Eleanor, don't be so dramatic. It's not a big deal. I was in

She saw you doting on Chloe, giving her flowers, completely ignoring your own da

hand as if it were a minor inconvenience. "You're blowing this way out of proporti

finally coming. "It's about your priorities! Your daughter needed

s," he shot back, his voice turning cold. He turned and walked out of the kitchen. "I'm not going to st

reading through my chest. He grabbed his pre-packed suitcase from the closet, the one he always had ready for last-minute trip

over. My mother took one look at

, Ellie?" she

, about the argument, about David leaving. My father,

We were having lunch downtown. He was with that woman, Victoria, and her daugh

oney. We didn't want to cause trouble. But he's being seen with

asn't a one-time thing. It was a pattern. A

me and curled up next to me on the sofa. She had been

erious. "Are you and Daddy going to

of her strawberry shampoo filling my senses. "No, baby. Of course not.

or Lily's sake, I had to try. I had to fight for this family, even if I was the