Chapter 5: The Father Nobody Knew
For a moment, I couldn’t speak.
The park lights flickered above us.
A child laughed somewhere in the distance.
A dog barked near the sidewalk.
Normal sounds.
A normal night.
Except my entire family had just become a mystery.
“Derek found Ethan?””
Aaliyah nodded.
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Months ago.””
“And he didn’t tell you?””
“He did.””
I looked at her.
“What did he say?””
She hugged her arms around herself.
“He said he wanted to know the truth before he told me.””
I laughed once.
A humorless sound.
“The truth.””
She looked at me.
“You’re angry.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
I stared at her.
“Because everyone keeps searching for the truth while I’m the only one who was living a lie.””
She looked down.
“That’s not fair.””
“No?””
“No.””
Her voice became stronger.
“You think this has been easy for me?””
I stopped.
She wiped her eyes.
“I spent my whole life thinking one person left because I wasn’t enough.””
The anger in me softened.
Just slightly.
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
She shook her head.
“I know you loved me. I know you were there.””
Her voice broke.
“But you don’t know what it feels like to wonder why someone who created you doesn’t want you.””
I looked away.
Because she was right.
I didn’t know.
I had been so focused on my pain that I forgot hers existed too.
But then I remembered something.
“I stayed because someone had to.””
She looked at me.
“I know.””
“Do you?””
“Yes.””
She swallowed.
“That’s why this hurts.””
I frowned.
“What do you mean?””
“Because you were always the safest person in my life.””
The sentence hit harder than anything else.
“Then why did you push me away?””
She stared at the ground.
“Because safe people feel permanent.””
I didn’t understand.
She continued.
“And I was scared of losing someone else.””
I went quiet.
Aaliyah looked at me.
“When Dad came back, I thought if I pushed you away first, it wouldn’t hurt as much.””
I felt my chest tighten.
“That doesn’t make sense.””
“I know.””
She gave a sad smile.
“I’m not saying I was right.””
For the first time that day, she sounded like the little girl from years ago.
Not the woman trying to protect herself.
Just Aaliyah.
Confused.
Scared.
Human.
Then she reached into her bag.
She pulled out an envelope.
“I found this in Mom’s old things.””
I looked at it.
“What is it?””
“Something Ethan wrote.””
My heart started beating faster.
“Why do you have it?””
“Because Dad gave it to me.””
I stared at her.
“Derek had it?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“I don’t know.””
She handed it to me.
I didn’t open it.
Not immediately.
Because something inside me was afraid.
Sometimes knowing the truth was worse than living with the question.
“Aaliyah…”
“What?””
“Why are you showing me this?””
Her eyes filled.
“Because I think you deserve to know.””
I looked at the envelope.
My name wasn’t on it.
But somehow, it felt like it was meant for me.
I opened it.
Inside was a letter.
The handwriting was old.
The first line made my hands shake.
*Renee, if you’re reading this, it means I was too much of a coward to say it myself.*
I kept reading.
*I know Derek believes the child is his. I know he deserves the chance to be a father. But I need you to know the truth.*
I stopped.
Aaliyah watched me.
“What?””
I looked at the next line.
Then the next.
And suddenly I understood why Derek had returned.
Why he had been searching.
Why Renee had been afraid.
Because Ethan hadn’t disappeared.
He hadn’t abandoned anyone.
He had been pushed out of their lives.
The letter continued:
*I never asked you to choose me. I only asked you to tell my daughter one day that I loved her.*
My vision blurred.
“Aaliyah…”
She leaned closer.
“What?””
I handed her the letter.
She read it.
Slowly.
Then her face changed.
“What is this?””
I looked at her.
“I don’t know.””
She kept reading.
Then suddenly she stood.
“No.””
“Aaliyah—”
“No.””
Her voice shook.
“This isn’t possible.””
“What does it say?””
She looked at me.
Tears running down her face.
“It says Ethan didn’t leave.””
A cold silence fell between us.
“Then where was he?””
She looked at the final paragraph.
And whispered:
“Derek told him he wasn’t wanted.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
She handed me the letter.
At the bottom was one final sentence.
May you like
One sentence that made everything worse.
*I tried to come back for you, Aaliyah. But your mother told me you had a new father now.*
