Chapter 4%
It wasn’t until Emily gently closed the door behind her that the dam finally broke. For two days, I had held back every tear, every choking breath. But now, with no one around to see or judge, I clutched the blanket and broke down in sobs.
Even Emily could see it–how I had poured myself into Elise, given her my best years, my patience, my heart. Yet to Sara, to Elise, to my own parents, everything I’d done was nothing more than my duty. Expected. Taken for granted.
I didn’t know how long I cried. At some point, exhaustion overtook me and I fell into a heavy sleep.
When I woke up, the morning light was already streaming through the curtains. Noise floated up from downstairs–voices, laughter, the clink of cups. I dragged myself out of bed and headed down, still numb from the night before.
The moment I stepped into the living room, I froze.
There, seated comfortably on the center sofa, was Francis.
He looked exactly as I remembered–taller, perhaps, more mature, but still with that easy charm that made people gravitate toward him. Elise was curled up in his arms, her face lit with adoration. She clung to him like he was her entire world.
My parents hovered nearby. My mother, who’d spent the last ten years raising her voice at me for every tiny thing, now fluttered around Francis like he was a long–lost prince. My father, always stern and aloof, had a rare softness in his eyes.
“You–you heartless thing,” my mother said, tears shimmering in her eyes. “Not one phone call in ten years. Were you trying to kill us with worry?“%
My father gently tugged at her sleeve. “What’s done is done. He’s back now. Let’s just be thankful for that.“>
Across from them sat Sara.”
She didn’t speak. But her eyes were on Francis–fixed, unwavering. The tenderness in them was so naked, it made my chest ache. In ten years of marriage, I had never seen her look at me that way.
Elise let out a cheerful giggle and nuzzled into Francis’s chest. “Daddy, you’re the best daddy in the whole world!“%
My breath caught in my throat. If I hadn’t lived the last ten years–hadn’t been the one who woke up at 2 a.m. to change her sheets when she had a fever, who showed up at every parent meeting, every scraped knee and school recital–I would’ve believed him to be the one who raised her.
Sara stood then, brushing down her skirt with composed elegance. “Today’s a good day. I made a reservation at the restaurant. Let’s all go together.“2
She didn’t say his name. Didn’t need to. Her eyes never left him.}
And just like that, they gathered–my parents, my wife, my daughter and my brother–as if the past decade had been a brief misunderstanding. As if the disaster of that wedding day had never tom everything apart.
They had forgotten.
Forgotten how the Rogers were humiliated and furious. Forgotten how they withdrew every investment and nearly bankrupted us. Forgotten how my mother collapsed from stress, how my father dragged me out of the lab just days before I was to leave for a research posting abroad.
They made me stay.2
Made me stand in Francis’s place at the altar. Made me give up my career, my future, my dignity. They told me I had to step up for the Cole Family. That I was their last hope. My father was so desperate, he nearly got on his knees.
I gave in.£
I put on that suit. I became the substitute groom.2
When I first stepped into the Rogers‘ manor, Sara was a wreck. Her eyes were swollen from crying, her voice hoarse from screaming. She refused to work, locked herself in her room, drinking herself into a stupor. Some nights, she didn’t even know where she was.&
And 1-1 cared for the infant she didn’t want to hold. I cleaned up her messes, wiped Elise’s tears, fed her bottles in the dead of night. And when Elise cried for no reason, I held her close, humming lullabies until she calmed.
Meanwhile, I stayed up late helping my former research team finish their reports remotely, knowing full well I’d never rejoin them.
One year later, Elise toddled across the room for the first time, arms wobbling. Sara burst into tears and hugged me so tightly I couldn’t breathe.
“Oliver, thank you,” she whispered between sobs. “From now on, let’s live a good life together.“”
I believed her
I believed her when she said we were a family now. I believed every smile, every tear she shed for me. I thought maybe–just maybe—I had built something real from the ruins.
But now?
Now Francis didn’t have to lift a finger. He just had to show up and every sacrifice I made vanished. My ten years of love and labor were erased with one smile from him.
And they welcomed him like nothing had ever happened
