Daniel drove Lily home in complete silence.
She led him to a tiny apartment on the edge of the city.
When the door opened, a pale woman froze in horror.
The grocery bag slipped from Lily’s hands.
“Mom… this man wanted to meet you.”
Marilyn looked into Daniel’s eyes for the first time in ten years.
Neither of them spoke.
Finally, Daniel whispered,
“You disappeared without a word.”
Tears rolled down Marilyn’s face.
“I didn’t leave because I stopped loving you.”
She stepped aside, revealing a frail little boy lying on a worn-out couch.
“He was born with a serious heart condition.”
Daniel stared at the child.
The boy had his eyes.
His smile.
His face.
Marilyn broke down crying.
“I wanted to tell you the truth… but your family threatened to destroy us if I ever came back.”
Daniel slowly knelt beside the little boy.
He reached for his tiny hand.
Then he looked at Marilyn.
“No one will ever separate us again.”
