“Andrew… he was my friend. I was desperate. It was either him or me, and I had a family. I was doing what I thought I had to. I’m sorry.”

Silence lingered between us.

Finally, he looked at me with an expression I had never seen before.

Regret.

“Anna, I never meant for you to get tangled up in this. I thought I was doing the right thing, building a future for you.”

“A future you chose for me,” I replied quietly. “But I’m choosing my own now.”

Without another word, he turned and walked away, shoulders slumped as he disappeared down the stairs.

I watched him leave, feeling both sadness and relief.

Several days passed without hearing from him, and the silence felt lighter than I expected.

Then one evening someone knocked at the door.

It was my father.

He stood awkwardly outside, looking uncertain.

“Ethan,” he said softly, “I… owe you an apology. Not just for the past, but for now. For everything. I can’t undo what I did to your family, but I can do better for my daughter. I see that now.”