I close the door behind him and lean against it.
My heart is pounding.
My hands are shaking.
I just let Alexander Albert into my home.
I just let him meet our daughter.
What have I done?
I walk to the couch and look at Sophie.
She’s asleep, a smile on her face.
She’s dreaming about her daddy.
I don’t know if I made the right choice.
I don’t know if this is going to end in heartbreak again.
But I know one thing: I can’t keep lying to her.
I can’t keep pretending he doesn’t exist.
He’s here.
He’s real.
And he’s not going away.
I walk to my room and close the door.
I sit on the bed and cry.
I cry for the girl I used to be.
I cry for everything we could have had, if only he’d been brave.
And I cry because, despite everything, I still love him.
I look at my phone.
There’s a text from him: “Thank you.
For letting me meet her.
I won’t let you down.”
I don’t respond.
But I don’t delete it either.