Nothing changed simply because Sophia had been born.
Her story unfolded exactly as it had in the original scenario, where she had been born as my second daughter.
At first, everything seemed the same.
Then, the variable appeared from somewhere I had never expected.
After giving birth to Sophia, Ellen suddenly announced that she wanted to study accounting.
She knew I had more than enough money, and she knew she could depend on me completely.
“Ellen, Sophia is only a year old.
What are you going to do if you go back to college now?”
“You can take care of her.
Is Sophia only my child?
She’s your daughter too.”
She looked at me without hesitation.
“There’s something I have to accomplish.
My father took that dream away from me once.
I don’t want to lose it again because of a child.”
“I’m not telling you not to study accounting,” I said.
“Sophia is only one year old.
A child that young needs her mother.
Once she’s a little older, I’ll support you through school myself.
But right now, shouldn’t we put Sophia first?”
“No.”
Ellen shook her head.
“That’s what you want.
I don’t want to give up my life because of a child.
If I wait any longer, it’ll only get harder to study.
It has to be now.”
None of this had happened in the original scenario.
Why had Ellen changed so suddenly?
I couldn’t understand why she was trying to leave behind my precious Sophia to pursue her own dream.
Sophia hadn’t been the child I originally expected.
But I loved her.
The Sophia from before had been my daughter inside a dream.
The Sophia standing before me now was my daughter in reality.
As I struggled to make sense of everything, the Room of Choices called me again after a very long time.
Accept Ellen Studying Accounting.
Do Not Accept Ellen Studying Accounting.
I stood between the two doors.
In truth, it didn’t matter which one I chose.
It was only a matter of seeing one future before the other.
I chose the door I wanted first.
Do Not Accept.
My starting point was the middle of my argument with Ellen.
“No, Ellen.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t pursue your dream.
I’m saying we should take care of what’s more important first.
We have Sophia now.
Isn’t she important to you?
Is becoming an accountant really more important than your own daughter?”
“Yes.”
Her answer came without the slightest hesitation.
“Becoming an accountant is important to me.
Look at you.
You have money.
But what do I have?
Am I supposed to spend the rest of my life depending on my husband?”
She lowered her voice.
“Look at my mother.
After my father left her, all she wanted was to die.”
“I don’t want to live like that.”
“I want to survive on my own.”
“Ellen, it’s not my money.
It’s our money.”
I stared at her in disbelief.
“And why would I ever leave you?
We have Sophia.”
“You’re a man.”
She looked straight into my eyes.
“You may feel that way now.
But how can I know whether you’ll change someday?”
She took a slow breath.
“And why should I sacrifice my entire life because I had a child?”
“I don’t want that.”
“I want to live my own life.”
“You want your own life?”
I couldn’t hide the frustration in my voice.
“Then what about Sophia?”
“You raise her.”
Her answer was immediate.
“She’s your daughter.”
“Ellen.”
I could hardly believe what I was hearing.
“Did I have Sophia by myself?
She’s your daughter too.
If not you, who could possibly raise her better?”
“I don’t care what you say.”
She grabbed her bag.
“This time, I’m studying accounting no matter what.”
The front door slammed shut.
The loud noise startled Sophia awake, and she burst into tears.
From that day on, every day became a nightmare.
Eventually, Ellen left home altogether.
I even asked my mother-in-law for help.
Instead, she only made things worse.
“Luke, you have plenty of money.
Why can’t you support Ellen?
That child was never meant to spend her life raising children.
If you help her a little, she’ll become an accountant.”
“So let her study.”
“Mother, I’m not refusing to help her.”
I tried to explain.
“But Sophia is still…”
“Sophia, Sophia.”
She waved her hand dismissively.
“Children grow up on their own.
Just hire a nanny.”
I simply couldn’t understand it.
How could becoming an accountant and raising your own daughter be treated as if they carried the same weight?
Then one day, Ellen came home carrying divorce papers.
“Sign them.”
“If you’re going to stop me from following my dream, I don’t have any other choice.”
“I’ll walk my own path.”
“You can keep Sophia.”
“But we’ll split the property equally.”
“I’ll need money too if I’m going to build my own life.”
This wasn’t the Ellen I knew.
Day after day, she placed the divorce papers in front of me.
Little by little, my spirit withered away.
At the same time, Sophia was losing her mother’s love.
In the end, I had no choice.
In exchange for custody of Sophia, I gave Ellen half of everything I owned.
The moment I stamped the divorce papers, the world around me crumbled into grains of sand.
When I opened my eyes again, I was standing inside the Room of Choices.
If I chose…
Accept Ellen Studying Accounting…
Would the ending be different?
I reached for the door marked Accept Ellen Studying Accounting and stepped inside.