noticed the waitress staring at me. She couldn\u2019t have been more than twenty-one. Dark hair pulled into a ponytail. Nervous hands gripping her notepad<\/p>\n
When she walked over, my stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Collins?\u201d she asked softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her lips trembled. \u201cMy name is\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew.<\/p>\n
Somehow, before she even said it, I knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re my past,\u201d I cut in sharply, my voice colder than I intended. My heart was pounding so loudly I could barely hear myself. \u201cI don\u2019t want you in my life. I\u2019m very busy right now. I don\u2019t have time for this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face didn\u2019t twist in anger. It didn\u2019t harden.<\/p>\n
She just smiled \u2014 a small, sad smile that broke something deep inside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n
And she walked away.<\/p>\n
I sat there shaking, telling myself I had done the right thing. I had protected my family. My children didn\u2019t need confusion. Daniel didn\u2019t need complications. The past had no place in our carefully built present.<\/p>\n
The next morning, my phone rang while I was folding laundry.<\/p>\n
It was Daniel.<\/p>\n
His voice was strange \u2014 tight, urgent.<\/p>\n
\u201cI met your daughter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
My blood froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to come home. Now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The drive felt endless. My hands trembled on the steering wheel. A thousand scenarios raced through my mind \u2014 confrontation, exposure, destruction.<\/p>\n
When I walked into the kitchen, I saw her.<\/p>\n
She was sitting at our table. Still in her waitress uniform. Hands folded neatly in her lap.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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