Liam looked at me with a reassuring smile.
“It’s okay, Mom.”
Then, he faced Greg again.
“I know you dreamed about coaching football.”
Greg nodded slightly.
“I know Grandpa did the same with you.”
Another nod.
“And I know every time you saw fathers playing with their sons, you looked at Mom like she’d stolen your future.”
Greg’s face reddened.
He realized where Liam’s speech was headed.
He said, “I was disappointed.”
“No.”
Liam’s voice remained steady.
“You were cruel.”
The words landed like stones.
Nobody spoke.
Then, Nora quietly broke the silence.
“He’s right, Greg,” she said, her voice trembling. “Cyra has spent 18 years carrying guilt that never belonged to her.”
Owen slowly shook his head.
“We all saw pieces of it,” he admitted. “I wish we’d spoken up sooner.”
Liam continued his speech. “I used to wonder why I wasn’t enough.”
Greg stared at the ground.
“I thought maybe if I got better grades…”
