“That you were a coward.”
I nodded.
“I was.”
She looked out the window.
“I spent years hating you. Then I spent years trying not to care whether you existed.”
“I don’t blame you.”
“I don’t need you to agree with everything I did. I just needed to survive.”
“You did more than survive.”
She gave a faint smile.
“I had to.”
I looked at her.
“I can’t repay what you did for them.”
“No,” she said. “You can’t.”
The answer hurt, but it was honest.
“I wish I could change the past.”
“So do I. But I don’t want to live there anymore.”
She turned toward me.
“The girls are happy with their lives. They have plans. They have a future. Don’t make your regret another burden they have to carry.”
“I won’t.”
“And don’t mistake the fact that they see you for a promise that they’ll forgive you.”
