Chapter 14
The first date was perfect.
Ethan picked her up at 7 p.m., holding a bouquet of her favorite peonies. He opened the car door for her. He took her to the little Italian restaurant, just like he promised. They talked for three hours—about Lila, about work, about their childhoods, about their favorite movies. He didn’t push her to talk about Ryan. He didn’t pressure her for anything. He just listened. He laughed at her bad jokes. He told her she was the strongest woman he had ever met.
When he walked her to the door at the end of the night, he didn’t try to kiss her. He just hugged her, gentle, respectful, and said he had the best time of his life.
"Can I call you tomorrow?" he asked.
"I’d be disappointed if you didn’t," Megan said, smiling.
They started seeing each other every week.
Then every few days.
Then every day.
Ethan was everything Ryan wasn’t.
He was kind. He was patient. He listened. He remembered the little things—how she took her coffee, that she hated cilantro, that Lila’s favorite song was Baby Shark. He changed diapers without complaining. He got up in the middle of the night when Lila had a fever. He never raised his voice. He never made Megan feel small, or stupid, or like she was a burden.
For the first time in her life, Megan knew what it felt like to be loved.
Really loved.
Not for her name. Not for her rank. Not for her money.
Just for her.
Six months later, Ethan moved into the house.
Lila called him "Dada" within a week.
It broke Megan’s heart a little, and made it swell twice as big. She knew Ryan would be heartbroken too, when he found out. But Lila didn’t know any different. Ethan was the dad who was there. The dad who read her bedtime stories, who took her to the park, who kissed her booboos. He loved her like she was his own.
And Megan loved him for it.
Ryan got out of pri:son a month after Ethan moved in.
He had served 18 months, with time off for good behavior and completing his therapy and parenting classes. He was 34 years old. He had a GED. He had a job lined up at a friend’s construction company in another state. He had been sober for a year. He had changed.
He wrote Megan a letter the day he got out.
*Dear Megan,*
*I got out today. I’m driving to Oregon tomorrow to start the new job. I wanted to tell you I’m not going to ask to see Lila yet. I know I have to earn that. I know I haven’t done anything to deserve to be in her life. I’m going to work hard. I’m going to stay sober. I’m going to keep going to therapy. Maybe in a year, or two, or five, if I can prove I’m a good man, you’ll let me meet her. If not, I understand. I will spend the rest of my life making up for what I did. I hope you’re happy. You deserve it. You and Lila both.*
*—Ryan*
Megan read the letter twice, then put it in the box with the others.
She didn’t tell Ethan about it. Not yet.
She didn’t want to ruin the happiness they had built.
But she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
About Ryan.
About the choice she had made to give him a second chance.
About Lila, and whether she would ever want to know her biological dad.
She pushed the thoughts away.
It was too soon.
May you like
They had time.
Plenty of time.
