Chapter 18
The next few years were the happiest of my life.
The children grew.
Noah became obsessed with robotics.
Ethan was a star soccer player.
Sophia loved art and music.
Olivia was a voracious reader who wanted to be a writer when she grew up.
Marcus was the best father they could have asked for.
He attended every game.
Every recital.
Every parent-teacher conference.
He helped with homework.
He fixed broken toys.
He gave the best hugs.
The children called him Dad.
And he called them his kids.
No one would have ever known he wasn't their biological father.
The love was real.
The bond was real.
My business continued to grow.
Reynolds Enterprises became one of the most successful companies in Texas.
But I never let work take me away from my family for too long.
I'd learned what was truly important.
We traveled.
We went to Disney World.
We visited the Grand Canyon.
We took a trip to Colorado every summer, to visit Eleanor's grave and to see Aunt Margaret.
The children would leave flowers on her grave.
They'd tell her about their year.
About school.
About sports.
About Marcus.
I knew she was watching.
That she was proud.
Daniel reached out occasionally.
He'd send birthday cards.
Christmas presents.
Short emails asking how the children were doing.
I always responded.
I sent him pictures.
Updates on their lives.
I never kept him from knowing about them.
But I also never pushed the children to have a relationship with him.
It was their choice.
When they were twelve, Noah asked if he could meet Daniel.
He wanted to know more about his biological father.
I supported him.
Marcus supported him.
Noah met Daniel for lunch in California.
It went well.
They talked.
Noah got some answers.
But he also realized something important.
Marcus was his dad.
Daniel was just... Daniel.
A man who shared his DNA.
But not his heart.
The other children met him eventually too.
Each in their own time.
Each on their own terms.
Some felt a connection.
Some didn't.
But all of them knew who their real father was.
The man who'd shown up.
Who'd loved them.
Who'd chosen them.
Daniel never tried to fight for custody again.
He never tried to come between us.
He kept his promise to Eleanor.
He'd built a new life in California.
He'd gotten married.
He had a stepdaughter.
He was trying to be a better man.
I was happy for him.
Truly.
Because his healing didn't threaten mine.
His happiness didn't take away from ours.
We were all just people, doing the best we could.
Some of us had made terrible mistakes.
May you like
But we were all trying to do better.
And that was enough.
