agreed to see her at a café.
She appeared drained.
“I left him.”
I remained quiet.
“He kept saying all of this was your fault. Even after the evidence came out.”
“That sounds like Grant.”
She wiped away tears.
“I was horrible to you.”
“Yes.”
She recoiled slightly.
I wouldn’t protect her from the truth.
“I let him convince me you embarrassed me,” she continued. “He kept saying his family had standards.”
“And you believed him.”
“I wanted them to accept me.”
“So you sacrificed the person who already did.”
She started crying.
This time, I reached across the table.
Not to undo her actions.
But to show that love and consequences could coexist.
“I forgive you,” I said. “But trust comes back slower.”
She nodded.
Grant reacted badly to their separation.
He sent hostile messages, demanded money, and threatened to tell journalists I’d pursued his father out of personal
