Mercy\u2019s grip tightened around the phone.
\nDaniel looked up, confused.
\n\u201cWho is it?\u201d
\nShe held up one finger, silencing him.
\nEmily\u2019s voice shook.
\n\u201cI know you hate me. You have every reason to. But before you decide anything\u2026 you deserve to know the truth.\u201d
\nMercy walked a few steps away from the table.
\n\u201cI\u2019m listening.\u201d
\n\u201cI lied to Daniel.\u201d
\nMercy closed her eyes.
\n\u201cAbout what?\u201d
\n\u201cThe baby.\u201d
\nA painful silence followed.
\n\u201cI told him she was his because I was terrified of being alone. By the time I admitted the truth, it was too late.\u201d
\nMercy glanced back through the caf\u00e9 window.
\nDaniel sat motionless, staring at the untouched envelope.
\nEmily continued.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s been a wonderful father to Sophie.\u201d
\nMercy frowned.
\n\u201cYou expect me to feel sorry for him?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nEmily\u2019s voice cracked.
\n\u201cI expect you to know that I was selfish too.\u201d
\n\u201cI destroyed your marriage.\u201d
\n\u201cI lied to him.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd an innocent little girl is caught in the middle.\u201d
\nMercy said nothing.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve signed papers giving Daniel full custody,\u201d Emily whispered. \u201cNot because I don\u2019t love Sophie\u2026\u201d
\n\u201c\u2026because I know she deserves someone more stable than me.\u201d
\nThe call ended.
\nMercy stood on the sidewalk for a long moment before walking back inside.
\nDaniel looked at her hopefully.
\n\u201cWas that\u2026\u201d
\n\u201cEmily.\u201d
\nHis face turned pale.
\nMercy placed the envelope back in front of him.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t need to read it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel lowered his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI deserve every terrible thing that\u2019s happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercy looked at him quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He blinked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou deserve the consequences of your choices.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Sophie doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s eyes filled with tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s innocent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo was I,\u201d Mercy replied.<\/p>\n
The words hit harder than any shout could have.<\/p>\n
Daniel covered his face with both hands.<\/p>\n
For the first time since she\u2019d known him, Mercy saw him cry.<\/p>\n
Not because he\u2019d been caught.<\/p>\n
Not because he\u2019d lost his marriage.<\/p>\n
But because he finally understood the damage he had caused.<\/p>\n
Mercy picked up her purse.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel didn\u2019t try to stop her.<\/p>\n
As she reached the caf\u00e9 door, he spoke one last time.<\/p>\n
\u201cMercy\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been offered a transfer to another country.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll probably accept it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded once.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope you become the father Sophie deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she walked away.<\/p>\n
She thought that was the last time she would ever see Daniel.<\/p>\n
She was wrong.<\/p>\n
Three months later, someone knocked on her front door.<\/p>\n
When Mercy opened it\u2026<\/p>\n
A little girl with a stuffed rabbit smiled up at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you Mercy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Behind the child stood a social worker.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
To Be Continued\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Mercy stared at the little girl.<\/p>\n The stuffed rabbit was the same one she had seen on Daniel\u2019s car seat months earlier.<\/p>\n The social worker offered a polite smile.<\/p>\n \u201cMrs. Carter?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m Mercy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry for arriving without notice. May we come in?\u201d<\/p>\n A few minutes later, they sat in Mercy\u2019s living room.<\/p>\n Little Sophie quietly colored in a children\u2019s book while the social worker spoke.<\/p>\n \u201cDaniel was involved in a serious accident three days ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Mercy\u2019s heart skipped.<\/p>\n \u201cIs he\u2026 alive?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. He survived, but he\u2019ll need several months to recover.\u201d<\/p>\n Mercy let out a slow breath she didn\u2019t realize she\u2019d been holding.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy are you here?\u201d<\/p>\n The social worker folded her hands.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore his surgery, Daniel listed the people he trusted in case something happened to him.\u201d<\/p>\n Mercy frowned.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re divorced.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut your name was the first one on the emergency contact form.\u201d<\/p>\n Mercy looked away.<\/p>\n She didn\u2019t know whether to feel angry\u2026 or sad.<\/p>\n The social worker continued.<\/p>\n \u201cDaniel has no close family nearby. Emily surrendered her parental rights months ago. Sophie\u2019s biological father has never come forward.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo you\u2019re asking me to take care of her?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n The social worker shook her head.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve arranged temporary foster care.\u201d<\/p>\n She paused.<\/p>\n \u201cBut Daniel asked us to give you this.\u201d<\/p>\n She handed Mercy a sealed envelope.<\/p>\n Across the front, in Daniel\u2019s familiar handwriting, were six simple words.<\/p>\n Only open this if I\u2019m gone.<\/strong><\/p>\n Mercy\u2019s fingers trembled.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not dead,\u201d Daniel had written beneath them in smaller letters.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I came close enough to realize there were things you deserved to hear\u2026 whether you ever forgive me or not.\u201d<\/p>\n Mercy stared at the envelope.<\/p>\n For months, she had believed every chapter of that marriage had finally ended.<\/p>\n Yet somehow\u2026<\/p>\n Daniel had written one last chapter without her.<\/p>\n She looked over at Sophie.<\/p>\n The little girl smiled and held up her drawing.<\/p>\n \u201cI made this.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a picture of an airplane flying beneath a bright yellow sun.<\/p>\n Mercy smiled gently despite herself.<\/p>\n Then she looked back at the unopened envelope.<\/p>\n She wasn\u2019t sure which frightened her more.<\/p>\n Reading Daniel\u2019s final words\u2026<\/p>\n Or discovering she still cared enough to open them.<\/p>\n To Be Continued\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Mercy waited until Sophie and the social worker had left before picking up the envelope again.<\/p>\n She turned it over in her hands for nearly an hour.<\/p>\n Then she broke the seal.<\/p>\n Inside was a handwritten letter.<\/p>\n The first line made her eyes fill with tears.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re reading this, thank you for giving me one last chance to tell you the truth.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n She kept reading.<\/p>\n \u201cFor months, I kept asking myself when I stopped being the man you deserved.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe answer wasn\u2019t the affair.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBy then, I had already been lying to myself for years.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI stopped talking to you when I was overwhelmed. I buried myself in work instead of our marriage. When Emily paid attention to me, I mistook escape for love.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThat doesn\u2019t excuse what I did.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt only explains how a selfish man destroyed the best thing that ever happened to him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Mercy closed her eyes.<\/p>\n She continued.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want another chance.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t deserve one.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI only hope one day you stop wondering what you did wrong.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou did nothing wrong.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou were faithful.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou were patient.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou loved me even when I didn\u2019t deserve it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cEverything that happened was because of my choices\u2014not your failures.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Tears rolled silently down Mercy\u2019s face.<\/p>\n For the first time since the anniversary flight\u2026<\/p>\n She truly believed those words.<\/p>\n Years of quiet self-doubt began to loosen their grip.<\/p>\n At the bottom of the letter was one final request.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s something in the safe at the house.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt belongs to you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe code is our wedding date.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cTake it before I leave the country.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Mercy frowned.<\/p>\n Daniel had already packed all of his belongings months ago.<\/p>\n What could possibly still be inside that safe?<\/p>\n The next afternoon, she drove to the old house.<\/p>\n Everything felt strangely familiar.<\/p>\n She walked to the study.<\/p>\n The small wall safe was exactly where Daniel had always kept important documents.<\/p>\n Her hands shook as she entered their wedding date.<\/p>\n The door clicked open.<\/p>\n Inside wasn\u2019t cash.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t jewelry.<\/p>\n It was a small velvet box.<\/p>\n Beneath it lay dozens of letters, each one addressed to her.<\/p>\n One for every anniversary they had shared.<\/p>\n Mercy slowly opened the box.<\/p>\n Inside rested the wedding ring she had placed back into Daniel\u2019s hand at the airport.<\/p>\n Underneath it was a folded note.<\/p>\n She unfolded it.<\/p>\n Just four words.<\/p>\n \u201cI never stopped wearing yours.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Mercy\u2019s breath caught.<\/p>\n At that exact moment\u2026<\/p>\n Her phone rang.<\/p>\n The hospital.<\/p>\n The nurse spoke gently.<\/p>\n \u201cMrs. Carter\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere have been complications.\u201d<\/p>\nPART 8<\/h2>\n
PART 9<\/h2>\n