Chapter 4
I ended the call without saying goodbye.
My hands were shaking.
Marcus watched me carefully.
“Maya?”
I stared at my phone.
“He wants the money.”
My mother sighed.
“I was afraid of that.”
I looked at her.
“You knew?”
She lowered her eyes.
“Daniel contacted me last week.”
“What did he say?”
“He asked whether the college account was still active.”
I felt sick.
“Why would he know about it?”
Marcus answered.
“Years ago, we told him we were saving for your education.”
I looked at him.
“And now he wants to invest it?”
Marcus's expression hardened.
“He has no authority over that money.”
My mother nodded.
“The account was established for your education. Daniel isn't an owner or trustee.”
I exhaled.
But my relief lasted only seconds.
“Then why is he talking about rights?”
My mother exchanged a worried glance with Marcus.
I saw it immediately.
Another secret.
“Please,” I whispered, “not again.”
Marcus leaned forward.
“Daniel has been having financial problems.”
I stared at him.
“What kind?”
“We don't know everything.”
My mother spoke quietly.
“He lost his business last year.”
My stomach dropped.
“His company?”
She nodded.
“He told people it was a temporary setback.”
I remembered the expensive suits.
The fancy watch.
The photographs of luxury restaurants.
The stories about international business trips.
I'd believed every word.
“He's broke?”
“We don't know his exact situation,” Marcus said carefully.
“But he's under financial pressure.”
I looked at my phone.
Suddenly, Daniel's appearance at graduation felt different.
His expensive flowers.
His polished smile.
His sudden interest in my future.
I wanted to believe he had come because he loved me.
But I couldn't stop thinking about the account.
“Did he know the balance?” I asked.
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
My mother frowned.
“He asked me directly.”
“And what did you say?”
“I told him it wasn't his business.”
I stared at her.
“Mom.”
She sighed.
“He became angry.”
“How angry?”
“He said Marcus had no right to interfere with his daughter.”
I laughed bitterly.
“His daughter.”
Marcus looked at me.
“Maya.”
I shook my head.
“He doesn't know anything about me.”
“That's not entirely true.”
I turned toward him.
“Why are you defending him?”
“I'm not defending his behavior.”
“Then why?”
“Because I don't want you making decisions while you're hurting.”
I stared at him.
He continued.
“You deserve the truth. But you also deserve time to decide what you want your relationship with Daniel to look like.”
My chest tightened.
I hated how reasonable he sounded.
I wanted him to be angry.
I wanted him to say Daniel was selfish.
I wanted someone to confirm what I was beginning to fear.
But Marcus refused to turn my pain into a weapon.
That night, we canceled the large graduation dinner.
My mother called the relatives.
She told them I was exhausted.
It wasn't a lie.
I felt as though I'd lived ten years in one afternoon.
I went upstairs and changed out of my graduation gown.
Then I sat on my bed.
My diploma rested beside me.
The red ribbon was still loose.
I picked it up.
Tried to tie it.
My fingers wouldn't cooperate.
Then someone knocked.
“Come in.”
Marcus entered.
He had changed into jeans and an old blue shirt.
The same shirt he wore whenever he worked on his truck.
He held a small plate.
“Your mother saved you some cake.”
I looked at him.
“I'm not hungry.”
“I figured.”
He set the plate on my desk.
Then he noticed the ribbon.
“Need help?”
I nodded.
He sat beside me.
Without saying anything, he retied the ribbon neatly around my diploma.
Exactly the way he'd done that morning.
I watched his hands.
Strong.
Calloused.
Familiar.
Hands that had fixed broken bicycles.
Built school projects.
Cooked breakfast.
Carried me when I was sick.
And held mine when I was afraid.
“Marcus?”
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“Did it hurt?”
He looked up.
“What?”
“When I asked you to step out of the picture.”
His hands stopped moving.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he nodded.
“Yes.”
My throat closed.
“How much?”
He looked at me gently.
“Enough.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“Why didn't you say something?”
“Because I didn't want to turn your graduation into a fight.”
I wiped my face.
“I made you feel like you weren't my dad.”
Marcus looked down.
“For a second, yes.”
I started crying.
He immediately put the diploma aside.
“Hey.”
I shook my head.
“I'm so sorry.”
He pulled me into his arms.
“I know.”
“No, you don't understand.”
“Then tell me.”
I looked at him.
“I wanted Daniel to choose me.”
Marcus's expression softened.
“I know, Maya.”
“I thought if I made him feel important, maybe he'd stay.”
My voice cracked.
“Maybe he'd finally want to be my dad.”
Marcus's eyes filled.
He held my face gently.
“Listen to me.”
I swallowed.
“You should never have to compete for a parent's love.”
I began crying harder.
“Never.”
He brushed tears from my cheek.
“Love isn't something you earn by standing in the right photograph.”
I wrapped my arms around him.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then Marcus whispered:
“Can I tell you something?”
I nodded against his shoulder.
“I was scared when I first met you.”
I pulled back.
“Scared?”
He smiled.
“Terrified.”
“Why?”
“Because you were this tiny little girl with enormous brown eyes who asked questions I didn't know how to answer.”
I laughed through my tears.
He continued.
“And I loved your mother. But I knew loving her meant learning how to love you too.”
I looked at him.
“Was that hard?”
He shook his head.
“Learning was hard.”
Then he smiled.
“Loving you was easy.”
My heart nearly broke.
Before I could answer, the doorbell rang.
We both looked toward the hallway.
It was almost ten at night.
My mother called from downstairs.
“Marcus?”
Something in her voice made him stand immediately.
He walked toward the landing.
I followed.
From the top of the stairs, I saw Daniel standing in our front doorway.
He was still wearing his graduation suit.
But his tie was loose.
His expression was angry.
My mother stood between him and the living room.
“You need to leave,” she said.
Daniel pointed toward the stairs.
“I came to speak to my daughter.”
I stepped forward.
“I'm here.”
He looked up.
His expression immediately softened.
“Princess.”
I didn't move.
He held out his arms.
I stayed where I was.
His smile faded.
“We need to talk.”
“About what?”
He glanced at Marcus.
“Privately.”
I descended the stairs.
Marcus followed a few steps behind.
When I reached the bottom, Daniel lowered his voice.
“Your mother and Marcus are keeping things from you.”
I looked at him.
“Like what?”
He reached into his jacket.
Then removed a folded document.
“Something they hoped you'd never see.”
My mother went pale.
Marcus stepped closer.
Daniel unfolded the paper.
At the top were three words.
PETITION FOR ADOPTION.
My heart pounded.
Daniel looked at me.
“Ask them why they tried to take my daughter away.”
I stared at the document.
May you like
Then at Marcus.
And for one terrible moment, I wondered whether the man who'd never lied to me had finally kept something too important hidden.
