Chapter 14 - NORA’S ANGER
Nora was angrier with me than with Helena for several months.
At first I considered that unfair.
Then therapy corrected my ego.
Helena lied because Helena wanted control.
I had been Sophie’s father.
Nora expected more from me.
“You had lawyers.”
“Yes.”
“Security.”
“Yes.”
“Money.”
“Yes.”
“Private investigators.”
“Yes.”
“And you never checked whether your daughter was alive and well?”
The question felt brutal.
It was also fair.
“I received security summaries.”
“From Helena’s structure.”
“Yes.”
“You saw medical claims.”
“Yes.”
“You saw money leaving.”
“Yes.”
“So you knew she was alive.”
“Yes.”
“Then why not show up?”
“Because I thought you would see it as intimidation.”
“Why not send a letter?”
“I thought you asked for no contact.”
“Through your mother.”
“Yes.”
Nora laughed without humor.
“You trusted Helena more than you trusted the possibility I might still want Sophie to have a father.”
I looked away.
Then she said:
“You don’t get to make her the only villain.”
I knew.
That was why the sentence hurt.
Nora had failures too.
She stopped speaking to her attorney.
Avoided formal support enforcement.
Allowed fear of Morello power to become a substitute for testing what I would actually do.
But her mistakes mostly reduced her options.
Mine reduced my daughter’s father.
Different weight.
Then Nora asked:
“Did you love me?”
“Yes.”
“Do you?”
I took too long.
She noticed.
“Don’t.”
“What?”
“Don’t turn this into a romance because you feel guilty.”
There.
She was right again.
Our job was Sophie.
Whatever Nora and I once were could remain in the past without becoming a tragedy requiring repair.
That decision saved us both.
Eventually we became friends.
Not immediately.
Not beautifully.
Through calendars.
School forms.
Emergency contacts.
Being five minutes late and apologizing.
Trust built in boring units.
May you like
The D’Angelo family had always preferred dramatic loyalty.
Nora taught me punctuality mattered more.
