“You were pregnant?”
Emma nodded slowly.
“I found out two weeks after you left.”
“Why didn’t you contact me?”
Emma let out a soft, bitter laugh.
“I tried.”
Daniel froze.
“I called you. I sent messages. But your number changed.”
His stomach sank.
“My assistant handles my phone—”
“She told me not to call again.”
Daniel’s eyes widened.
“She said you didn’t want anything to do with me.”
For a long moment, Daniel couldn’t speak.
A terrible realization formed in his mind.
His company had just started growing back then. His assistant had been protecting his time, filtering everything.
And apparently…
Filtering Emma.
“Why didn’t you come find me?” he asked quietly.
Emma looked down at the boys.
“By the time I realized what happened… it was too late.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was already struggling,” she said softly. “Triplets aren’t easy.”
One of the boys tugged her sleeve.
“Mama, I’m hungry.”
Daniel’s chest tightened painfully.
Emma kissed the child’s head.
“I know, sweetheart.”
Daniel suddenly noticed how thin the boys looked.
Their shoes were worn.
Their jackets didn’t match.
“How long have you been living like this?” he asked, his voice barely steady.
Emma hesitated.
“About a year.”
For illustrative purposes only
Daniel felt something break inside him.
“You’re homeless?”
Emma gave a small nod.
“I lost my job when the boys got sick last winter. The rent piled up. Eventually…”
She didn’t finish the sentence.
Daniel closed his eyes briefly.
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